Ha! A lot of pictures seem to catch me with the same expression. I think there was a thread going around recently about facial expressions.
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Ha! A lot of pictures seem to catch me with the same expression. I think there was a thread going around recently about facial expressions.
Smiling is hard. 
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The Sadowsky looks great, though... and of course it plays and sounds great too!
I'm not really bored, I just look that way (like Eli Manning at the SB)
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The Sadowsky looks great, though... and of course it plays and sounds great too!
I'm not really bored, I just look that way (like Eli Manning at the SB)
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Smiling can be done - but it is hard !
Does anyone know where this Sadowsky ended up? http://www.talkbass.com/attachments/4654_full_lg-jpg.286196/
Does anyone know where this Sadowsky ended up? http://www.talkbass.com/attachments/4654_full_lg-jpg.286196/
Hey guys,
I need some advice on some weirdness I'm getting on my MV5-PJ's B-string. When I bought it about a year ago (from another TBer), the strings were a little dull, so I changed them out to a new set of GHS Boomers that I had laying around. They sounded fine except the low B, which seemed to lack a strong fundamental and had some pulsating overtones. It wasn't really bad enough to change them, but it always bugged me. I thought, well, maybe it was that set of strings or maybe messed up something during installation. Fast-forward 6 months to when I put on a new set of GHS Round Core Boomers. Overall, everything spoke very clearly excepts for the B. Again, lack of strong fundamental tone and some weird wobbly overtones. And again, I lived with it.
Fast-forward to today... just put on a new set of Sadowsky Bright Nickels (Blue Label), thinking that maybe my issue was from GHS strings. But again, no love. It has a better fundamental now, but not amazing. But now the higher notes on that string (from about 9th fret and up) sound horrible - like two adjacent, dissonant notes beating against each other. Sound sample included below (12th fret, 15th fret and 17th fret). Also here is what the waveform looks like.
Notice the modulation in the amplitude of the waveform from the wobbling overtones.
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So what the hell is going on? Is there something wrong with my bass? Are my strings too low that the pickups are choking out the vibrations of the string? Am I on crack?
Any advice from the club is appreciated. Thanks!
I need some advice on some weirdness I'm getting on my MV5-PJ's B-string. When I bought it about a year ago (from another TBer), the strings were a little dull, so I changed them out to a new set of GHS Boomers that I had laying around. They sounded fine except the low B, which seemed to lack a strong fundamental and had some pulsating overtones. It wasn't really bad enough to change them, but it always bugged me. I thought, well, maybe it was that set of strings or maybe messed up something during installation. Fast-forward 6 months to when I put on a new set of GHS Round Core Boomers. Overall, everything spoke very clearly excepts for the B. Again, lack of strong fundamental tone and some weird wobbly overtones. And again, I lived with it.
Fast-forward to today... just put on a new set of Sadowsky Bright Nickels (Blue Label), thinking that maybe my issue was from GHS strings. But again, no love. It has a better fundamental now, but not amazing. But now the higher notes on that string (from about 9th fret and up) sound horrible - like two adjacent, dissonant notes beating against each other. Sound sample included below (12th fret, 15th fret and 17th fret). Also here is what the waveform looks like.
Notice the modulation in the amplitude of the waveform from the wobbling overtones.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
So what the hell is going on? Is there something wrong with my bass? Are my strings too low that the pickups are choking out the vibrations of the string? Am I on crack?
Any advice from the club is appreciated. Thanks!
I'd search for Roger's setup guide, estimated especially on the PJ and would follow it exactly. Seeing as how the pickup height options are inherently more varied on the PJ5, it can really make a difference.
I find that B strings rarely sound good in the upper register. I would wager that the pickup is too close to the B string. I would slightly raise the B string and slightly lower the pickup on the B string side. I typically set-up my basses where the E through G strings follow the radius of the fingerboard, but the B string is slightly higher than the E string. It seems to make the B string speak more clearly by allowing it more room to vibrate.
That's why I string my 5's E-C with a detuner. I rarely use anything below a low E and if I do it's a low D!
Maybe this is a bit silly or obvious to you, but I had similar issues when I got my Sadowsky back from a setup (I gotta learn to do that on my own someday) and found that my A string was having similar issues. Turns out the string was twisted counterclockwise a half-turn and strung to tension that way, and upon loosening the string and straightening it out before returning the issue went away. Maybe that's all it is?
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Has anyone seen the NYT article that described, "Resting Bitch Face"? Really, its an actual thing. It is when your expression, when your face is in its normal, relaxed position, makes you appear to be slightly annoyed, or irritated, even though you are not. Very few ppl actually have a smile on, when they are totally relaxed. An unfortunate product of RBF is that ppl might judge you wrongly..might think you are unfriendly or unapproachable, when you are actually one of the nicest and happiest folks around!
I'll just add that B strings can be funky and do sometimes require a bit more tweaking. Sometimes moving the bridge back 1/4" if your G saddle has travel room left will free up the B. Things like that. The portion of the string between the tailpiece and the saddle, it's angle and whether or not it is twisted when you install the strings are all key to getting the string to play freely. Most of Roger's instruments play correctly out of the box; but, you never know what some previous player might have done.
The tools for it are really cheap; got the ruler off of Amazon and between that and the Lakland setup video with Carl, it is pretty quick and easy. Totally worth learning.
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Chef
In Memoriam
It's up there in the one I linked. Under the 'PJ' section. I stick to that pretty closely, but stick with an even 2/32 measuring from bottom of each string to top of last fret, and WITHOUT holding the string down at 1st fret. Feels/sounds absolutely perfect in conjunction with setting the pickups as Roger recommends.
Chef
In Memoriam
thanks. I'm going to write this on his setup guide I have printed in my tool box; and check how it goes with the one P5 I have.
I have yet to meet a B string that sounds exactly the same, and, as good, as the E string of the same bass; ever
FWIW, I went back through my setup on the MV5-PJ in question. The B-string WAS a little lower than necessary and the P pickup was quite a bit higher on the bass side than it should have been. Maybe as much 4/64-6/64". Dropped that down (as well as the J pup just a little) and it definitely helps. Anywhere near the 12th fret on the B is still pretty unusable, but then I don't visit that neighborhood much anyway.
I tried to check to see if the B string had twisted when being installed. I released the tension on the string, pulled the ball end out from the bridge and tried to let it "center" itself, torsionally. But it didn't really move much. In the future, I'll definitely be more aware of the twisting issue when installing.
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and advice!
I tried to check to see if the B string had twisted when being installed. I released the tension on the string, pulled the ball end out from the bridge and tried to let it "center" itself, torsionally. But it didn't really move much. In the future, I'll definitely be more aware of the twisting issue when installing.
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and advice!
