Double Bass D string "wobble" (Chadwick folding bass)

[Jeremy Allen]

Hey gang, I recently bought a Chadwick folding bass (hybrid model) for my school groups to use when traveling. It's a pretty cool bass, but...

It has the weirdest problem on the D string. Any note played on the string (open or stopped) doesn't ring true--it kind of wobbles and doesn't sound like it settles into a pitch. This problem is independent of string or type of string (I've had gut, steel, and synthetic on there), and it is not related to actual frequency (the same note on a different string will sound fine). It is not improved by dampening the afterlengths, changing the tailpiece, pressing on the bass anywhere on the body, preventing the tuners from vibrating, fiddling with the mess of stuff inside the bass (all of the clamps and braces he uses), taking the endpin out, or adjusting the size of the nut slot.

The only thing I haven't tried is thinning out the bridge, which seems a little thick at the top, or moving the sound post, which is fixed in place. And the problem is less noticeable if I use a very high tension string.
I will say I had a bass guitar once with a similar problem, but it involved an area of the neck and not one individual string, and the problem turned out to be a loose truss rod rattling around and vibrating.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Any ideas?

 

[bassfacer22]

It's really only that one string?

Can you post up a quick recording of it??

And it's really every note on that string..

I was thinking it's the nut but you have put paper under the string in the nut and tried it?

 

[John F Hebert]

Im very curious as well. Im looking into buying a new bass and am very interested in what its like.

 

[bassfacer22]

Ok it has to be your bridge..

Just went to David gauge and they did some major work and filed down the nut and even the slots holding the strings in the bridge.. They even shimmed the feet of my bridge.

Maybe you can see the wood he even glued to fix my feet... You can see the two different colors of wood..


No wobbles here anymore..

 

[Eric Hochberg]

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Any ideas?

I bet it has something to do with the removable fingerboard/neck contact not being solid.

 

[bassfacer22]

That's quite possible too but wouldn't it be on more than just the D string?

He said it was every note on the d-string.. But it most certainly could be that removable neck ..

 

[Jeremy Allen]

Thanks for the feedback and responses, gang. I haven't recorded an example for you because I put a heavy D string on, which minimizes the wobble. The weirdness is still there in the form of a thin sound on that string instead of what should be a robust, dark sound (it's a Bel Canto). My suspicion is that this is related to the clamp thingies embedded in the underside of the fingerboard, which allow the board to be attached and removed from the neck. But I'm taking it to the Bass Cellar soon enough, and I'll see if Andy and the crew can do their magic.

 

[bassfacer22]

Please post back what they find and what it was... I'm a magnet to bass problems - they seem to find me whatever bass I try.. So I'm curious about this one..
I'm betting it's the bridge though especially if it's every note on the d-string.

When you changed strings did you notice the string slot for the D-string on the bridge? Was it cut weird or looked chipped or anything?

 

[ericsmith]

I had a rattle on my Chadwick when I played the F on the D-string... Charlie suggested adding a little shim under the fingerboard and the neckwhere they contact.

Can't remember if it fully fixed my problem or not since I don't have it there anymore and I changed to lower tension gut strings from Spiros and now the problem is gone.

The soundpost can also be moved around, it holds in place with little nails on each end.