Duller, less fat E string on Squier CV Jazz vs Fender?

[AlexanderB]

A while ago I bought one of these:
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(I bought it mainly so I could trade in another bass I wanted to get rid of.)

In the shop, this bass "spoke" to me, timeless Jazz tone, more than decent shielding and hardware, easy to play etc.

However, at home I found the E string to be both rather dull and also thin sounding compared to its Fender cousin. The fundamental just is not there below G on the E-string. My first idea was to change the original (Fender) strings, which was an improvement. However, also the new DR Sunbeam set quickly lost what little sparkle it had had on the E string, now sounding as bad as the original strings.

It is not an issue of string type (I use Sunbeams on another bass, without problems), setup or amps.

Is there such a difference in wood and resonance between this cheapish Jazz and its MIA big brother? Just curious...

/Alexander

 

[johnk_10]

this can vary by quite a bit from bass to bass, and i'm sure that there will be some (or many) that disagree with me, but personally, i do think that the CV's slightly thinner body made of basswood has something to do with it.
....and that is not to say that i haven't played great sounding basses with basswood bodies, but i much prefer alder or swamp ash over it.

 

[Bobster]

The wood debate has been covered quite a bit here. The body may be be a little higher or lower in overall quality, since wood is graded locally.

The pickups and pots are different, and this will have an impact on the bass's sound.

Bob

 

[johnk_10]

The wood debate has been covered quite a bit here. The body may be be a little higher or lower in overall quality, since wood is graded locally.

The pickups and pots are different, and this will have an impact on the bass's sound.

Bob

the duncan designed pickups used in them are excellent, and the pots have nothing to do with the problem that the OP is having.

 

[A-Step-Towards]

My guess is pickup placement. Is the E string passing over the poles perfectly or is it slighty off whereas the other strings pass correctly over it.

I have had jazz basses with the same problem the gaurd is crooked , the pickup is then off and its a mess to sort out. The E string always had a dead feel , this wason 2 jazz basses I had.I agree maybe body wood, however i liked my CV jazz.

Is the E string sitting in the nut correctly?

 

[Catbuster]

My CV P does thay, but it doesn't drop much. Baswood had some awesome lows, but it lacks highs you get with Swamp Ash or Alder.

 

[johnk_10]

My CV P does thay, but it doesn't drop much. Baswood had some awesome lows, but it lacks highs you get with Swamp Ash or Alder.

IME, basswood can either be good, or it can be a tone sponge.

 

[AlexanderB]

Thanks for the replies!

Strings are well aligned to the pole pieces and the E-string sounds thick and punchy (but with very little top end) down to G. The three bottom notes sound much thinner by comparison, much more so than on many other basses I have played.

It is of course not impossible that also this set of strings is actually shot... With my first Jazz in "the stable" I suddenly find myself pulling of a lot of what has to be THE worst slapping/popping riffs on the norther hemisphere... That might have dramtically shortened the life of that poor E-string.

 

[A-Step-Towards]

Maybe some dead spots on that string , is it on every fret?

 

[johnk_10]

does it sound any different or the same acoustically (not plugged in)?

 

[stingray69]

Have you went to a considerably larger gauge string than stock? The reason I ask is that I've seen examples of deadened string tone when the string is a hair wider than saddle groove, particularly the larger E and A strings are most often affected. In which case, you can file out the saddle groove a little wider.

Just thinking out loud - might want to check it out. You could test by tossing on a taper core string(s) and see if your clarity returns or whether the string still sounds dull. Good luck with it.

 

[Burlington]

Have you raised the pickups on the E string side?

 

[DynaFlow]

Haven't had this issue with my CV Jazz, in fact it is one of the most balanced across all strings of many Js I've come across over the years.

I did restring with TI Flats and changed the pickups to Fender CS 60s, however I don't recall too much of a problem when it was bone stock. In these situations I find working with pickup height usually helps, as others have mentioned.

 

[AlexanderB]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

I have played around with pick up height and checked the nut, which looks fine to me. The string fills the cut-out, no extra "unused" gap around it. (I went from an 0.100 to 0.105 E-string.)

The lack of fundamental is limited to the open E-string and the first two positions. From G and up, the E string sounds almost as full as on my Squier JV Precision. Dull sound is the same all over the E string and pretty much in the A string, too.

Interestingly enough, when I tested to detune the E-string to D, the open D rings rather full and so did the D#! Moving up to the second fret, the E was again hollow sounding. To me, that indicates some (wood related?) resonance/absorption issue, just like the regular dead notes C-D on the G-string of Fender basses.

+ 1 on johnk_10's observation: the pick ups sound very nice for a budget instrument.

I think this bass is already looking for a new, less discriminating owner... But it sure is tempting to get a REAL Jazz - it is a nice model and suits me better than I had thought.

 

[johnk_10]

since it remained constant with the pitch of the notes after detuning, my guess is that it's just a 'wolf tone' (dead spot) on your particular bass for those notes, and the neck or body's resonant frequency is slightly cancelling them out.

 

[AlexanderB]

Short update:
There is an acoustic "hole" in the fundamentals on this bass. It is not a disaster - many players would not notice.
With another set of fresh strings (Fender 7250M) and detuned to DGCF, the bass now sounds better. (I believe Fender calls it "Factory fresh"...) The bottom string E, F and F# are still a bit hollow but the sustain is OK. Below them, the D# and D (that now are the lowest notes) sound fuller than E, F, F# and sustain well.

 

[AlexanderB]

Another update:

As I was not completely happy with the bass, I lent it to someone for quite sometime. A couple of weeks ago I got it back and re-strung it (again!) and suddenly I had a new instrument - a really good one!
I had a set of (well used) EBS Northern Light Stainless Roundwounds as a backup for my Precision and did put them on the Squier Jazz, now in standard tuning.
Doing nothing else, this bass really came alive. Solid, full notes all the way down to open E, clear and even top with a hint of aggression and better sustain to boot. Night and day!
It now easily sounds better than almost every Fender Jazz (MIM or MIA) I have ever tried in a MI shop!

My trusty Precision has been with me since 1996 and tried many string brands on, always coming back to EBS. I have found nothing as good and long lasting. Since they were out of production for quite some time, I could not try them on above Jazz. Now I have, and there is no going back to Trace Elliot, Rotosound, DR, Fender or whatever.
(No affiliation with EBS, just a happy customer.)