How to knock down the G string?

[Sparkdog]

I recently bought a fretless Jazz Bass and it had a set of flats installed. They have green silks at the bridge end, no silk at the other end, and a thin wire end that goes into the post of the machine head. Based on a search here at TB they seem to be Fender 9050's.

These things sound like they're 20 years old...no sustain at all, just a big round THUNK when you pluck them, and I love them!

They weren't right for the fretless, but I put them on a Fender 57 reissue Precision and it's a match made in heaven.

Only one problem - the G string is much brighter than the other 3 strings. Is there a reliable way to knock down the brightness and sustain of that one string to get it closer to the others?

I've heard of guys smearing barbecue sauce and such on strings to age them...looking for suggestions.

 

[Tampabass]

How to knock down her G string? Hmmm, lemme think on that a while.

 

[Lumpy_Bass]

How to knock down her G string? Hmmm, lemme think on that a while.

Sig worthy!

 

[cassius987]

This is a bit of an issue with scale length. The G string benefits from a shorter scale, which lets it "fatten up" a little. That's why my luthier made a P Bass that starts out 33.25'' on the G string and goes to 34'' on the E string. It is a great bass!

Traditionally the G string is either the most taut string in the set or the second-most taut. Why not gauge down a little to match the A and E (also think about gauging down the D...). Here's how to make sure: if you multiply the gauge of the G string by 4/3, it'll probably come up the gauge of the D string or close. But multiply THAT by 4/3 and the A will be too small... and then the E will be even smaller relative to what it ought to be.

 

[guroove]

You can try to lower the G string side of the pickup by tightening the screw under that side. That should make it a little less bright compared to the other strings. If that doesn't work, eat some greasy chicken, and play your bass afterwards without washing your hands.

 

[jumbodbassman]

20 year old string still too bright.. doesn't sound like the strings. Start by adjust the pickups, also check that intonation is good?

 

[Metal Mitch]

You can try to lower the G string side of the pickup by tightening the screw under that side. That should make it a little less bright compared to the other strings. If that doesn't work, eat some greasy chicken, and play your bass afterwards without washing your hands.

Actually, lowering the pickup under that string will make it more trebly than the other strings. Raising it will make it more bassy if it sounds too thin, but you don't want to go too high because it will get louder than the other strings.

Greasing down a string might work with rounds, not so much with flats. If you're gonna do this, do it on the section of string that passes over the pickup coils.

Best thing to do is stretch it out to get it to loosen up. Stretch it over the nut first - hold down the string at the first fret, and push down a few times behind the nut to stretch it between the nut and the tuner. Then stretch the length of the string by lifting at the 12th fret a few times. Set the witness point at the bridge LAST. You don't want to overdo it down there, and stretching the string in other places can make it move.

 

[Bongolation]

I've noticed intensely bright/hot Gs in a lot of string/bass combinations, too.

No solution, however.

 

[cassius987]

Like I referred to above just try matching tension, and if that doesn't work gauge the G down just a little more. Here's a gauge that is almost always well-matched using rounds: 45/60/80/105.