I think my jazz bass needs something

[5alive]

Thats right guys, tell him to drop 500 on a p bass for no reason.

Get a set up from a luthier. Try a few brands of strings.. id try rotos but there are dozens of others. Turn your knobs and amp flat and start from there.

 

[kopio]

More information will allow us to make more remarks which are neither clever nor funny. There is no such word as "prolly".

Well....according to Oxford English Dictionary there is.....

prolly: definition of prolly in Oxford dictionary (American English) (US)

 

[Corevalay]

While I love my CS 60 pickups, they do have a darker sound to them. The Fender Original or Vintage 74 pickups have a bit more bite to them. You might want to experiment with something like that as it seems you like more attack in your sound.

 

[trothwell]

Make sure there is "N" foam under the neck pickup and "B" foam under the bridge pickup.

 

[Iridescentone]

Hey there, I have a jazz bass that I have been playing for a while now. I made it out of parts from a licensed store, and put the custom shop 60s pickups in it. The more I play it the more I notice that it only sounds decent the day you put on new strings, after that It starts to sound completely dead. I don't know if there is any way to improve the sound of it, or if it is purely the spirit of the instrument that sounds like crap. I thought about putting a preamp in it to hopefully improve it. It just makes me really sad that this american made bass sounds worse than a squier most of the time. Should I toss it or is there a better way to try and revive it?

It aint the bass, the bass won't "make the strings go dead"...the player does that.

If it "sounds like crap" to you after one day, then forget the setup, forget the trip to the luthier, forget new pickups. Maybe modify your tone goals, and what sounds you can reasonably expect from a bass guitar?

And if you happen to be one of those poor b******s with Acid Hands that kill strings, then you really need to change your tone goals.

 

[Kukulkan61]

prolly needs a tort pickguard

You beat me to it!!!

 

[Kukulkan61]

I tried a few MIM and Squier Jazz basses, they just didn't do it for me until I got this Squier with these pups and Chromes installed, what a world of difference!!
STK-J1b and STK-J1n and Star guitars custom wiring harness..

 

[DavC]

i had some CS 60's pup in a parts bass i bought ... sold them quickly ...!

as always ... i prefer noiseless , humbucking type pickups .! then you can back off one of the volumes a little bit ... either way , more neck , more bridge ,... without the usual single coil hummmm ... which also helps remove that mid cut that having both pups maxed ..

i have grown to like ' split coils ' ... ! Nordy's or Barts .... it will make a huge difference in available useful tones ..!!

 

[DirkP]

It's not your bass. You need to study mids! Brittle high end sounded good, when we had tape decks that buried the high frequencies and speakers without tweeters. Mids are the new high end! Don't let fresh strings seduce you!

 

[spaz21387]

Sounds to me like you need to adjust the height of your pickups. It should sound super snarly all the time. Or maybe you are getting the wrong strings. For me d addario xls rotosounds and eb slinkys go dead in a few days. I suggest dr lo riders...

 

[Nephilymbass]

Might not be anything wrong with the bass. I love the sound and feel of fresh strings. I know for a lot of folks gigs mean standing still playing in a well air conditioned room and stuff. We play on hot stages with rediculous can lights that often are the type meant to be like 50 feet above the stage. Add to that we have a lot of energy onstage so we get sweaty often and strings die fast.

you may also have oily skin. Get some medical grade soap and wash your hands really good before playing . Dry them off well and if you want to be even more extreme pour a little rubbing alcohol in the palm of one hand and rub your hands like you would putting on lotion. Just remember alcohol is highly flammable so be sure it's absolutely dry before plugging high power gear in or using a cigarette lighter. I always wash my hands really good within about 15 minutes of playing. A lot of people use Coated strings. But I know I tried them and didn't like the feel.

 

[RicoTheBassMan]

So to summarize this thread so far, the OP may be a greasy handed, impatient P-Bass-player-wanna-be that could improve tone with a tort pick guard. Have I missed any details?

 

[Sid the Kid]

Yes. His bass could use a pro setup and he needs to reevaluate his tonal goals. Possibly could just be using dark and hollow sounding pickups.

 

[DigitalMan]

Pickup height and setup to begin with. What tone is dialed in on the amp? IMO jazz with rounds has a certain sound for the first day and drops off when the amp is super clean. Adding some OD can really change the picture.

 

[JoeWPgh]

My first thing would be pickup height. That's even cheaper than a new set of strings, and can make a huge difference.

 

[Iridescentone]

So to summarize this thread so far, the OP may be a greasy handed, impatient P-Bass-player-wanna-be that could improve tone with a tort pick guard. Have I missed any details?

Yes. His bass could use a pro setup and he needs to reevaluate his tonal goals. Possibly could just be using dark and hollow sounding pickups.

Just one thing remains unresolved....the OP's sadness about his american made (sic) Fender sounding worse than a Squier most of the time. No amount of tort can help with that.

 

[rufus.K]

In my main jazz, I have a really microphonic cheap pickup in the neck. It snarls and grinds sublimely.
I'm sure the bass itself is fine.

 

[Rib 13]

Hey there, I have a jazz bass that I have been playing for a while now. I made it out of parts from a licensed store, and put the custom shop 60s pickups in it. The more I play it the more I notice that it only sounds decent the day you put on new strings, after that It starts to sound completely dead. I don't know if there is any way to improve the sound of it, or if it is purely the spirit of the instrument that sounds like crap. I thought about putting a preamp in it to hopefully improve it. It just makes me really sad that this american made bass sounds worse than a squier most of the time. Should I toss it or is there a better way to try and revive it?

im a "new string" guy myself and I can go several gigs in a row before needing a change (all kinds of factors dependent on string manufacturer, weather, room temperature, etc etc etc and making sure I dont eat greasy chicken wings before I play )

This may not have anything to do with your bass: If you are losing string life that fast you may have a pH acid/alkaline issue in your body chemistry

So many variables, here.

What sort of new strings are you installing? Have you tried a different set? If you have been using nickels, try some stainless steels.

Are you wiping down the instrument, after playing it? It may simply be a matter of your own body chemistry: You might have that lethal brand of sweat & personal funk that murders strings before their time.

Have you tried an outboard pedal pre-amp? Factor in the pickup height question, also. Maybe different pickups are in order. What are your tonal goals?

Ah...Didnt read the thread this far: I see you already answered this

 

[gln1955]

Just one thing remains unresolved....the OP's sadness about his american made (sic) Fender sounding worse than a Squier most of the time. No amount of tort can help with that.

Nothing he can do about that. MIA fenders DO sound worse than Squiers. It's been proven on TB again and again.

 

[Rib 13]

Thats right guys, tell him to drop 500 on a p bass for no reason.

Although they arent for me, I dont have anything against P-Basses. I certainly dont hate on them just to troll -- but its P-Bass owners with non-sense/non-helpful remarks that make the hair stand up on the back of my neck