My E string sounds dead

[garet0007]

So I took my band to practice last night, and the E string sounded dead. It was kind of clunky and didn't have very good sustain. Acoustically, it barely makes a noise now.

I play a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz bass. The strings are about 4 months old, so I don't think that would be the problem.

It is still dead sounding throughout most of the neck, so that rules out the nut, right?

I don't know much about setting up a bridge, but it seems to look fine.

I played the bass at a gig a week and a half ago, and it played normally, and it sat in the case until last night.

Can anyone give me any advice on how to fix it? I can provide more information if required.

 

[Burlington]

4 months is a long time to not change strings. Well, for me at least.

 

[David Jayne]

Even though it's 'only' 4 months old, the string may be dead. You could try soaking it in rubbing alcohol to see if it might come back to life, or just get a new one(or a new set).

 

[SnakeKappele]

It is still dead sounding throughout most of the neck, so that rules out the nut, right?

So it isn't dead somewhere on the neck?

What size is the E string?

 

[garet0007]

Oh, it's dead everywhere on the neck.

I forget what I put on there. I replaced them with whatever gauge of strings came on the bass originally.

I'm not one to change strings very often. I had the original strings on that thing for over a year.

 

[elzeder]

How long you leave your strings on is a personnal preference...
But 4 month is no time for a string to die ,it loses the Zing but it still sounds, sustains etc...

Does your bass buzz somewhere? did your neck move? any rattling sounds? or something stuck by the nut?

 

[garet0007]

Nothing is rattling or buzzing, and the nut is clean.

 

[garet0007]

It sounds something like this

http://vocaroo.com/?media=vxilDs1DVxTor1rlH

 

[garet0007]

As in exactly like that.

 

[PhiDeck]

Factory strings - like factory tires - seem to have shorter life (and worse performance) than their replacements.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Time for a new set.

I can deal with uniformly "dead" strings. But when I get one outlier, it's time to change them all. No way that just one new string will blend with the 4mo old strings.

I've got some DR Fat Beams on my jazz that are over a year old, but still sound *great*. Not snappy-new-string-sizzly, but they are even and have some bite to them. They just plain sound good for finger-style playing. I've also got a set of Carvins on a G&L L2500 and the E string still has some "boing" to it, but the other 4 strings are *dead*, as in thuddy.

Next time you restring, be very careful to not twist any of the strings. I have found that a dead thud can result from twisting the string as you tighten it up. As careful as I am about it, I occasionally get a little twist in a string and it will go dead sooner than the rest. Not immediately, but it does become more noticeable before the others.

 

[SMILEYSIXX]

4 months? Hot damn, I would've gone through two or three sets by now.

Change em.

 

[garet0007]

Thanks guys. I'll get a new set soon.

 

[SnakeKappele]

Sounds like the core broke

 

[m_bisson]

Sounds like the core broke

can that happen without it showing on the outside?

 

[SnakeKappele]

can that happen without it showing on the outside?

I guess that depends on the string construction and the location of the break.

I thought it sounded like a broken core because it sounds like it lost tension.

 

[elzeder]

When I heard that I thought you were hitting a pan in your kitchen...

No seriously maybe the core did break but the rest of the winding stayed.

You could always try to change it for free, cause its not normal.

 

[Mrdak]

To me, it sounded more like the string is set too low. I could hear the note when you played the 12'th fret. So........ it may not be a dead string.

Try raising the bridge saddle on your E string just a little bit at a time.

 

[garet0007]

The bridge height was never a problem before this.

The string does still have tension.

 

[Mrdak]

It sounds like that string is too close\low to the fingerboard. Try raising the saddle, like a quarter of a turn on each screw..... see what happens. It's worth a try.