Double Bass Ok, so I'm back with new problems.. It's been awhile..

[bassfacer22]

You're overcorrecting.

First off, your fastest way to solve these issues is to take the thing to someone with years of experience on a wide range of basses.

If you want to experiment yourself, then you need to take detailed notes. I think the first place you need to start is to learn how to adjust soundpost position (this is what luthiers do, not skating the bridge all over the top of the bass) and put the bridge in the standard position and keep your cotton-pickin' hands off it.

From what I have read and heard, you're doing the analogue to trying to fix an ignition problem by rebuilding the carburetor.

Ok, I think Chris and a few other guys I think have the situation down.

It's the strings and sound post problems.

I use special solo strings and they are lower to the fingerboard, so absolutely It is something on those lines.
I also agree it's the crap pickup as well.

I don't notice as much when I use the Ischell but I have to find the perfect spot if I use the Ischell again on a new bass.

 

[bassfacer22]

Three thoughts (bolding above added):

1) Are you getting the same sonic results acoustically, or only through the pickup? If the latter, you may be making adjustments to the bass to try to solve a pickup problem. The Realist is one of my least favorite pickups for many reasons, but one of these is the way it amplifies different notes and ranges inconsistently. Because it is designed to sit over the bass bar, the degree of bass bar vibration it picks up versus general top vibration is all out of whack to my ears. When I used one this aspect of it, among many others, was very frustrating.

2) What are the strings and string heights on this bass? Dead spots could also be a string or setup issue, especially if the setup is really low to the board. In my experience, when the strings are set a bit higher above the board, they tend to be less prone to choke or over-ring.

3) Changes in wood are part of the nature of the beast with DB. There are a ton of variables that can make a bass feel different from one season to the next, or even one day to the next. I've been on gigs where a weather front came in and completely changed the action of the bass during the course of the gig - and yes, these were indoor gigs, never mind the outdoor ones. I used to worry about these things a lot more than I currently do. Over the years, I've learned to bond with a single bass and understand the different "moods" it can go through, and over time the body learns to adjust to these almost automatically and just roll with it.

At this point, I've been "married" to the same bass (my third) for 15 years, and the same wife (my second) for 20. Neither are perfect, but both are likely far closer perfect than I am! Rather than fussing about trying making them more perfect to make my life easier, it makes a lot more sense to adjust my approach to them as their moods change within the given ranges they inevitably do; at least adjusting my approach is within my power to do.

I will need to talk with you more about this as it's absolutely everything you mention here.

I use solo gauge strings, I have the strings low action, and I use a crappy realist pickup! so I mean, it's pretty darn exactly what you are saying!

 

[Povl Carstensen]

I am not sure the realist is the best pickuo for low action. However using a pickup higher on the bridge might give you a more "electric" sound. But I believe for quick playing, that might be okay. I mean for your quick admirable technique

 

[stefaniw80401]

That sounds like feedback ring to me.
Simple solution would be to use the notch filter on your amp or preamp pedal.

 

[Keith Rawlings]

"Many are Called, but Few are Chosen."
Seriously - stop moving your bridge around - it needs to be placed in its intended spot and left alone. It is the Soundpost fitment that should be first checked by a Qualified Luthier and THEN adjusted.
IMFO, of course.

PREACH!

 

[B String]

Newton's 3rd Law

This

 

[stefaniw80401]

That sounds like feedback ring to me.
Simple solution would be to use the notch filter on your amp or preamp pedal.

In addition to above notch filter solution, you can try flipping the phase reverse switch on your preamp. My modus operandi at every amp gig is:

1. After plugging in, I pluck open strings listening for any ringing while A/B'ingthe phase switch on my preamp. Super obvious which way is best.
2. Turn it up a little and dial out the boom with my high pass filter (HPF) on the preamp.
3. Turn it up a little more and play long tone scale over the range of notes I know can be trouble, listening for any ringing, I dial out that ring by using up my one notch filter on the preamp. This is a little tricky to do. I have mapped my notch filter knob with pencil writing in the note names on the preamp casing. This makes it easier to zoom in on. Highly recommend you do this at home. I used my doctor beat tone generator plugged into my preamp and swept through some notes while working the notch knob. Mark them in pencil around the knob.
4. Lastly, and during the gig, tweak the EQ as needed.

 

[rickwolff]

Perhaps I didn't appreciate how fortunate I am. After reading this thread I feel I should give my bass (AND MY LUTHIER) a gold star.

I bought a brand new Shen 7/8 Gemunder solid wood - flat back about 8 years ago from Bob Beerman at the Bass Violin Shop in Greensboro, NC.

I had Bob put Spirocores on it first thing (I use Perpetuals now), and before he turned it over to me to take home, Bob cut a brand new soundpost and installed it. He didn't say why he had done this, but I strongly suspect that at least part of the initial set-up had been done by someone other than Bob and he felt by redoing the soundpost he could improve the way the bass sounded (and maybe how it felt).

Over the last 8 or so years I have tried a number of different strings, pickups, and microphones and NEVER ONCE have I felt the need to have anything adjusted on the bass itself. I've never had so much as an open seam and the bass speaks evenly from top to bottom with no 'problem notes', just as it did when I first got it.

Color my happy. Thank you, Bob Beerman.