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RESOLVED New Bass Build has no Lows

Bass'd on a true story

Bass'd on a true story

Jun 28, 2015
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1,898
35
#1
RESOLVED!!
Edit-
Ok!

The issue is resolved.

I don't know exactly what the problem was.

I looked in the control cavity and a few of the pieces of the copper shielding tape I put in were coming up and could possibly have been contacting other components. I don't know if that matters, but I didn't do the best shielding job and I think I might go back in with some glue a little later.

Once I reassembled it (I had taken off the neck and bridge also) completely, it sounded great! I will possibly never know what really was wrong.

Thanks TB.

Feel free to close this thread now... I will be posting a NBD replete with pictures, sound clips, and maybe even a bit of video!


Original post-

Hey guys!

So I just finished this build I've been doing for months and month and everything turned out spectacularly, except for one really weird problem. The bass doesn't really seem to have any lows and it's the brightest bass I've ever played.

At first I blamed the strings, I had put brand new D'Addario NYXLs on it. But I swapped them out for 1+ year-old TI flats and it still sounds super aggressive and angry. The pickups are really high-quality vintage sounding pups that people usually use to get more classic tones.

Every other aspect of the bass is amazing and it feels/plays like heaven. I just can't seem to figure out where my thump is! I've played hundreds of basses over the years and this one has got to be the most aggressive, least bassy bass that I've played yet.

I'm open to the idea that I did something wrong. Let me know what you think.
 
Last edited:
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#7
Hey, no camera available at the moment (I'm one of those weird-os that doesn't own a smartphone).

It's a passive, P/J bass. There is SOME bass response, but it just sounds terribly thin to me. I can post a sound clip in a little bit. The pickups sound really crisp, clean, and wonderful aside from not having bass. There doesn't seem to be any difference in bass response between soloing and using them together, it's thin no matter how you slice it.

I can fatten up with EQ, but run flat, it sounds anemic as all get out. All the parts are high-quality and I had a really reputable local guy do the wiring.
 
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#10
It could be a phase issue, especially if you've created your own PJ pickup pairing from random pickups. If you solo either the P or J pickup, does the low end return?

Daft question, but could it be your rig? Are you using a small amp, have you swapped out cables etc?

My first suggestion would be 'strings, lol', but you've already covered that base (and aged TI flats would do the job!).
 
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#11
Axstar said:
It could be a phase issue, especially if you've created your own PJ pickup pairing from random pickups. If you solo either the P or J pickup, does the low end return?

Daft question, but could it be your rig? Are you using a small amp, have you swapped out cables etc?

My first suggestion would be 'strings, lol', but you've already covered that base (and aged TI flats would do the job!).
Click to expand...

I have tried it on every type of amp setup and with multiple different cables. I've played it on a DI through my laptop into nice headphones, 3 different solid-state amps, and my half-stack tube amp. All of them sound good, just very little low end. Also the high-end is sizzlingly bright (almost abrasively so) and very clear. I can play full bar chords on this bass and it loses no definition and there's no mud.
 
#12
Bass'd on a true story said:
I have tried it on every type of amp setup and with multiple different cables. I've played it on a DI through my laptop into nice headphones, 3 different solid-state amps, and my half-stack tube amp. All of them sound good, just very little low end. Also the high-end is sizzlingly bright (almost abrasively so) and very clear. I can play full bar chords on this bass and it loses no definition and there's no mud.
Click to expand...

What pickups did you spring for?

Also, does the tone control work as you would expect? When you turn it down, what do you hear?
 
#13
Axstar said:
What pickups did you spring for?

Also, does the tone control work as you would expect? When you turn it down, what do you hear?
Click to expand...

I wrote the pickups a few posts up. The tone control operates in the way you would expect a tone control to, with the exception that ALL the way open it's more bright than most basses, and all the way closed it sounds more like 50% closed.
 
#15
Brad Johnson said:
Does it sound thin unplugged?
Click to expand...

I've been wondering this myself. I almost never play unplugged, so it's a little hard for me to decide if it does or not. I A/B'd it last night with my fattest sounding bass unplugged. It definitely sounded thinner? But I don't THINK it sounded like it should have as little low end as it does.

Would a 500k volume pot make a bass sound thin? In some of my reading I turned this up as a possibility for what I did wrong. I'm not sure whether I put a 250k or a 500k volume pot in the bass or not.
 
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#16
Bass'd on a true story said:
I wrote the pickups a few posts up. The tone control operates in the way you would expect a tone control to, with the exception that ALL the way open it's more bright than most basses, and all the way closed it sounds more like 50% closed.
Click to expand...

You did! Sorry for missing that before. You've mixed pickups from different manufacturers, so there might be a phase issue. If you solo each pickup is the tone fuller?
 
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#19
Axstar said:
You did! Sorry for missing that before. You've mixed pickups from different manufacturers, so there might be a phase issue. If you solo each pickup is the tone fuller?
Click to expand...

Even with each pickup individually solo'd the tone is thin.

I think I may have figured something out......



This is more or less what my bass sounds like. To ME that sounds like a very uneven treble-heavy tone. Maybe others will disagree. I am using the same bridge as the one being demo'd in this video.
 
#20
Bass'd on a true story said:
I've been wondering this myself. I almost never play unplugged, so it's a little hard for me to decide if it does or not. I A/B'd it last night with my fattest sounding bass unplugged. It definitely sounded thinner? But I don't THINK it sounded like it should have as little low end as it does.

Would a 500k volume pot make a bass sound thin? In some of my reading I turned this up as a possibility for what I did wrong. I'm not sure whether I put a 250k or a 500k volume pot in the bass or not.
Click to expand...

GIGO. A bass that works well acoustically is typically much easier to get a good sound with via amplification. What are the structural components?
 

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