RESOLVED New Bass Build has no Lows

[Wasnex]

Electronics = passive P/J (aguilar P/ Kloppmann J). Blend knob, Stellartone Bass 10 tone knob, Kill Button, Output.

From the Stellartone webpage: "...a noticeably more aggressive midrange punch..."

 

[Axstar]

I had intended for it to sound more or less like a vintage bass with an added J pup and some extra flair in the knob section. What I ended up getting is a bass that sounds like it's having a temper tantrum and was designed to play only the angriest of hardcore punk music.

Well... there is probably a screed of bassists out there who would kill for an aggressive-sounding PJ bass like yours.

Daft question, but could to take the neck off another of your basses, mount it on the PJ body, and see how that sounded?

 

[tripp2k]

Check the wiring! Also, what does the pup to string distance look like (Fender spec...maybe adjust)?

Next step would be to look at pups. This is an electronic problem.

 

[jamro217]

I'd double check the reputable guys wiring. Sounds like phase issues or insufficient cap values. Best of luck to you. Wasnex in post #41 may have solved this for you.

 

[tubedude]

If it sounds thin all tthe time,.you might have sent the sgnal through your tone capacitor in series, instead of having the cap shunting the output.

 

[MarkoYYZ]

I'm in agreement with those saying this is likely a phase or wiring problem. I think the video from Andy just has weird room acoustics making the bass sound a little hollow - his new setup is much better.

The Stellartone can be a little quirky, and the use of 500K pots does open up more top end. It may also be that in doing the wiring, the pots were over heated and the tolerances are now out of whack. It could be any number of things, really, but the first thing I would check is the mounting of the EA half of the P pickup - try flipping it around (requires no wiring, just unscrew, turn 180 and re-screw).
.

 

[Bass'd on a true story]

Thank you guys so much! I'm gonna look into all of your suggestions (and any more that you provide after). I have a lot of ideas for things to investigate. TB rules.

 

[Wasnex]

Hmm. The bass in the video sounds like it's bleeding low end(Which is the same problem my bass has). It reminds me of the exact same sound one of the new Rickenbacker 4003s produce when you engage their bleed feature via the push/pull switch they come with. It sounds otherwise great, but like there's some sort of pass filter on it that's gently attenuating off the lows.

OK. I can't argue that the lows could not be heavier. Could easily be a wiring error, or the voicing of the pickups or tone control circuit you used. I suggest hooking up your P-bass pickup straight to the output jack. This will tell you if the problem is the voicing of the pickup or something going on in the wiring harness.The tone should brighten a bit, but you will eliminate any high pass filtering that may be happening in the wiring harness.

FYI

If you remove the volume and tone controls, your tone will brighten.

If you want to keep the tone the same, put a 250K resistor across the tip and sleeve terminals, as well as a second 250K resistor in series with a 0.047uF capacitor across the tip and sleeve connections.

Don't forget to connect the bridge ground to the sleeve terminal as well.

 

[fourstringdrums]

If it really sounds like that video you have plenty of bass signal coming through. That bass with flats would thump for days.

I agree. I think that bass sounds great.

 

[fourstringdrums]

You do realize that eventually you need to get a picture, since you've teased us all lol Especially with that roasted maple neck, I'd love to see that.

 

[Wasnex]

For comparison...Aguilar P-bass pickup demo.

 

[sikamikanico]

I suggest hooking up your P-bass pickup straight to the output jack. This will tell you if the problem is the voicing of the pickup or something going on in the wiring harness.The tone should brighten a bit, but you will eliminate any high pass filtering that may be happening in the wiring harness.
FYI

This. While the brightest of all sounds, it should also have all the lows/low mids the P makes. If this is still lacking lows, it's either the components or the assembly. I'm not sure how much the bridge could be at fault, but it's an easy swap for the next test. Check the neck joint again?

Finally, is this your first P? Some find Ps to be relatively light on the low end. Some Ps more than others... You may just need to get used to it and find the right strings for it... Or get some beefy pickups like DiMarzio or G&L

 

[Nedmundo]

It is also worth mentioning that the neck has graphite stiffening rods in it and is quarter-sawn. I don't know if that lends to an instrument being less warm, but I have heard some people suggest that as a possibility.

I have two G&L basses with quartersawn necks and one with flatsawn, and previously owned another G&L with a flatsawn neck. The quartersawn necks are more rigid, and seem to add a touch of focus/definition to the tone, but both basses also have plenty of low end. Heck, I usually cut the bass EQ on my M-2500. I have read that some Strat players avoid quartersawn necks due to perceived excessive brightness, but I wouldn't expect that on a bass, especially wth a rosewood board and alder body like your bass and my G&Ls.

Some asked about the acoustic tone. For this, you could press your ear to the upper horn while playing, and compare it to your other basses. You might notice any acoustic weirdness that way.

 

[40Hz]

1. Definitely sounds like a phase wiring issue. Just reverse the leads of either pickup and see if you get more lows back.

2. 500k pots will give you a somewhat brighter tone than 300k or 250k pots.

 

[EatS1stBassist]

It might be worth a shot. There is a fuzzy middle ground between science and mythology when it comes high-mass and full-contact hardware (which teeters, in part, on how well you trust the word of salesmen and fellow bassists ) so there is no reason not to try swapping out the bridge.

You might find that a $5 Squier bridge opens up a sea of low end.

Gospel

 

[Stumbo]

My suggestion: hook each pickup, one at a time, directly to the jack and test.

 

[EatS1stBassist]

Check the wiring! Also, what does the pup to string distance look like (Fender spec...maybe adjust)?

Next step would be to look at pups. This is an electronic problem.

I agree You can get Great highs and lows from a 2x4 with the right electronics. Sorry Tonewood Specialists

 

[Axstar]

Gospel

As long as OP then doesn't turn around and try and convince every bassist to bin their Babicz bridge in favour of a $5 Squier bridge (and I have no reason to assume OP would do this) then I guess the world is a better place.

And a $5 Squier bridge might possibly make the bass sound worse, of course.

OP's story does go to show that sometimes you can build a bass to a very specific and well-informed spec and wind up with a totally different outcome to what you anticipated and planned.

 

[Engle]

My suggestion: hook each pickup, one at a time, directly to the jack and test.

Good idea. Also confirm the P pickup is wired in series, not parallel.

 

[Axstar]

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.

Unusual to hear a bassist using reverb. It sounds like spring reverb, which you find a lot in guitar amps but not so much in bass amps (if at all! Any historians on here?). If my thinking here is correct, the guy in your video is running his bass through a guitar amp for some reason, and you're going to hear less bass end as a response. He's also using the microphone built into his camera, which might have built in high-pass filtering by default. or just doesn't capture bass very well by design.

I'm not trying to be a pedant, just thinking that the bridge might not be the only guilty party in that video (if guilty at all).