RESOLVED New Bass Build has no Lows

[Big Dog Johnson]

Another thing we seems take for granted is that resistors and capacitors have the same value in reality as is marked on them.

 

[Axstar]

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

The bass didn't sound like it was setup especially well for this guy's playing style. That stuff he plays at 4:20 is too quacky and choked-sounding. That might rob lows from any bass, but around 7:00 it does sound like there is a lot of lows coming through; an ideal amount for a passive P bass really.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Are you able to fatten it up using your amp EQ? If so, you have to problem. That's why the dials go from 0 to 10. The entire sweep of the knobs were considered when the amp was designed just for this reason.

Yeah, I mentioned a bit above that I can EQ bass into it.

I'm amazed that there are so many bass players out there that will change out the pickups.
Change the preamp.
Change the strings.
Buy tone modifiying pedals.
AND NEVER THINK TO ADJUST THE AMP EQ SETTINGS!

 

[bdplaid]

Pretty traditional setup.

Neck = Quartersawn maple/rosewood (roasted maple). I finished the maple with Tru Oil and the rosewood with lemon oil.
Body = 8lb Alder P-Bass shape with a side jack.
Electronics = passive P/J (aguilar P/ Kloppmann J). Blend knob, Stellartone Bass 10 tone knob, Kill Button, Output.
Hardware = Hipshot Tuners (with D-tuner), Babicz Full Contact Bridge, anodized aluminum pickguard.

That's about everything I can think of.

Pedulla told me once that the bridge is like the lens on a camera: Like changing a lens will change the way light enters the camera, changing the bridge will alter the way a bass sounds because the frequencies that flow from the strings will be different. I'd try a low end, bent-metal bridge on it to see what that sounds like.

I don't care for high-mass bridges like the Babicz because they work to eliminate the effect of the wood, and that's where the thump comes from.

 

[Tim de Martino]

My money is on that 500k pot and its relationship with the tone control and the mixed pickup set.

Just needs a bit of tweaking to find how the setup works together. I would start by installing standard 250k pots and checking phasing and go from there. Prob next introduce that tone control you have to see what happens.

Good luck!

 

[bdplaid]

Body = 8lb Alder P-Bass shape with a side jack.

Keee-rist, that's a heavy body! I have entire basses that are lighter than that. It's possible that that heavy chunk of wood is the culprit, as it's so dense it doesn't vibrate, therefore you just get string vibrations with no interference. Kind of like a Steinberger stick.

Does it have super-long sustain with no dead spots? If so, I'm thinking the issue is that dense body with the stiff quartersawn neck.

 

[DWBass]

Could be a parallel vs. series issue. I experienced that once before. Bass was extremely trebly as my tech was trying something with a new preamp. Very little bass response. I had him switch it. Bass sounded much better.

 

[Fender_Bender]

Firstly, I would unplug the bass and jam the side of the upper horn against my left ear and pluck each open string with the same finger with equal strokes.
Listen to the volume and quality of each string individually. If the E is noticeably lagging behind in either volume or tone quality that could be a real problem that’s hard to fix. A different neck might make a big difference, particularly if flat sawn.
If it sounds okay then it’s likely an electronic issue.

 

[Kukulkan61]

Does it sound thin unplugged?

 

[Kukulkan61]

Check pickup height...

 

[madbass6]

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.

You sure you didn't build a guitar?!!

 

[Kukulkan61]

You sure you didn't build a guitar?!!

 

[jeffbassguy]

may sound silly but if the bass is active, the battery could be dying..if not, im gonna go with pickup wiring issue to the preamp

 

[Watchootognbout]

Keee-rist, that's a heavy body! I have entire basses that are lighter than that. It's possible that that heavy chunk of wood is the culprit, as it's so dense it doesn't vibrate, therefore you just get string vibrations with no interference. Kind of like a Steinberger stick.

Does it have super-long sustain with no dead spots? If so, I'm thinking the issue is that dense body with the stiff quartersawn neck.

Sarcasm?
8 lbs is not heavy!
13-14lbs is.

 

[LT131]

I don't feel that your issue is anything to do with body, neck, bridge, etc. My bet is a wiring or electrical component problem. Whoever suggested you wire a pickup direct is on track.

 

[Savage_Dreams]

I'm amazed that there are so many bass players out there that will change out the pickups.
Change the preamp.
Change the strings.
Buy tone modifiying pedals.
AND NEVER THINK TO ADJUST THE AMP EQ SETTINGS!

why assume they dont think to do it. if you dont want to have to adjust eq on the amp every time you change basses then you look at all the other options so that you either dont have to change any settings or just hit a pedal on or off to get what you want and get what you want instantly. i know for me on stage i dont want to have to touch my amp, ive got other things to do up there. besides, we know how much sound guys like it when you mess with your amp after sound checking

 

[gumtown]

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

1+
I would start here, and take it from there, bypass each component (volume pot, tone stack, kill switch) one by one.

I bet the pickup phasing (wrong pickup wiring polarity on one of the pickups), or the tone control is setup for bass strangle (series cap).

 

[Ric5]

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.

Check the wiring and compare to a schematic online

 

[Reedt2000]

If you soldered alligator clips on the end of an instrument cable you could undo each pickup and bypass all of your controls. If the tone is the same you know it's just the nature of that bass. If they sound good you know you've got to change your controls.

 

[verstft]

Long thread so sorry if it’s been mentioned before. It’s most likely a wiring issue. Different pickups can be wound in different directions. On my p/j builds I usually have to flip the leads on my bridge if it’s out of phase. To top it off you have a fancy tone pot made out of a ton of caps and resistors which multiples your chances of a bad tone pot by 10. 500k pots would make the bass brighter giving the illusion of less bass until you low pass the treble frequency with the tone pot.