Double Bass Soundpost Adjustment and Tone

[beobass]

Recently I've been tweeking my soundpost a bit looking for a better pizz sound. I'm playing a German Ply from the mid 20th C. It's a 5/8ths bass and has Helicore Hybrid mediums. The soundpost is about 1/2"-3/4" behind the treble foot and basically at the edge of the same foot moving out towards the f hole. Its a 3/4" spruce post that I set snug enough to stay up without tension but loose enough to lightly tap and drop. I think I have the tension right. Both ends are fitted well to my eye. Right now the sound has a nice balance between dark and bright on the open strings and in lower positions. but the sound becomes less focused and muddy as I move up the neck. Better with a bow but still not as good as the lower positions. I was working on exercises in the 3rd Position last night and it was pretty muddy. Also the D string is not as focused as any of the other strings. The G is very bright while the E and A are balanced. Volume is pretty balanced across all the strings. Can anyone make suggestions as to what I can do to even out the tone? I am planning to switch back to Zyex strings and use light tension. This might exacerbate the situation but those strings just play so much better for me. I considered going back to using a hardwood post (I actually have a walnut dowel I cut down to experiment with. The bass sounded darker yet bright... it was kind of cool. Arco was not great though) and maybe just getting pizz strings. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

[dbotkin]

I have two '50 Kays, both like 5/8 sound posts much better than 3/4. Both are dense spruce-they ring good when dropped on tile floor-walnut sounds worth a try. After spending several dollars, I found both do best with Spiracore lights for pizz. Both posts are about the same position as yours-one is 1/2 post diameter farther south than tthe other bass. makes it a bit darker. A bass is like a race car-there is no end to tweaking and tuning.

 

[beobass]

Thanks! I may make a fresh walnut post and make it just a tad looser than previously. Ill use the same position. Trick is the Arco tone gets better everytime I play. Dark and Rich. Very unusual for a ply bass. I wouldn't want to lose that. I must have found the Arco sweet spot. Maybe a stiffer post will improve the pizz without too much sacrifice in the arco.