Thanks. Nothing seems obviously wrong to me, but I'm even less of an electrical engineer than you, I'm sure! Here's a gut shot.
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Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out
- Thread starter Korladis
- Start date
I’ll check it against mine but I doubt anything will stand out to me. Looks clean. You can join the God City diy pedals facebook group and ask around, or go straight to the top and @ Nick in the Dunwich thread. He would know best.
Heya folks! I have precious little bass news. I ended up actually catching covid, but I'm thinking I'm all better now. I feel better, if nothing else. No practice over the last few weeks makes me sad (especially since people are asking to do shows with us already (we don't even have a name yet!)), but I was using the Thunderchicken at the last few and was really liking how it sounded in that context. It's been slow going, but hopefully we'll have at least a short set hammered out soon.
My only new gear news is that I've decided I needed too much vocoder in my life and to go full 70s pervert and get a Behringer VC-340 clone of a Roland VP 330 with some GC gift cards I was awarded at work. I got an ok deal for used GC gear, I think because the listing was for a "vovoder" instead of a vocoder. It's just one key over, and spell check is going to trigger on both. I think it saved me around $75-100 vs the cheapest used one on Reverb.
And what made me decide to do it was listening to this. Especially the vocals at about 8:40 in. Yeah, I'll probably have to cram the results through a phaser, but that's what I wants my space rock vocals to sound like.
My only new gear news is that I've decided I needed too much vocoder in my life and to go full 70s pervert and get a Behringer VC-340 clone of a Roland VP 330 with some GC gift cards I was awarded at work. I got an ok deal for used GC gear, I think because the listing was for a "vovoder" instead of a vocoder. It's just one key over, and spell check is going to trigger on both. I think it saved me around $75-100 vs the cheapest used one on Reverb.
And what made me decide to do it was listening to this. Especially the vocals at about 8:40 in. Yeah, I'll probably have to cram the results through a phaser, but that's what I wants my space rock vocals to sound like.
Apparently the guitar tech close to me used to work on Aerosmith's gear? Anyway, he seemed amazed that I had my bass setup the way it was. I knew that the wiring was an absolute mess, which he confirmed, but he also seemed shocked that my bass didn't have crazy fret buzz or anything with how low I have it set up. And in attempting to change the pickup height after getting my bass back, something came loose and now it's buzzing again... Which is my fault, but still, it sucks. Probably gonna go see him again tomorrow and see what he can do setup-wise.
Anyway, anybody ever have a pro set up their bass? Was it worth it? I have set my own up for years, and never had any issues, but I know that I also have weird bass issues in general. I like low action, and I know my pickups were far from the strings (which I was trying to remedy when it broke!). Apparently my strings were way too low as well, and according to him, Aerosmith's bass player would have not played that bass how it was. I like it, but am open to seeing what he can do, as he assured me it will play easier after he sets it up. So do I take that gamble? I think I'm going to at least see what he can do with the pickups, as they simply won't get higher, and I know I'll have to remove them to add springs etc. for adjustment. And I KNOW I shouldn't be wiring anything at this point.
Thanks for reading my long rants lately. Been a weirdly trying week for no apparent reason. I just want to play my bass, and random things keep preventing it. Hopefully that's over soon.
Anyway, anybody ever have a pro set up their bass? Was it worth it? I have set my own up for years, and never had any issues, but I know that I also have weird bass issues in general. I like low action, and I know my pickups were far from the strings (which I was trying to remedy when it broke!). Apparently my strings were way too low as well, and according to him, Aerosmith's bass player would have not played that bass how it was. I like it, but am open to seeing what he can do, as he assured me it will play easier after he sets it up. So do I take that gamble? I think I'm going to at least see what he can do with the pickups, as they simply won't get higher, and I know I'll have to remove them to add springs etc. for adjustment. And I KNOW I shouldn't be wiring anything at this point.
Thanks for reading my long rants lately. Been a weirdly trying week for no apparent reason. I just want to play my bass, and random things keep preventing it. Hopefully that's over soon.
Any thoughts on strings? I've decided to get my bass "professionally" setup tomorrow, and I literally haven't bought strings in a decade... And this includes everything - fret polishing, pickup height, truss rod, etc. I'll be interested to see the difference in playability.
I've been using flats, so they still sound great, but I'm thinking I may change it up. It's kind of a last minute thing, so it's gotta be something readily available at Guitar Center come tomorrow morning. Which is probably good so I don't over-analyze. So what's a good string with a solid fundamental in a 5 string set? I like them stiff if possible, but I'm also really enjoying playing my basses that wear rounds lately. I also checked - my current set of Chromes is available at my local Guitar Center, too, so that's an option. Thanks, all!
I've been using flats, so they still sound great, but I'm thinking I may change it up. It's kind of a last minute thing, so it's gotta be something readily available at Guitar Center come tomorrow morning. Which is probably good so I don't over-analyze. So what's a good string with a solid fundamental in a 5 string set? I like them stiff if possible, but I'm also really enjoying playing my basses that wear rounds lately. I also checked - my current set of Chromes is available at my local Guitar Center, too, so that's an option. Thanks, all!
My only input on strings is that I like whatever D'Addario strings of whatever type - they seem to work fine for me. Though, I used GHS boomers for years, and I still break bass strings occasionally. Plus, I generally never change them unless I break one. Maybe not the best guy to ask about that.
Like yourself, I usually do most of my setups myself, but I've paid to have it done a couple of times. Both times it was at Lamb's music in Fort Worth. They're gone now, but they'd work with you if you weren't happy with the setup. On my Epiphone EB-3, I wasn't happy with the fret height in the middle of the neck, because with my caveman style I'd still get enough fret buzz there to bug me, even if they got none of it. They went after it with a plane and fret files until I was happy, all for the normal setup fee. Damn, I miss that place.
I was thinking of D'Addario's since I love my Chromes. I used to do Slinkys, but it's been probably 10-15 years since I've bought them... I vaguely remember thinking they were almost too bright with no bass, and then just died quickly? It's been a while. But I DO love my Chromes, so I figured I'd give D'Addario rounds a shot too. I'd be getting the 45-130 set, which is closest size-wise to my Chromes. I figure that if I've never had a professional setup done in over 20 years of playing bass, I should give it a go. Can't hurt, and this guy's prices are fantastic since it's just something he does in his free time. Which is substantial as far as I can tell. I think he's retired?
Hehehee, my love for D'Addario strings started when I was serving a stint as a guitarist. Their nickel wound rounds simply didn't break as often as other strings did, and even though they weren't super bright when new, they didn't seem to die much, either. Pretty much the perfect guitar strings. I was almost assured to break a string in a set before I switched to them, afterward it was about one every 10 shows. Add in the fact that a replacement string needed just a few bends on the string after tuning to make it work hardened and stable enough to depend on, and the new string usually wasn't so bright it stood out against its older siblings, and I was sold.
When I got a chance to move back to bass and ran out of my backstock of boomers through breaking strings, I started trying out D'Addario bass strings, too. Even their rounds seem to stabilize faster than the other brands I've tried (but that's been a narrow sample). If I have one complaint, it's that their rounds are a bit harsher than the average string on the fingertips and callouses when new. A bunch of slides will tear my fingertips up on a new set. If you're the type who wants to change strings often and keep them bright, you might want to try to find a brand that uses a wrap wire that's a little less sharp.
I've been a fan of flats for about a decade... and that's what this bass has worn the whole time. So I definitely don't want or need the brightest string around. I seem to like "bright flats" or "warm rounds" as far as I can tell. If I find the Cobalt Flats, those will likely be my choice. Flats, but with some bite.
I was a D'Addario fanboy until I picked up DR high beams. I dunno how good their flats are, but high beams are my be all end all string. High Beams are the polar opposite of flats - the zingiest round that ever rounded.
Yeah, no thanks on that one. But thanks for narrowing the search! Note to self: avoid High Beams!
I’ll rock the hibeams if I can’t get ahold of the fodera strings.
I used to get labellas as well; I enjoyed their flats also.
I've always done my own setup. Need to do some cleaning and would definitely benefit from someone who knows what they're doing taking a crack at it as far as polishing and fret board care goes. But when it comes to my string/neck setup I'm actually pretty proud of it. I cut a metal meter stick in half and made little divots where the frets would go so I had a straight edge to compare my neck with. And then I spent probably an hour or so dialing in the strings, getting them as low as possible without buzz. Whenever I put the BEAD strings on my doom axe I was able to file the nut for the new huge strings.
I have the tools (which really is like two different sized allen wrenches a small file and the straight edge that I did have to do a little crafting for) so why not just save the money and do it myself. I know a lot of people get sketched out when they work with truss rods but as long as you don't go hog wild and do something dumb it's kind of hard to mess up IMO. It seems to me like the fretwork is really where you get your money's worth with a pro because of the patience and due-diligence it requires.
On a slightly related note if y'all ever want some cringe induced laughter go to r/bass on reddit and you'll find too many posts with some title like "How's my setup" and it'll be a picture of each string sitting like an inch off of the fret board
Who’s playing the bass, Aerosmith dude or you? I’d probably get annoyed with a tech talking like that tbh. Name dropping gets old super fast. Are you in bostonish area? I am and know some solid places that I adore.
One dude does the work for converge, and by all nonlameoldmanlogic converge > aerosmith
One dude does the work for converge, and by all nonlameoldmanlogic converge > aerosmith
Always seemed to me like flats and dirt don't mix. Or flats and any kind of heavy music for that matter. I know the modern metal tone is stainless strings and as much clank as you can get, which is gonna be too bright for doom, but flats are so far on the other end of the spectrum that a fuzz pedal wouldn't know what to do with itself. Then again, I always max out the tone knobs on by basses and (usually) pedals. Maybe I'm missing out.
Meh. Who gives a sh*t how someone else likes their setup? If you enjoy the way it plays/sounds/feels, that’s what matters. The reality is that even using pro setups as a benchmark is not going to yield consistent results. Some people like their strings way off the board so they can dig in hard and get zero noise. Some people like it so they breathe on their strings and they vibrate. Then there's everything in between. Do what works for you and gets the desired playability/results. If you're struggling with relief/action/nut slots/pickup height then maybe its worth taking to a tech to have them help you get everything to a point you like. My suggestion if you go that route is talk to them about it and take measurements for relief, saddle heights, pickup height, etc. That way you can use that as a frame of reference the next time you do a setup yourself...
I have Labella's flats on my P. Excellent strings. I've found that dirty petals like them better than the other flats I've used.
Happy to help. Lol. Yeah, with my Gibbo having only a bigazz neck pup, the last thing I need is less zing. For flats tho I could never top Chromes. So sticking to the tried and true is my 2 cents.
I like flats on P basses and Jazzes. Wasn't a big fan of LaBellas personally. A bit too dead. Which is why I like Chromes on those basses. If I still had a jazz or p I'd still play chromes as the Hi Beams would be waaaay too zingy for me.
Bass is back in action, and I'm loving it so far. I also realized that I love the thump of flats, but I do have an active bass... so I just dialed in a bit more bass on the knob and I get plenty of lows. We'll see if it's the honeymoon or whatever, but I'm happy thus far. I've mostly traded some "thickness" in the mids for clarity, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. As I've been jamming to various songs lately, the clarity of rounds has helped me to stick out a little more, not that the flats didn't work either, just different. Flats were probably better for slower and doomier stuff, and I've been playing old Maiden and Metallica, so not the best application there. And if I want flats, I still have my old Ibanez P/J strung with them, so no worries.
Also, setup concerns aside, the new electronics he also installed are infinitely better sounding. No hiss, no buzz, full bass without mud, and a nice clear top end. For just a pre-amp upgrade, it was great! My Bartolini harness is just what I wanted - a solid upgrade that can work in any genre.
I've done my own for years as well. He seemed surprised that I had no fret buzz with as low as I had the strings, but they were definitely tight to avoid too much extra movement. One of the main reasons I had him do the work was exactly what you mention - fretboard stuff. I've never messed with the frets themselves, and they were looking slightly worn. He was also raising pickups etc. for me, because by my own admission, they were incredibly low and would not raise anymore. The foam was too compressed, and he'd install springs. Couple that with the fact that I'd have to remove and solder them back in and my history with soldering, I figured it was best for him to do that. No way I'd be able to get those pickup screws in that tightly while fighting springs. I still plan on doing my own tweaks etc. a vast majority of the time, but I think I may end up taking my gear to him whenever I do any big changes. I may take a second bass there soon, as I bought it a few years ago and gave it a quick setup, but that's it. I haven't changed the strings or anything, as seeing as I now have a bass with new rounds and another with at least 2 year old rounds (probably more!), I definitely like the new ones better.
It also helps greatly that his prices are about half of what most techs in the area charge. I think he's retired and just doe it for fun, but I'm happy to pay the price. He's also literally about 5 minutes away from me, so it's ridiculously convenient.
Nah, I'm in the St. Louis region. Anyway, he didn't have an attitude about it, just that he did it. And I told him that I like my action low and I get no buzz - I made sure he KNEW that I like LOW ACTION. He also saw that I got no buzz with my action, but the strings WERE tight (which I readily admit to, and like with flats). When he worked on it, everything - including pickups - was raised a bit from my starting point (he made them "lower than usual" he said), but I think it worked well. I knew that rounds would need to be higher because they are not as stiff as flats, and I find what he did to be pretty solid work so far. I'm happy, at least. To his credit, he said it would play better afterwards, and it has. Whether that's due to the reduced tension of rounds vs. flats allowing me to press more lightly or from his setup I can't tell, but I was able to successfully and more consistently nail some fills I've been working on lately that I was having trouble with on the exact same bass yesterday. So something changed, at least. It's not a scientific test, but it seems to have worked.
You, my friend, ARE missing out. I LOVED dirt with my flats. True, it does take some tweaking, and some pedals don't quite work, but when you find the ones that do, it's glorious. It also helps to get relatively bright flats. Chromes are often the starting point, but I've heard Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats are even brighter. If they had those at the store this morning, I would have picked them up as a nice middle ground between my Chromes and rounds.
Also, setup concerns aside, the new electronics he also installed are infinitely better sounding. No hiss, no buzz, full bass without mud, and a nice clear top end. For just a pre-amp upgrade, it was great! My Bartolini harness is just what I wanted - a solid upgrade that can work in any genre.
I've always done my own setup. Need to do some cleaning and would definitely benefit from someone who knows what they're doing taking a crack at it as far as polishing and fret board care goes. But when it comes to my string/neck setup I'm actually pretty proud of it. I cut a metal meter stick in half and made little divots where the frets would go so I had a straight edge to compare my neck with. And then I spent probably an hour or so dialing in the strings, getting them as low as possible without buzz. Whenever I put the BEAD strings on my doom axe I was able to file the nut for the new huge strings.
I have the tools (which really is like two different sized allen wrenches a small file and the straight edge that I did have to do a little crafting for) so why not just save the money and do it myself. I know a lot of people get sketched out when they work with truss rods but as long as you don't go hog wild and do something dumb it's kind of hard to mess up IMO. It seems to me like the fretwork is really where you get your money's worth with a pro because of the patience and due-diligence it requires.
On a slightly related note if y'all ever want some cringe induced laughter go to r/bass on reddit and you'll find too many posts with some title like "How's my setup" and it'll be a picture of each string sitting like an inch off of the fret board
I've done my own for years as well. He seemed surprised that I had no fret buzz with as low as I had the strings, but they were definitely tight to avoid too much extra movement. One of the main reasons I had him do the work was exactly what you mention - fretboard stuff. I've never messed with the frets themselves, and they were looking slightly worn. He was also raising pickups etc. for me, because by my own admission, they were incredibly low and would not raise anymore. The foam was too compressed, and he'd install springs. Couple that with the fact that I'd have to remove and solder them back in and my history with soldering, I figured it was best for him to do that. No way I'd be able to get those pickup screws in that tightly while fighting springs. I still plan on doing my own tweaks etc. a vast majority of the time, but I think I may end up taking my gear to him whenever I do any big changes. I may take a second bass there soon, as I bought it a few years ago and gave it a quick setup, but that's it. I haven't changed the strings or anything, as seeing as I now have a bass with new rounds and another with at least 2 year old rounds (probably more!), I definitely like the new ones better.
It also helps greatly that his prices are about half of what most techs in the area charge. I think he's retired and just doe it for fun, but I'm happy to pay the price. He's also literally about 5 minutes away from me, so it's ridiculously convenient.
Nah, I'm in the St. Louis region. Anyway, he didn't have an attitude about it, just that he did it. And I told him that I like my action low and I get no buzz - I made sure he KNEW that I like LOW ACTION. He also saw that I got no buzz with my action, but the strings WERE tight (which I readily admit to, and like with flats). When he worked on it, everything - including pickups - was raised a bit from my starting point (he made them "lower than usual" he said), but I think it worked well. I knew that rounds would need to be higher because they are not as stiff as flats, and I find what he did to be pretty solid work so far. I'm happy, at least. To his credit, he said it would play better afterwards, and it has. Whether that's due to the reduced tension of rounds vs. flats allowing me to press more lightly or from his setup I can't tell, but I was able to successfully and more consistently nail some fills I've been working on lately that I was having trouble with on the exact same bass yesterday. So something changed, at least. It's not a scientific test, but it seems to have worked.
You, my friend, ARE missing out. I LOVED dirt with my flats. True, it does take some tweaking, and some pedals don't quite work, but when you find the ones that do, it's glorious. It also helps to get relatively bright flats. Chromes are often the starting point, but I've heard Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats are even brighter. If they had those at the store this morning, I would have picked them up as a nice middle ground between my Chromes and rounds.
