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Strings or Bass?

S

sodiscomusic

Mar 23, 2011
9
0
Corinth, MS
www.reverbnation.com
#1
I recently bought an Ibanez SR506 which I love. It has great tone on high and low end. I hook it to an Ampeg SVT400T bridged through an Acoustic B410. It came strung with Elixir strings which are still like new. After making amp and bass EQ adjustments, I found the sound I am trying to get.

My only problem is the tone of my center strings.
My low B and high C have a crisp bright clarity even with a flat EQ. I have noticed that they sit lower than the center strings, but follow the neck curvature. I have tuned the 4 center strings to where they need to be, but they just aren't as bright as the high and low. They almost sound muffled. Even though the center strings are in tune, they sound a little flat and have a barely noticeable waviness to them.

Does anyone know what is causing this? Bridge height, neck relief or intonation maybe? There is absolutely no string or fretbuzz and the playability is comfortable. The tone just isn't even across all strings.:bassist:


YouTube - Last Goodbye(vid).wmv
 
#3
I actually installed Elixir Nanos on a few of my other basses after my great experience with them on the SR500 I got a while back.

They are super powerful, silent and have mucho punch and sustain.

They may develop kitty fur, but that's part of their appeal. People ask me what it is and I tell them it's shedding.

Really - the Elixirs are about as fine of a string set as I can find other than the Fender 7250NPSs from Indonesia - which are prolly the only real 7250s that you can get under the fender logo any more.
 
#4
Replace the strings, then check it out. If the sound is still goofy, it is probably the pickups. At that point, take it to a tech guy and have him just play it for a few minutes - they usually will not charge you to figure out what the heck is going on. Or find another experienced bass player and ask for a little help. Should be a simple fix. Relax dude! It will be alright :bassist:
 
#5
The high and low strings have great sustain...almost sounds like a piano tone with the texture from a bass. Can't complain. It's just the rest of the strings sound dull and flat and not at all bright. But even with that, there is no string buzz. Got the bass new a week ago and can't put it down, the strings have always had that tone, out of the box. Why I was wondering about the setup maybe being off. Didn't want to make adjustments if not needed.
 
#6
It's not intonation.

Do you know for sure the battery is good/new? That shouldn't pick on just a couple of strings - but it's a good place to start when all else appears normal.

I seriously doubt that the neck or fret clearances either.

MIGHT be a few dead strings - but unless it's a used bass it shouldn't be more than just one string that's acting badly - not yet anyway. I get a year plus out of my Elixirs - in fact I'd keep them on until they totally fall apart - which hasn't happened yet.

It's usually best to follow the radius of the neck all the way down to the bridge height adjustments like you stated, so that sounds about right too.

But - < gritting my teeth here > I bet it's strings this time as I cannot really imagine much else that can cause a just few strings to not sing.

How long was it hanging on the store's hook before you bought it? That might be a tell-all.
 
#7
Factory battery...haven't checked it yet. Got it new shipped UPS from Zzounds on Monday so I don't know how long they had it. Guess I'll start with the strings though. Even though it's in tune, It sounds flat, like it just can't quite get there. The A, D and G strings are the ones whose tone sound muffled, flat and almost wavy sounding like they're out of tune with themselves when played alone.

:confused::confused:
 
#9
Hmmm elixers don't come stocked on the sr500 series. Don't panic but that bass may have been returned to zz sounds because of a problem. Try cleartone strings they last longer, don't have dandruff problems and feel like an uncoated string! Like stated change strings check batt. Bartolini's r a good pickup u shouldn't have that problem at all ibanez may have missed the alinement of the bridge and the strings are not over the pole pieces? Or height of pickups needs to be adjusted?
Good luck
Zz sounds probably has a return policy but you may have to pay to ship it back..... If not ibanez has a rocking warranty service!
 
#10
wiggles64 said:
Hmmm elixers don't come stocked on the sr500 series. Don't panic but that bass may have been returned to zz sounds because of a problem. Try cleartone strings they last longer, don't have dandruff problems and feel like an uncoated string! Like stated change strings check batt. Bartolini's r a good pickup u shouldn't have that problem at all ibanez may have missed the alinement of the bridge and the strings are not over the pole pieces? Or height of pickups needs to be adjusted?
Good luck
Zz sounds probably has a return policy but you may have to pay to ship it back..... If not ibanez has a rocking warranty service!
Click to expand...

Elixirs were stock on my new SR500, and other sites I have read quote Elixirs as stock. I never had that kind of imbalance between the middle two and outer two, however it took me a long time experimenting with string to pickup clearances before I found the best overall balance, both bottom to top and between pickups.
 

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