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Double Bass Tension Issue...

Bass.

Bass.

Jan 23, 2006
607
24
San Diego
#1
So I'm having an issue with my bass and while it might be my fingers it seems odd that it happens from time to time. Sometimes I pick it up and it feels amazing. The tension is right the buoyancy of the string is fully controlled but then other times, like today, it feels stiff and unresponsive.
I tried to warm up today and I totally lost my motivation. It didn't sound as good as usual and it was harder to play.

could it be something in my hands? do they just need to warm up for longer?
Maybe the D'addario's cause it? should I use different strings?
they're hybrids that came with the bass and they don't feel as good as a set of thomastik's I played. Is there a consensus?
please help!
I'm going crazy!
 
#2
I really can't explain it, but humidity has to be a factor. On a day when your bass is sounding great, check the humidity. Then, maybe you can try to keep it that way with a humidifier or a dehumidifier - whichever works. This is only a guess, and reflection on what I have heard others say. I heard about a pro jazz player who believed that his bass sounded better when the humidity was high. So, before a gig, he would turn on the shower, get the bathroom steamy and leave his bass in the bathroom for two hours just before he played his gig. You need to get more that what I am saying, but this is what I guess, but really can't back it up with any hard and concrete info, but there are some reasons for your concern, and you and I both will most likely learn what they are.
Good luck!
 
#3
i feel it leans more towards the human factor rather than the tools.
let's see... hands,heart,ears,brain,focus,attitude, and physical strength in readiness,etc. you now have the ingredients for a 10 minute work out.(the bass just has to stand there tuned) when the flag drops and one or more of the ingredients fall short, this when we encounter the resistance, we create our own stiffness,unresponsiveness,and thats when motivation says bye-bye and takes wing right out the window. you know it,i know it,we all know it. my instruments' playability is far beyond my capabilities,so when i run into the same dilema your experiencing i want to tweak something on the bass,when in reality it is myself that needs the tweaking.
i do realize hardware can be an issue,but the truth be told, it is the hands on,more often than not.
when it all clicks..it sure is sweet.;)
and that's what brings us back.

it's the only help i can offer.
 
#4
This sounds very strange. Luthiers have told me that changes in humidity affect the bass over weeks, not days or hours. One of my basses is very sensitive to temperature, and most basses I've played seem much happier at 75°F than 65°. Could that be it? Also, are you always tuned to 440?
 
#6
One of my basses seems to be sensitive to...something. Haven't figured it out and don't know if I'll be able to. Sometimes it gets tighter feeling but I haven't been able to pin down why. One luthier thought the heat from overhead spots might have something to do with it combined with the dark finish. I'm not convinced about that. Wood just seems to be alive and you never know for sure how it's going to behave.
 
#9
Matthew Tucker said:
Changes in humidity can affect things a lot faster than that.
Click to expand...

I think this is what it comes down to when it comes to string height changes. I've been on plenty of gigs where the air was dry before a pressure system bringing rain rolled in, and once the system and humidity arrived, the strings jacked up a lot higher and made the bass feel stiff. It doesn't take a lot to make the player feel the difference.
 
#11
Chris Fitzgerald said:
I think this is what it comes down to when it comes to string height changes. I've been on plenty of gigs where the air was dry before a pressure system bringing rain rolled in, and once the system and humidity arrived, the strings jacked up a lot higher and made the bass feel stiff. It doesn't take a lot to make the player feel the difference.
Click to expand...

Exactly. And wood sounds different if the moisture content changes.

Try this: Take a clean dry sheet of paper and shake it. You get a crisp, bright sound. Place same piece of paper on a damp teatowel for a few minutes and then shake. different sound. Leave it in the air and it will dry out again in a few minutes.

Ok so it's not exactly wood, but it is cellulose, and wood absorbs moisture from the air in the same way.
 
#14
Yes, we've all experience changes in a DB's feel and response w/ humidity changes etc., and I agree w/ Chris about string height changes as well, but don't you think we're ignoring another factor?

What Bass. describes sounds to me a lot like a bass that needs a sound post adjustment. Seasonal and humidity changes (among other things) can easily effect post position & fit. A loose post can make a bass feel horribly stiff and unresponsive. A good fitting post makes all the difference in feel and sound.

I experienced this after flying my German carved shop bass to Miami from NYC in mid-winter Feb. By the day after I arrived the bass swelled up from the quick humidity change. It was almost unplayable and the day of the show I had to make an emergency search and trip to a luthier. The post had gotten loose being too short w/ the bass changing so much. I didn't have my other (longer) post w/ me and fitting a new post properly takes quite a bit of time which I didn't have. We had to go w/ glueing a wood disk on the post to make it fit. This quick fix worked for the show and I got a proper fitting back in NY.

Probably a good idea to have a qualified luthier check the post.

BG
 
#15
Has the tuning changed when you notice a big difference in feel? Also, you should start measuring the string height to see if it is changing measureably. I'll leave it to someone else here to suggest an easy way to do this. Also, you also might want to get ahold of a long straight edge and start measuring your fingerboard relief. I'm fishing here, but if there is something wrong with the neck - too thin fingerboard, bad glue joint, etc. - then slight changes in box dynamics might be causing big changes in your neck geometry.
 
#16
robobass said:
Has the tuning changed when you notice a big difference in feel? Also, you should start measuring the string height to see if it is changing measureably. I'll leave it to someone else here to suggest an easy way to do this. Also, you also might want to get ahold of a long straight edge and start measuring your fingerboard relief. I'm fishing here, but if there is something wrong with the neck - too thin fingerboard, bad glue joint, etc. - then slight changes in box dynamics might be causing big changes in your neck geometry.
Click to expand...

Good points.
Take a business card and hold it down at the end of the board and mark/trace/scribe the G and E string heights. I usually mark the top of the string because its easier. Put the date on the card and then you'll have a benchmark you can refer to when you get some work done or are just wondering why your bass feels hard to play. :)
 
#17
On the humidity thing, my home is at 34% now and I was hoping to get by with that without adding a room humidifier. Picked up the bass and it's feeling tighter than I like so I ran a hot shower for a few minutes, got the humidity up to 40%, brought the bass into the bathroom and the feel loosened up very quickly. Of course, the room was warmer, too and that may be part of the equation.

I started running a steam humidifier, got the livingroom up to 40% and after an hour the bass is still tighter than it was in the bathroom. The temperature is at 68º, down from the warmer bathroom.

So, I wonder if the soundpost comes into play here. Higher humidity and warmer room, the bass expands and the post fits looser and maybe this helps the bass play looser. If I tried a bit shorter post, might that help with the tightness issue in low humidity rooms? Or is something else going on that the post is not a part of?
 
#19
ehochberg, flat or round back? IMO a flat back will respond pretty quickly to the change while a roundback will take a while longer. But this depends on the bracing pattern. Sounds like yours is a flatback from the description of the rapid change in "tightness".

If you want to know if your post is tight try this. Tap your finger on the bass top above the post and below along the f hole, fingerboard end, tailpiece end. tap tap listen to the volume coming from the strings not the bass top, tap tap listen again. If the upper taps result in louder string vibrations, your post is tight.

I don't like the idea of you doing that to your bass, the rapid change in humidity is pretty shocking to the wood joints.
 

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