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thin sounding D and G string

Aenema

Aenema

Apr 18, 2001
573
3
44
Michigan
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#1
on most 4x10 cabs i find that my peavey cirrus has a very thin G and D string. if i try to groove or play a higher octave on the D or G string it always gets lost in the mix cause its so thin sounding. there was just no warmth on these strings with my goliath III. ive tried some other 4x10's and the D and G were still just as thin. i tried a 1x12 and they had much more body and warmth. is that just the way 10s are? maybe the way the cabs are ported caused the higher octaves to thin out?
 
#5
I have the same problem. I have adjusted my pickups and even tried a heavier gauge D and G strings which helped some. Next step is to try Tash's rec on the compression. What is your p-up config? Mine is P&J, this seems to be a semi common occurence with that config.
 
#7
Raise your pickups and try a different set of string, brand and guage. Also SWR's are avery scooped cabs so the mid freq which is what cuts through the mix is not there and you really have to push volume wise to get the cab to push into the mix. Try a different cab with a little flatter or more aggresive attack. This will also help out with cutting through the band.

Different string brands can make a world of difference as well as a little heavier guage on the D&G. Check out the SIT strings!
 
#8
I agree that you should try some warmer strings. On a bright bass with bright strings the body of the sound on thinner strings can be very trebly. Try some nickles, 1/2 wound or flat wounds.
 
#9
HMZ said:
I think its more your bass not the cabs.
Click to expand...

This is a real possibility. I also have a Goliath III, and I had the identical problem with my Ibanez SRX 500 bass (active). It was bad through the cab, but even worse when recording direct, so that might be a good test for whether it's the bass or the cab. Another test, in addition to raising the treble side of the pickups as others suggested, is to place your ear directly on the upper horn, play for a while, and see if the D and G sound thin compared to the other strings. If so, you may have gotten a bum piece (or pieces) of wood.

I think that was the case with my Ibanez, which failed the latter test. I couldn't correct it with the EQ on my GK 700RB, so I just dumped the bass and bought a nice J. Problem solved!

The problem was less pronounced when I played through a combo with a 15" speaker, but it was still there.
 
#11
My situation a bit different but here goes. I found that the upper strings were a bit thin sounding on my Godin BG-5. It's a "modern" sounding bass with Seymour Duncan basslines and preamp and it actually reminds me a lot of the Cirrus.

I was playing a Peavey solid state Deltabass head thru a Peavey 115 BX BW cabinet. Definitely not the cabinet's fault. The Peavey Deltabass is quite hi-fi and clean-sounding for a low-powered amp.

Going from Low-Med to medium gauges helped a bit but by far the biggest difference came when I changed over to an Ampeg SVT3 Pro head with 5 tube preamp.

All of a sudden I noticed a sheen and warmth and weight to the upper strings that did not exist with the solid state amp.

I didn't notice if you mentioned which head you are using. Nedmundo also reports the same effect and I noticed he's using a GK (solid state).

Have you tried a tube front end of some sort?
 

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