Double Bass Too much bottom..

[Gregmak]

Hello,

I recently acquired an old German carved bass. This thing has TOO MUCH bottom! I'm not complaining.. but I'm starting to notice now that the D & G strings sound weak compared to the E & A. Especially above 4th position, the D & G sound very nasal with hardly any "bass". Sounds like a lot of midrange.

The E & A are just killing. Like way too much. It sounds really uneven.

I have all regular spiros on. I'm wondering if this could be a sound post issue? Or should I try put thicker strings like Oliv D & G?

Any help appreciated.
Thank you,

Greg

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

How are the string heights on this bass, G-E?

 

[Gregmak]

How are the string heights on this bass, G-E?

Hey Chris,

G 8cm
D 9cm
A 9cm
E 8cm

I should also mention that all the open strings sound equal and have a lot of power. It's when I press on the fingerboard past 2nd position that the D&G strings start becoming weak.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

8cm is 80mm so we should assume your string heights are in mm.?.?

Typically, string heights will increase by approximately 1mm from the G.

What does your local luthier think?

 

[Gregmak]

8cm is 80mm so we should assume your string heights are in mm.?.?

Typically, string heights will increase by approximately 1mm from the G.

What does your local luthier think?

My apologies, I meant mm yes.

I bought it from my local luthier who at the time thought it sounded great (and so did I). I'm taking it back next weekend to try moving the soundpost. I noticed the imbalance when I played a local gig, and I guess now I'm fixated on it so I can "hear" it more than usual.

My gut feeling is that the strings should be raised higher, and get thicker & darker strings like guts or wrapped guts. I forgot to mention it's a fairly large bass with a string length of 42.5"

 

[1st Bass]

Is the bridge centered on the body? (Strings equidistant from the sides of the fingerboard?)

 

[Gregmak]

Is the bridge centered on the body? (Strings equidistant from the sides of the fingerboard?)

The bridge is actually not perfectly centered. It’s closer to the G-side f-hole, slightly. Could that play such a huge role?

 

[Earl]

The bridge is actually not perfectly centered. It’s closer to the G-side f-hole, slightly. Could that play such a huge role?

Yes!

 

[Gregmak]

Yes!

Thanks! I had no idea. I'll adjust it tonight and report back.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Is the bridge centered on the body? (Strings equidistant from the sides of the fingerboard?)

Chet, as you know, the bridge can be centered without the strings being centered on the fingerboard, and vice versa.

I would measure the distance between the bridge feet and respective f holes to check that. Then, if the bridge is adjustable, check to see if each side has approximately the same amount of adjuster threads exposed. Then, do the strings align properly on the fingerboard with just a hair less board showing on the E side to account for the difference in string diameters. Any of this can vary by a few mm without much effect and older basses which have had more repairs may require a bit of compromise, but this is the ideal.

Any competent luthier will fit and cut a bridge this way. Any variance MAY indicate problems with top sinkage. MAY.

Those string heights don’t seem at all normal to me, although that may feel right to you.

 

[Gregmak]

Chet, as you know, the bridge can be centered without the strings being centered on the fingerboard, and vice versa.

I would measure the distance between the bridge feet and respective f holes to check that. Then, if the bridge is adjustable, check to see if each side has approximately the same amount of adjuster threads exposed. Then, do the strings align properly on the fingerboard with just a hair less board showing on the E side to account for the difference in string diameters. Any of this can vary by a few mm without much effect and older basses which have had more repairs may require a bit of compromise, but this is the ideal.

Any competent luthier will fit and cut a bridge this way. Any variance MAY indicate problems with top sinkage. MAY.

Those string heights don’t seem at all normal to me, although that may feel right to you.

Thanks so much for this. So, the bridge actually does not sit well. The foot on the E string is not making full contact. The bass came like this. Maybe I should get a new bridge made. This bass also had a top crack (repaired) that runs just next to the foot of the bridge (E-string). I'm guessing that that's the reason the bridge is shifted more towards the G-string side? Maybe for protection?

The strings on the board actually align perfectly, but the bridge does not if I measure the distance from the feet to the f-holes on each side.

Either way, I'm taking it to my luthier on the weekend to see.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

In my experience as a player, the centering of the bass foot over the bass bar has a huge impact on bass response and balance.

 

[1st Bass]

My only thought was to wonder whether the bridge had been bumped slightly “west,” thus misaligning the height of the strings over the fingerboard (and the position of the bass-side foot over the bass bar, etc.)
But the fact that the strings are perfectly centered on the fingerboard while the other items are not ideal, suggests to me that your appointment with the bass luthier is definitely in order. (Sumpin’s wrong, here!)

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

New bridge and adjust the soundpost accordingly.

 

[Gregmak]

I wanted to give an update on the situation:

We installed Oliv D&G, moved the soundpost, and fixed the bridge. I cannot believe the difference. The sound has opened up completely, and it's nicely balanced now. The Oliv's sound incredible on this bass as well. I think this bass prefers lower tension strings.

Thanks everyone for your help, and you were absolutely right about the bridge+soundpost. I'm a happy man again!