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Double Bass Trebbly sound.

K

Kitschead

Sep 14, 2008
114
0
Sydney, Australia
#1
Sorry if this is in the wrong section. I'm taking my bass in for a set up soon. It's new so they just want to see if everything is playing in properly etc. I'm really after getting more top end out of the instrument. Is there any particular thing which can make sound brighter and have better clarity?
 
#2
Kitschead said:
Sorry if this is in the wrong section. I'm taking my bass in for a set up soon. It's new so they just want to see if everything is playing in properly etc. I'm really after getting more top end out of the instrument. Is there any particular thing which can make sound brighter and have better clarity?
Click to expand...

Strings pickup and EQ as well as how you play will affect your tone. Without knowing what your current setup is and what sound you are going for, makes it hard to help pin point he issue. What/who are examples of what sound you are looking for?

:hiding:
 
#6
I don't know why the replies here mention pickups, etc. I took your post to mean that you would like to tweak the ACOUSTIC sound of your instrument. Assuming that I am correct, a combination of a sound-post adjustment and judicious choice of strings would likely move you in the desired direction. Make sure you take your bass to a knowledgeable and reputable luthier. Keep in mind that, even after sound-post adjustments, your bass will still sound like your bass. Unless the sound-post is currently in some strange place (not likely), moving the post will not result in drastic differences. That is, sound-post adjustments cannot be expected to yield an instrument of essentially different character.

What kind of bass are you playing? What strings are you currently using? What is your style of play?
 
#7
Mr. Drurbman is correct as usual.
In my experience, most new basses are already are somewhat bright, lacking in low end. Yours may be an exception. How many basses have you played and how long have you been playing?
I believe most advanced bassists value instruments with a smooth, warm sound with a full low end.

That said, if you want more clarity, a soundpost adjustment and/or brighter strings
would be my suggestion. Spirocores would be good strings to try.

Pickup with clarity? Underwood, although I don't like it at all.
 
#9
Thanks for the input. It is a new bass. It has been professionally set up by a reputable luthier because the factory setup was no good (I never played on the factory set up but i am told this.) I have been playing double for pushing 3 years now. This is my first bass and it is a solid not a ply bass.
 
#12
Kitschead said:
Thanks for the input. It is a new bass. It has been professionally set up by a reputable luthier because the factory setup was no good (I never played on the factory set up but i am told this.) I have been playing double for pushing 3 years now. This is my first bass and it is a solid not a ply bass.
Click to expand...

So has it, or has it not, had a proper setup? your first post says you are going to take it for a setup, and your last post says it HAS been properly set up. Confusion reigns!

From the factory, cheaper basses are just not "setup". "Setup" means making it playable for YOU and probably replacing the crap strings that will come on a factory bass with something better.

So if it HASN'T been setup yet, then your visit to a good luthier will probably make a difference.

If it HAS been properly setup already, then either the bass is just a dark bass, or your luthier hasn't done enough on it yet, or you haven't paid enough for the setup, or any of a hundred other things. Or you might even need to adjust your expectations.

Noob, you're not giving much away, so its really difficult for anyone to help you with useful information. What bass did you get? How much did you pay? Where are you? What strings are on it? (show us a photo) What did you play before you had this one? yada yada yada
 
#16
Matthew Tucker said:
So has it, or has it not, had a proper setup? your first post says you are going to take it for a setup, and your last post says it HAS been properly set up. Confusion reigns!
From the factory, cheaper basses are just not "setup". "Setup" means making it playable for YOU and probably replacing the crap strings that will come on a factory bass with something better.
So if it HASN'T been setup yet, then your visit to a good luthier will probably make a difference.
If it HAS been properly setup already, then either the bass is just a dark bass, or your luthier hasn't done enough on it yet, or you haven't paid enough for the setup, or any of a hundred other things. Or you might even need to adjust your expectations.
Noob, you're not giving much away, so its really difficult for anyone to help you with useful information. What bass did you get? How much did you pay? Where are you? What strings are on it? (show us a photo) What did you play before you had this one? yada yada yada
Click to expand...


Man. What's with this? No offense to the OP, BUT, people come in here with hardly any information. No Profile, no hint at where in the world they might be, age, wants, needs, bow, pizz, genre....WHATEVER.
The help around here is available from most of us, as you can see, above. An EASY TB search can answer the same questions over and over again.
It seems like we end up begging people to let us help them when they haven't a clue as to what they are really asking for.
It's all about generalization to a ridiculous degree.

I'm finding this whole shtick a bit silly.
 
#18
No mystery: they are looking for a quick, anonymous hit. They don't see this place, TalkBass, as a kind of player's club they can belong to for the long-term, reaping huge informational benefits along the way; at least they don't see it that way at first.

My 13-year old son -- a budding guitar player (for now) -- feels really shy when I have him in the pro music store, or when he's hanging around me and my gnarly old musician pals. Quite naturally, he doesn't want to be seen as a green noob totally wet behind the ears, even though it's completely obvious that's what he is... He'll do things to deflect that perception, or to prevent himself from being seen at all. It's pretty normal, I think, especially among young men.

That shyness, the desire for anonymity, stems more from a shame of being green, I think, than anything else. It's a crying shame new players feel that way, but I believe a great many do. It's debilitating, for sure...
 
#19
I've been on a push lately to encourage all of my friends to play instruments. Not because it's a dream of mine to make a band out of completely random sounds, but because it can be fun and rewarding if approached as something fun and enjoyable.

I know when I was starting out, I found out tons of info on basses and playing, and when I brought some of up with my teacher he'd usually be dismissive. Not in a rude way, but in a "eh, what really matters is the bass you have in front of you" way.

I admit that I was skeptical and apprehensive about taking my instrument to dudes to have them fix it up. Like "what could they possibly do?" and so on. Ultimately every person I've met in the bass world has been really cool, and each time they teach me something new about the instrument, whether it's best practices for keeping the tuning gears smooth or types of hair on a bow.

But like Damon says, even as an adult learner I was pretty scared to actually play anything in front of people. It wasn't until I felt at least a little competent that I even actually played in front of my wife, and it was pretty painful. But I just kept at it and kept practicing.
 

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