Trying to get more of the fundamental from my A string

Low mids. 200 to 300hz zone.

 

Not fundamentals btw.

 

A practical way to do it is to install a phone or pad app that does produces a spectrum, search onyx spectrum on the apple app store to see the type of app that I'm referring to. Their site has a demo video that shows you how to set the EQ using the app.

Then play the notes in question and look at the frequency spectrum. Adjust your EQ. This approach will allow you to dial in exactly what you need to boost those frequencies. It also allows you to visually see how your bass is performing over the frequency range.

Spectrum Analyzer for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, see the last segment in the video.

You might also be able to fix this problem with a different set of strings.

 

You plug into the amp and play. The app picks it up the sound on the phone, through the phone mic, and provides a graphical view of the frequency spectrum. It sounds more complicated than it really is. The phone does the listening for you. As you adjust the EQ on the amp, the display on the phone will change to reflect how your amp's sound is changing. It plots sound level (y) vs frequency (x) in real time.

 

many people describe it as certain notes that " bloom"

and is very typical for sealed or ported 10" speaker cabs.

you like the bloom of a 210
the bloom of a 810 is a monster
and would often change my playing style to compensate or even play higher up in the scale and move down lower for certain changes and it would be a big crushing bass surprise I would keep in my back pocket.

anyways a typical sealed 10 has a big bass hump at 80 to 150 Hz
and could be somewhat emulated boosting those frequencies with a multi band eq

it's funny a lot of guys complain about blooming. I think it's fun and you really build a different playing style over time

55Hz the frequency for A string you would boost the second harmonic at 110Hz

which is same area as that bass peak in 10" speakers

other wise in guitar or bass cabinet simulators they use a highpass 2 pole
filter set around 80Hz to emulate the cutoff of a 410 or 412 cabinet and use very high filter Q to emulate the same bass hump. typical 412 sealed guitar cabinets have the same bloomimg lowend around 80 to 150hz

 

One man's "bloom" is another man's "baked-in" low midrange hump.

 

Assuming your problem is not set up or pickup height related....

The chart below can be used to calculate the frequencies in a given pitch. Simply multiply the fundamental by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Go higher if you wish but the ones you are most concerned with are 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Start with 55 Hz as the fundamental of an open A string on a 4 string bass in standard tuning.

 

That, Sir, is not very accurate. Some parts a completely true, though, like the fundamentals of this range on the instrument.

To OP: I wonder if the same notes sound OK, if played on the 5-7 frets of the E string instead? If so, it is very likely that you have an issue with dead(-ish) spots on the A string. Open A and the first frets are often lacking fundamentals, especially on hollow bodies and short scales IME. If you are still unsure after comparing with the E string, an octaver can often confirm your findings. If it triggers badly on the open A but fine on the fretted E string, you probably have this characteristic in your instrument.

Regarding the speaker, well the Markbass 210 offers much less accurate frequency response than your regular 12/6 rig. It probably rolls off a lot more low bass than the 12/6, thereby masking the difference in "fatness" between the fretted E and open A. However, the amp in the Markbass combo is virtually ruler flat, while the Fender tone stack in the Alembic is anything BUT flat.

 

You can address the problem on many fronts, maybe at once. Balancing pickup height to get more output from the A string, looking at different string options (I preferred a rather light gauge, medium bright, nickel round model for my Gretsch hollowbody) along with equalizer work can probably get you going in the right direction.
That said, my Gretsch sounds "better" through a modern, hifi-ish cab than through my Ampegs.

 

Like the other guys said, the fundamental you look for is in the octave below. Try 55-60 Hz!
You are running flats? They will typically sound tubbier and more bloated than rounds. Flats can increase the percieved tonal difference between E and A string notes. Good luck!

 

Shelf charcteristic filters are not suitable tools to raise Fundamental of note A beyond it's 1st Overtone.

Most of the time the Fundamental level is several dB below 1st Overtone. At the other hand side the 1st Overtone is most responsible for a "bassy" feel rather than "boomy" sound generated by "to much" of Fundamental.

Same note/pitch at fretted A string versus E string is like comparing of apples and oranges cause swinging length of the strings is diferent as well as swinging string mass.

no sound clip no sound issues, seriously, it would help a lot to fix your problem.

 

It is not likely that the fundamental is where he should boost. I think the OP is right to look at the 100-200 Hz area.

 

Why?

 

if the cab was doing low E fundamental it would be doing A as well. Fundamentals are not where it's at for "meat" in low notes.

 

IME, the fundamental is poorly supported by most conventional cabinets and music reproduction systems. Due to the well-documented phenomena of the "missing fundamental," psycho-acoustically and musically, you need the fundamental, but energy is best spent in the 2nd and 3rd partials in order to represent it with many rigs.

The OP does have a small fEARful, so I can't claim his 3012LF won't do 55 Hz, but IMHO, the first partial in that range really helps with "Bass," from a musical point of view.

 

Well, that does not make much sense, as he gets a good tone from the same notes on the E string...
The cab can of course do it. Have you never noticed how common it us that hollowbodies and short scales have dead-ish spots on the open A and first positions? Dead spot typically lacks most in the fundamentals, not in higher harmonics.
Your armchair opinions/arguments have no more validity than mine, especially with argument that youself admit to be contradictory.
I think my reasoning (based on the facts given by OP, and not some general "first/second harmonics" parroting) makes more sense, by focusing on the obvious properties of that bass, rather than trying to apply generic "insufficient bass cab design" problems on a cab specifically designed to NOT have that flaw.