Unwanted Bass Distortion / Overdrive?

[papmech]

I'm a amateur bassist that plays a Yamaha RBX774 that has not been modified in any way i.e. stock pickups and electronics.

Since day one of owning this bass, I've noticed that my bass produces a distortion-like sound when I play very hard on the lower notes (any of the notes on the E string). The notes sound normal when played lightly, where normal is whatever I hear on other people's basses on Youtube or in songs. This sound is produced independent of the amp. It is even produced when I plug earphones directly into the bass (using converters of course). Is this:

1. Normal?
2. A problem with my pickups?
3. A problem with my electronics?

 

[bassteban]

Is the bass active?
If so, try replacing the battery.

 

[bongomania]

+1, a low battery is a common culprit.

 

[papmech]

Is the bass active?
If so, try replacing the battery.

There's a battery compartment at the back. Replacing it doesn't remove the buzzing / overdrive sound, only makes the maximum loudness a bit higher. Clearly, my battery was old.

 

[papmech]

+1, a low battery is a common culprit.

Actually, I tried playing and listening a bit more, and you're right, the sound is slightly less fuzzy now.

But the main issue here is the fuzz that has been present since day 1, when I popped in the brand new Energizer 9V battery. Could it be that my bass amp (Peavey 20W practice amp) and my earphones and my computer inputs are unable to handle the low frequencies of the lower notes, and hence the buzzing noise?

 

[TimmyGT]

have you even had the bass properly set up in by a luthier or do you know what your doing enough to check it yourself?

 

[shirky]

2 other things to check:

1) Pickup height. See if you can lower it a bit, will lower the output signal generally.

2) Is the distrotion still there if you back off on the vol knob a bit? If so - can you exist with just having volume knob around 75-80%?

You may also want to try your bass through a different amp.

Cheers,
Shirky

 

[papmech]

have you even had the bass properly set up in by a luthier or do you know what your doing enough to check it yourself?

Never had it set up by a luthier. That's actually a pretty good idea. Do you know if they normally charge to just do a check-up to diagnose a problem?

2 other things to check:

1) Pickup height. See if you can lower it a bit, will lower the output signal generally.

2) Is the distrotion still there if you back off on the vol knob a bit? If so - can you exist with just having volume knob around 75-80%?

You may also want to try your bass through a different amp.

Cheers,
Shirky

Will definitely get around to trying a different amp. Reducing the volume does reduce the distortion, simply because it becomes softer. If I reduce the volume on the bass and up the volume on the amp, the distortion is still there.

 

[prokfrog]

Do you have your bass and treble set all the way up on the guitar? Try turning them back a bit. My bass will do that a bit when i have all the controls on the bass cranked.