So the weirdest thing is happening to me, I play inside my room upstairs and my low C string (I play in drop C) is bright. Not super bright but bright enough to notice. Then I go in my garage to play and it sounds so dead like noticeably dead. And this all happens in a spam of a minute and the string tone changes. What is it???
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Very Weird String Problem! Help me figure this out!
- Thread starter JoshSmith
- Start date
No I have a passive bass and I'm not plugging it into any sort of amp, it's only on the low C string also so I don't know what it is.
You're talking about the sound of the bass unplugged?
It's probably just a difference in room acoustics...
It's probably just a difference in room acoustics...
I also recorded it into a pod and noticed the difference. I'll also add the air downstairs in the garage is a bit colder and thinner and upstairs it is a bit hitter and more humid
Also it only happens with the low C string wouldn't it do it with the other strings?
Ok, first of all we need to know exactly what variables are involved. You've stated that you're moving from your bedroom to the garage, and haven't indicated any change in amp, effects, picks, or anything else that could be involved, so I'll assume that the location change is the only variable.
Have you had your bass set up (in terms of action, intonation, and neck relief) for the different tuning you're playing in? Or have you just tuned the bass down and left it at that? If you haven't had it set up correctly, my point (coming soon) is more likely to be true.
When you move locations, do you notice a significant change in temperature? Changes in temperature/humidity can cause the neck to shift (don't worry, it's normal, innocuous, and can't be compensated for). I used to find that when I went from my bedroom to my mate's garage for practice, my bass' neck would back-bow, effectively lowering the strings and thereby increasing fret buzz/string noise. Those aspects of your tone are always there to varying degrees, and have the effect of increasing how much higher-frequency tonality there is.
This is a fairly farfetched theory, but it's the first one that pops into my mind. But either way, I'd imagine it's something going with your bass. Either that, or the acoustic properties of the two spaces are just THAT different. Does your garage have a concrete floor? What about an exposed steel door?
Have you had your bass set up (in terms of action, intonation, and neck relief) for the different tuning you're playing in? Or have you just tuned the bass down and left it at that? If you haven't had it set up correctly, my point (coming soon) is more likely to be true.
When you move locations, do you notice a significant change in temperature? Changes in temperature/humidity can cause the neck to shift (don't worry, it's normal, innocuous, and can't be compensated for). I used to find that when I went from my bedroom to my mate's garage for practice, my bass' neck would back-bow, effectively lowering the strings and thereby increasing fret buzz/string noise. Those aspects of your tone are always there to varying degrees, and have the effect of increasing how much higher-frequency tonality there is.
This is a fairly farfetched theory, but it's the first one that pops into my mind. But either way, I'd imagine it's something going with your bass. Either that, or the acoustic properties of the two spaces are just THAT different. Does your garage have a concrete floor? What about an exposed steel door?
I got my bass setup in drop c so it's not that. The garage is a bit colder and the air is thinner than upstairs. Also it's the only time I've noticed this and I notice everything with my bass. But this is stumping me and frustrating. I thought it could be the acoustics but I then recorded the bass in the garage with a pod and then recorded the bass in my bedroom. Only less than 5 minutes apart and there was a significant change in tone of the string. Only the low C
Try a different C string- something near the gauge of what's on there, and see if the situation repeats.
If not, then switch C string to another brand or type (S/S to NPS for example).
If not, then switch C string to another brand or type (S/S to NPS for example).
Well, if you're recording directly in then there's obviously no way the acoustic properties of the rooms have anything to do with it..... which was my next theory. So that isolates the issue to either being something to do with your electronics (which generally aren't affected by environment at all), or the actual string itself.
My money's on the string. I haven't had issues quite like this myself, but I have had strings suddenly go from being bright to considerably less so, without actually being played. Metal is very susceptible to heat changes, and your strings have an actual "physical" structure to them (i.e. steel core with nickel/steel wrapped around the outside). Temperature changes could cause shifts in the structure, affecting the way it resonates.
Like I said though, I've only ever had this go in one direction, not back and forth. If it is a matter of the temperature changes causing the string's structure to change, then there's no reason why it can't though. I think in my case it was more a question of the expansion (caused by heat) causing more of the string's surface area to be exposed, and hence oxidising faster. Ergo, "dead" string.
As far as why it's only happening on one string? Larger structure, more surface area, lowest string tension (exacerbated by your drop tuning, where the lowest string is even looser than usual).... could be any one of those, or a combination. A heavier gauge string could fix this.
Let's come back to that thought - could it be the acoustics?
Do you have another space that you could try?
What pitches on the low C string are affected - all of them? Higher up on the string, does the same pitch sound dead on the low C string but live on the A string (or whatever you tune it to)?
The reason low pitches are especially subject to acoustics is that sound waves take space to form, and low pitch sound waves are long, significantly long compared to a room. That doesn't mean that they can't exist in a small room, but it certainly complicates matters.
It's every note on that string. Everywhere in my house it's fine but the garage where I always practice it changes almost instantly and sounds dead and dull. It's not my electronics right? Cause it's acoustic wouldn't change sound due to the electronics but changes cause of the actual string.
Oh dear.
Then please explain how a microphone sitting right next to a speaker can pick up the bass notes. Or any sound, for that matter.
And please explain how earbuds and headphones can produce bass notes in the extremely small space between the speaker and your eardrum.
Sorry for the derail. Carry on.
-Alex
