In the past, I had issues with bizarre out-of-tune overtones on the E string of my Harmony H22... I went through a couple .100 Pyramid Gold E strings from brand new sets, and figured that it must be an issue with the factory, and so I settled on re-using an older .110 Pyramid Gold E string that had some flat spots worn into the wrap from fret wear, but that had no noticeable weird overtones. It was a heavier gauge than their standard E, so I figured that it must have been the extra thickness that muffled or hid any weird overtones that the rejected new replacement E strings had been plagued with.
Anyway, this E string stayed on the bass for years, until breaking at a recent gig. As .110 gauge Pyramid Gold strings are not readily available online for purchase as single strings, and I didn't feel like shelling out $70+ for a whole new set, I ordered a .109 LaBella online, which arrived today. I put it on the bass, and noticed the weird overtone issue again, but super loud. I was super frustrated until I noticed that when unplugged, the overtones were so loud that I could determine their exact direction of origin... which was the afterlength between the bridge and the tailpiece! So I muted the afterlength with the heel of my hand and played the string, and lo and behold the weird sour overtones were gone!!
I have no idea why I didn't figure this issue out years ago... When I first got the bass about a decade ago, I had stuck a piece of foam underneath the strings under the tailpiece to mitigate possible feedback issues, and of course had no issues with weird overtones. And a couple years later when I wanted to change the strings to a newer set of Pyramid Golds, I guess i forgot to put the foam back under there. The A, D and G string afterlengths never really rang out at all while playing, and the heavier E that recently broke was so massive and stiff that the afterlength never rang out either. But those lighter Pyramid E's that I tried out years ago had the issue, and the new LaBella did too, and now I know why. Now I feel bad for rejecting those Pyramid E strings back then, and thinking something was wrong with the manufacturing process. I'm not sure if I still have those rejected .100 Pyramid E strings buried away in my possessions somewhere, but the LaBella is staying on the bass now, as I am used to a thicker gauge (even though the LaBella is lighter in tension and not as fat sounding as the recently broken .110 Pyramid)
Now I just need to find a new piece of foam to stick under the strings again...
Anyway, this E string stayed on the bass for years, until breaking at a recent gig. As .110 gauge Pyramid Gold strings are not readily available online for purchase as single strings, and I didn't feel like shelling out $70+ for a whole new set, I ordered a .109 LaBella online, which arrived today. I put it on the bass, and noticed the weird overtone issue again, but super loud. I was super frustrated until I noticed that when unplugged, the overtones were so loud that I could determine their exact direction of origin... which was the afterlength between the bridge and the tailpiece! So I muted the afterlength with the heel of my hand and played the string, and lo and behold the weird sour overtones were gone!!
I have no idea why I didn't figure this issue out years ago... When I first got the bass about a decade ago, I had stuck a piece of foam underneath the strings under the tailpiece to mitigate possible feedback issues, and of course had no issues with weird overtones. And a couple years later when I wanted to change the strings to a newer set of Pyramid Golds, I guess i forgot to put the foam back under there. The A, D and G string afterlengths never really rang out at all while playing, and the heavier E that recently broke was so massive and stiff that the afterlength never rang out either. But those lighter Pyramid E's that I tried out years ago had the issue, and the new LaBella did too, and now I know why. Now I feel bad for rejecting those Pyramid E strings back then, and thinking something was wrong with the manufacturing process. I'm not sure if I still have those rejected .100 Pyramid E strings buried away in my possessions somewhere, but the LaBella is staying on the bass now, as I am used to a thicker gauge (even though the LaBella is lighter in tension and not as fat sounding as the recently broken .110 Pyramid)
Now I just need to find a new piece of foam to stick under the strings again...
