The Huntingtons use goldfoils. They’re not a pickup design that’s easy to find a replacement for if you play bass. And I’ve been given to understand Supro did a slightly unusual goldfoil design for the Huntington’s pickups. So AFAIK there’s no ready close substitute pickup to drop in a Huntington at this point.
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What might be causing this, and how can I fix it?
- Thread starter Joe Nerve
- Start date
The Huntingtons use goldfoils. They’re not a pickup design that’s easy to find a replacement for if you play bass. And I’ve been given to understand Supro did a slightly unusual goldfoil design for the Huntington’s pickups. So AFAIK there’s no ready close substitute pickup to drop in a Huntington at this point.
I recently picked up a 5 string cheap without even playing it through an amp because it sounded so good on it's own...and it was really cheap 120 bucks. But when I got it home and plugged it up the B string sounded dead as a door nail. Changed strings, same thing. Took it to the shop and they discovered that the pick ups are slightly off center, just enough to make the string sound dead and even slightly "out of phase" for lack of a better way of explaining it.
Is this the one with piezo saddles? Maybe that’s absorbing some strong energy?
Or if it’s only amplified, are you blending in the piezo? Maybe the e string saddles is out of phase with the magnetic pickups (is that even possible?).
Or if it’s only amplified, are you blending in the piezo? Maybe the e string saddles is out of phase with the magnetic pickups (is that even possible?).
Play it unamplified. Put your ear to the body. Listen for the balance between strings. Are they even? Then your problem is pickup related. ( pickup distance and alignment from string or low end roll off, string has faulty magnetic properties, etc.) Strings unbalanced when unamplified? Then your E string vibration is being compromised for some physical reason. Start with fresh, proven strings of course.
How does it sound unamplified?/QUOTE]
I had a 60s Telecaster bass that had a strange E string sound, not volume so much as a "dead" sound. It was the same plugged in or unamplified, the E sounded way different than the others. Tried swapping out a couple of different strings and it was the same. I ended up selling it and let someone else figure it out.
So definitely check this.
okcrum
in your chest
The odds that all three pickups are bad (or that all three got dead E string pole pieces) is in the slim to none range. If it's not a mechanical issue with the E string, it's the frequency response of the electronics at the low end. Suspect a bad or too small tone cap, for example.
I had a bass like this where the G string was like that.
it's the bass. sadly enough I don't think there is any solution what so ever. I went though everything and tried really hard to like my old bass with the nearly silent G string, and ended up selling it and taking the biggest loss I think i ever have on an instrument sale.
weirdly enough, i clearly disclosed the issue in my ebay ad, and the new owner claimed he didn't hear it at all - i think he was a guitarist who had no ears... so, there's probably someone who can love this instrument how it is.
Good luck sorting this out!
it's the bass. sadly enough I don't think there is any solution what so ever. I went though everything and tried really hard to like my old bass with the nearly silent G string, and ended up selling it and taking the biggest loss I think i ever have on an instrument sale.
weirdly enough, i clearly disclosed the issue in my ebay ad, and the new owner claimed he didn't hear it at all - i think he was a guitarist who had no ears... so, there's probably someone who can love this instrument how it is.
Good luck sorting this out!
@Joe Nerve
I was having an issue with the Low E on my Supro HII. But for me it was obvious that it was a pickup sensing issue. When I played softly, there was no problem. But if I pulled the string in an upstroke with any force, and I tend to have an aggressive right hand technique so that's like... all the time, the string would travel outside the sensing window of the pickup and there'd be a substantial volume drop on the attack of the note. On sustained notes, the volume would come back up as the string travel settled back down.
The A and D strings didn't have this problem because they are centered over the pickup. The G string wasn't as bad because playing finger style you're pulling the string towards the center of the pickup, not out towards the edge as on the E string. Also G strings tend to have more tension than E strings. Playing with a pick and hitting very hard downstrokes on the G string I could get it to happen sometimes if I was trying to, but I dont play hard enough in real life where that would ever be an issue.
I found lowering the pickups was about the only thing that helped to even this out. Raising them closer to the strings did not help, and as you said just exasperated the volume difference between the E and A strings. And the issue was too severe to even out with even extreme amounts of compression.
I was having an issue with the Low E on my Supro HII. But for me it was obvious that it was a pickup sensing issue. When I played softly, there was no problem. But if I pulled the string in an upstroke with any force, and I tend to have an aggressive right hand technique so that's like... all the time, the string would travel outside the sensing window of the pickup and there'd be a substantial volume drop on the attack of the note. On sustained notes, the volume would come back up as the string travel settled back down.
The A and D strings didn't have this problem because they are centered over the pickup. The G string wasn't as bad because playing finger style you're pulling the string towards the center of the pickup, not out towards the edge as on the E string. Also G strings tend to have more tension than E strings. Playing with a pick and hitting very hard downstrokes on the G string I could get it to happen sometimes if I was trying to, but I dont play hard enough in real life where that would ever be an issue.
I found lowering the pickups was about the only thing that helped to even this out. Raising them closer to the strings did not help, and as you said just exasperated the volume difference between the E and A strings. And the issue was too severe to even out with even extreme amounts of compression.
Where I have had this oroblrm with older basses it ended up being dead pickups. Some times they go bad and need to be rewound.
Have you tried “tap testing” the pole pieces (when the bass is amplified) with something metallic like keys to see if the pickup is equally responsive lengthwise?? That’s a quick and effective way to tell.
Have you tried “tap testing” the pole pieces (when the bass is amplified) with something metallic like keys to see if the pickup is equally responsive lengthwise?? That’s a quick and effective way to tell.
It's possible that the magnetic pole piece of your E-string needs to be re-charged. Pickup magnets can be weakened if they get too close to other strong magnetic fields such as a speaker or even a soldering iron.
This is a quote from another forum by commercial builder Rob DiStephano of Cavalier Pickups....
"A neodymium magnet - use this wonderful tool to change the top magnetic polarity of a single coil pickup that uses rod magnets. It will also charge a pickup's magnets! A great source for this is KJ Magnetics and the little, but Extremely Powerful, magnet costs less than $3, here's the link ...
Invalid Link Removed "
Here is the link to the whole thread ... Invalid Link Removed
This is a quote from another forum by commercial builder Rob DiStephano of Cavalier Pickups....
"A neodymium magnet - use this wonderful tool to change the top magnetic polarity of a single coil pickup that uses rod magnets. It will also charge a pickup's magnets! A great source for this is KJ Magnetics and the little, but Extremely Powerful, magnet costs less than $3, here's the link ...
Invalid Link Removed "
Here is the link to the whole thread ... Invalid Link Removed
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How would that help?
Try sprinkling some fairy dust on the pickup. It's magic!...duh
!Unfortunately spraying electronics cleaner where it doesn't belong can have unintended negative consequences...not recommended for this problem.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
From the sounds of things, the bass has done this day one. Are we sure this isn't expected operation?
okcrum
in your chest
For $3 it's worth it to rule out the pole pieces if they are that ancient.
EDIT: However, they're not old, and all three pickups show the problem. That says it's in cicuitry common to all three if it's an electronic problem.
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