Question for you bass players

Hellion

Hellion

New member
This may not be the right forum, but I'm trying to get some information for a buddy of mine. He's playing an early model Gibby EB bass through a Hartke system that puts out about 150 watts. He says everything sounds just fine except for the low E string, which he can't hear at all. Turning up the bass control doesn't help. Any thoughts?
 
Re: Question for you bass players

Powdered Toast Man said:
Raise the pickup on the low E side.

Either that or change the pickup.
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Both good ideas, except that everything else is sounding good. So, the pickup is obviously working and raising it will accentuate the A string as well. Not trying to shoot down your input, but I've already gone over that with him.
 
Re: Question for you bass players

Head/cab or combo?
150w @ 8 ohms or 4 ohms?

If it's a Hartke combo, that low E (41.2 Hz) might be underpowered and choking on too small a box. That kind of power rating for bass is only good for practice or small rooms. The moment a drummer starts hitting anything with a head, you're lost.

edit: Gibbys are known for massive low end (see my avatar), so they need something stout enough to move the mud. If he's got pole pieces on his pup, see if the low E is close enough to the surface.

You may also want to put the amp in a corner; this builds up low end acoustically.

edit 2: It might be something as simple as a dead string, or a fabric string wrap that's riding on the string saddle (Rotosounds are notorious for weirdness like this).
 
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Re: Question for you bass players

Is the cab a bunch of 12's or is there a 15" or 18" in the mix? (This point gets extra critical when you go 5-string since you're now dropping down to about 30Hz.)
 
Re: Question for you bass players

have you tried the amp with a different bass?
have you tried tha bass with a differnt amp?
 
Re: Question for you bass players

I agree with Reggie (ginormous). Mucho low end demands a big loudspeaker somewhere in the rig. Through a 4x10, my Chapman Stick sounds pants.
 
Re: Question for you bass players

Hellion said:
He says everything sounds just fine except for the low E string, which he can't hear at all.
Click to expand...

Open E or anywhere on the E string? The answer to this question will determine if it is an instrument or amp/speaker issue.
 
Re: Question for you bass players

Gibson EB-3 bass guitars have a bridge PU the size of a LP Deluxe mini humbucker and a neck pickup the size of, well, a very deep and wide humbucker. The bridge pickup lacks depth period. The neck pickup has so much depth that everything played through it rapidly descends into an Andy Fraser/Jack Bruce farty rumble.

Imagine, if you will, that big bad bass humbucker installed in a semi-acoustic instrument a la ES-335.

One solution is to play with a plectrum. Unfortunately, most of what you will hear is plectrum attack. (Think "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" by Them.)
 
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