The "Big A Dropout" Incident

marcboomer

marcboomer

Bass Player @ Seymour Duncan
Hey all you bass giggers. I am wondering if anybody else has had an experience like mine while gigging.
On several occasions, I have played venues where while playing, I have had a problem hearing my low "A" note on the fifth fret of the E string. It just drops out. Every other note plays consistantly. It has happened on a couple of basses and a couple of amps...even an SVT. I go home and try to replicate the issue and cannot.
Is it the venue?
Is it the placement of the amp and my proximity to it?
Is it my bad hearing?
Sonics are sometimes so mysterious to me. Every gig can be such a different experience. I guess that's why I still love the adventure of playing every weekend.
 
Re: The "Big A Dropout" Incident

I'm not a reg on bass, but I totally know what you're talking about when playing mine at home. Part of it is probably the fretting removing some of the scintillating resonant harmonics and leaving more fundamental on the note. There's also resonant frequencies within the neck, body, amp, room, etc...you...the cat that came in the room, etc that will affect the end tone it produces.

Does this happen in a particular room?

That must be a royal pain. May be worth altering your playing a bit to make sure you hit that A string open.
 
Re: The "Big A Dropout" Incident

Yup, that's what I had to do those nights at the gigs. Played open "A"'s. It happened in multiple venues. No real consistant variables. It just happens occasionally and not always in the same damn place. It's random. I suspect it's my deafness.....LOL.
 
Re: The "Big A Dropout" Incident

Maybe check your frets and your action. My messed up SG action is infernally dull. Maybe a new e string? I dunno. Hehehe
 
Re: The "Big A Dropout" Incident

Most of the time, this never happens. I don't think it's a gear issue. I think there's something sonically that can happen in certain venues regarding a note's volume. Maybe the shape of the room, the placement of the amp, where I'm standing, etc. I'm wondering if anybody else has had mysterious sonic issues at gigs.....(maybe not and it's just me)
 
Re: The "Big A Dropout" Incident

Fenders of a certain age have a notorious dropout problem on certain places in the neck.
The "dead zone" has occurred in the lower frets for me, and it's rather annoying.
This may be worth investigating.
 
Re: The "Big A Dropout" Incident

In my experience, it's three factors: the bass itself having hot spots/dead spots related to the body/wood resonance, the room you are in having standing waves or room modes, and just the difference of fretted string length vs open string.

I have a Hofner hollow body that is the extreme of hot spots and dead spots. An 8th fret C on the E string - almost nothing. An 8th fret F on the A string, twice the volume and power of any other spot on the neck. A C on the 3rd fret of the A string is just fine. I have to constantly adjust my attack PER NOTE AND FRET POSITION. But it's consistent in it's inconsistency, so I have 'learned' the neck now. I have less problems on solid body basses, but they have similar issues.

The larger the room/hall, the less of a problem it seems to me. In smaller rooms, the standing waves are at higher frequencies that can interfere, cancel or reinforce certain notes. Try being nearer a wall, or at least have your cab against a flat wall so the waves all travel from the wall at the same time. (If the cab is a few feet away from a wall, the waves hit the wall and reflect back, mixing out of phase with certain frequencies the source cab sound.) Also you don't want to be positioned 1/4 of the room length/width from any wall, e.g. you don't want to be 3 feet from a wall in a 12 foot room - that is the peak reinforcement/cancellation spot in the room - certain frequencies could be bumped by 15-20db making other frequencies seem weak. YMMV - you're going to have to play around with your position and distance from a wall in whatever room you are in. The upholstery of the venue, the number of people in the room, all have an impact on how much frequencies are absorbed or reflected.

In my experience the thing about the fretted A vs open string is just that when fretted the string length is short and it dies quickly on my basses, most severe on the hollow body. Having the open string vibrating freely between the bridge and nut just seems to get better results for lower notes.
 
Re: The "Big A Dropout" Incident

Hey thanks "Beau"!
Finally somebody got my point. It's not about my gear. It's happened with multiple basses and amps only occasionally on each.
It's a venue issue I believe (or just me and my hearing). But I think you are right on with your theories about standing waves, amp placement and cancellation. I plan to experiment with that next time I'm at that venue. Much appreciated. Cheers Beaubrummels.
 
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