Weak G-string output

chopperguy99 · Nov 14, 2005

Hey, everyone.
My stock stingray 4 p/u has weak output on the G and to a lesser extent the D. I have played with eq and pickup height, as well as setup, but to no avail. I have been playing bass for 17 years, and have owned and played many basses. This is by far my favorite, and will never replace it unless stolen or destroyed! My question is has anyone else had this problem? It is frustrating having the coolest bass on the planet, and during a run, my upper strings get buried in the mix.

Mobay45 · Nov 14, 2005

Welcome Chopperguy99!

This is a question that has been posed here many times. You might do a search, but it sounds to me that you've already done all the right things to try to fix it. I've found that my Bongo delivers better on the G string than my 'Rays do.

adouglas · Nov 14, 2005

I'm agreeing with you a lot today, Mobay.

One of the very few gripes I had with my recently retired hotrodded Carvin 5 (bartolini pickups and an aguilar obp3 preamp) was a thin-sounding G. It always sounded thin, both before and after the mod. Annoying. It changed the way I played some lines...playing farther up on the D string just sounded better.

Da Bongo has no such shortcoming.

I understand this is a common complaint for a lot of basses. Before I discoverd the marvelousness that is Da Bongo, I was considering buying some .050 G strings to give it some more beef.

hankSRay · Nov 14, 2005

If ya cant figure it out yourself, try EBMM customer service. They're the best in the business. I've heard the weak G thing before but only on Rays. Anyone ever notice something like that on a Sterling, SUB or Bongo? just curious

AnthonyD · Nov 14, 2005

I had this issue with my Sterling - Come to think of it, this was the reason I joined the forum...

Adjusting the pick-up height minimized the issue and it basically disappeared when I switched to flats earlier this year.

Sigmunds Couch · Nov 14, 2005

All this G-string talk......

Enter Mr. Dude Barr..................

TSanders · Nov 14, 2005

Funny thing that flats were mentioned.

Ive just switched to flats, and will never go back to rounds.

One of my fears was that with flats, Id lose top end and other notes in the higher registers.

When I strung my SR5 up with flats to try em, it was the complete oppisite. Ive never had better top end than with flats. Of course its not zingy, but its clean and defined.

Ill go even farther to say that Ill never use anything but flatwounds. Flats on a Ray or Sterling (Bongos too) is a sweet combo. Ive found so many sounds in my SR5 that I didnt know existed until I slapped some TI Jazz Flats on it.

Sorry BP, I promise Im gonna give the EB flats a try very soon.

Squozen · Nov 15, 2005

ebmuscmanlvr83 said:
When I strung my SR5 up with flats to try em, it was the complete oppisite. Ive never had better top end than with flats. Of course its not zingy, but its clean and defined.

Ill go even farther to say that Ill never use anything but flatwounds.

I'd love to hear a comparison of flats/round on the same bass, played by the same person... does anybody have such a thing?

teonigil · Nov 15, 2005

chopperguy99,

The instrument response to the string vibration is called resonance.
This factor is changing for each frequency and depends on the wood that was selected for the body and neck. Some other factors such as headstock size, bridge mass and material, string core tension, string outer material, nut material, etc... can also change the resonance, but *the* main factor remains the wood.
Wood selection is an art by itself and is time consuming. This procedure is done in small shops and can hardly be done in mass production situations (Actually, you can do it yourself with a set of tuning forks. Tap the fork and place it at the bridge, you can actually hear the level changing from instrument to instrument).
As a result to the above, some instruments resonate poorly in certain frequencies.
This is mainly noticeable on the edges of the bass tone spectrum.

I had a great 89 SR (Killer birdseye neck...) that had the same problem as yours and I've tried it all, from strings to pickup...
Nothing solved the problem.

IMO, the problem can't be solved BUT can be made less noticeable.

The first thing you can do is to go heavier on the D and G string gauges,
for exp: replace 40,60 to 45,65 or 45,65 to 50,70.
If this doesn't work, you should try some other types of strings until you're happy.
From my experience, lower tension sets will behave better.

Hope that helps a little

Steve Dude Barr · Nov 15, 2005

Or tap the fork on your forehead...

teonigil · Nov 15, 2005

Steve Dude Barr said:
Or tap the fork on your forehead...

Yeah !
I'm sure yours will resonate extremely loud... bro

chopperguy99 · Nov 15, 2005

Thanks for all the input, guys. I will try some flats to see if that helps, in a heavier guage. This is not acceptable for a bass in this price range. If I cant fix it, I will have to go back on my word and get rid of this bass. maybe I will try out a bongo.

Big Poppa · Nov 15, 2005

This trait has been around since the first day of the stingray. Its is NOT a byproduct of wood. It is due to the active preamp used on the bass. The output isnt actually lower the response is thinner sounding or not as fat. IT is one of the things you get used to with a Sting Ray or not. Believe it or not it was a complaint of mine in the beginning when I worked with Leo. The emerging slap and the old school country click players loved it. That thin snappin G sound helped the Sr taked off. You can try flats and it will help, but chances are that you will bet used to it by playing ...

hankSRay · Nov 15, 2005

Cool stuff BP, its good to have some confirmation on the subject. I wonder if any other factors contribute to it though like 2band or 3 band EQ, or a maple or rosewood fingerboard (even though you said its not to do with the wood) And is it more prominant on the Rays than on a Sterling?

chopperguy99 · Nov 15, 2005

i will probably try the basslines system with the p/u and the preamp. anyone tried the bart?

Oldtoe · Nov 15, 2005

Come to think of it, I noticed this trait on the newly acquired/traded-for 2-band Whitey Ray on Sunday night when I was playing. I was doing some walking way up high on the G-string, and I noticed I couldn't hear what I was playing very well. Upon descending the scale back down to the D and A-strings, all was normal again. Whatever. Jack's still not getting it back.

Steve Dude Barr · Nov 15, 2005

Whatever. Jack's still not getting it back.

<---jots down date & time of said post for future reference.

Oldtoe · Nov 15, 2005

Heh heh. You know me all too well.

Still, I really like this one.

Steve Dude Barr · Nov 15, 2005

Heh heh. You know me all too well.

Oh, it's not just you Ben...ever try keeping up with Norris??

teonigil · Nov 16, 2005

Big Poppa said:
... Its is NOT a byproduct of wood. It is due to the active preamp used on the bass...

Hmm... If so, all SR's should have this problem

I have 5 SR's and played/owned a few more and only one of them had the G string problem.
Now that I think of it, that one was an 89 with 3 EQ while the others were older 2 EQ.
Could be a by-product of the 3 Eq preamp, but I highly doubt it since not all the 3 EQ SR's share this problem either.

Anyway, I still firmly hold my opinion on the subject

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