petebassist Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Hi, I have Pirastro Obligato strings on my Stentor 1950 acoustic bass, which sound great apart from the G string, which can sometimes sound 'tinny' compared to the other strings. Has anyone had a similar issue and tried a different G string, such as a gut string, to get more of a 'boom' sound? Or am I being a bit lazy? I can get a more mellow sound by playing up the neck a bit, and using a bit more skin. Any advice would be welcome, Thanks, Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencer.b Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I had a similar issue with a bass and I tried everything and ended up realising it was just an intrinsic quality of that bass , that said I have also basses that work best with a mix of strings , on my bass with a thin sounding G I found gut or nylon to be even worse , and actually ended up with a Spiro mittel which even though was very bright was a loud string and seemed to make the best of it . Unfortunately I suspect there's no easy fix. Have you outgrown the bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Could be a simple matter of taking it to a luthier and looking at a sound post adjustment . You can take away brightness , add warmth, brilliance etc by repositioning the post. Have a read of this - hope it helps! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oggiesnr Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Start with a Luthier, how does the G on the E string sound? In my case the G throughout the range was weak (not good for a folkie whose main keys are G and Em) and repositioning the soundpost worked a treat. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petebassist Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 Thanks chaps, good advice about the sound post - I think I need to get it to a luthier for an MOT. Apart from this quirk, it's a great bass otherwise for my needs, it's never let me down. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbassist Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 +1 on making sure the bass is set up right. I think the G is always the toughest string to get right, especially the open G. I know Larry Grenadier has used a velvet G string with steels to great effect. A lot of people use an orchestra string like belcantos, which I personally don't like to do as they sound too weak. An Oliv G is also a really popular choice to mix with other brands. I've chosen to stick with one set, but I think it does work for some players/basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petebassist Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 Geoff, many thanks for this tip - I might try the Oliv. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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