Sustain

[Magnolia]

My current main bass has absolutely crap sustain. Its the Retrovibe Ricky copy. Does anyone have any suggestions how I can increase the sustain on it? Im gonna put it in for bit of an overhaul soon, so anything I can get done when its in?

[Beedster]

High mass bridge seems to work most of the time. Sometimes the body or the neck - or both together - just don't resonate though, and that can be more difficult to deal with (I've had basses with this problem that were fine when I swapped necks for example).
C

[geoffbyrne]

Simple compressor.

G.

[paul h]

I believe the RV4's are set neck so hopefully it won't be anything as drastic as the resonance of the wood.

Beedster is spot on with the high mass bridge suggestion although the stock bridge seems to be fairly chunky. At the risk of being patronising, are you still using the factory strings? If so new strings might help. Also I understand that the pickups on these are quite hot and if they are set too close to the strings it is possible that the magnetic field from the pick up is strong enough to restrict the vibration of the string killing the sustain. If that is the case then lowering the pickups will help.

It is most likely just a combination of various things. But check strings and pickup height and have a tinker. A good set up might well be half the battle.

Edited May 3, 2011 by paul h

[zero9]

Take it to a luthier / repairer who can check the instrument and offer some solutions.

[BOD2]

Sustain starts with the bass itself. You should check for good sustain with the bass unplugged - if it sustains well when unplugged it will sustain better with a little compression added, but if it has no sustain when unplugged then no amount of signal processing will make much difference.

When unplugged, listen for string rattles - anything that stops the string vibrating freely will lessen the sustain. A higher action is better (and correct neck relief) for sustain as this reduces string rattle on adjacent frets.

A high mass bridge might help, but only if the action and neck relief are ok - if a string still rattles on frets then a high mass bridge won't make much difference.

Newer strings (as opposed to old cruddy ones) will also help.

So get the bass unplugged, listen, and investigate any rattles before doing anything else.

[fatback]

[quote name='paul h' post='1218545' date='May 3 2011, 01:11 PM']Also I understand that the pickups on these are quite hot and if they are set too close to the strings it is possible that the magnetic field from the pick up is strong enough to restrict the vibration of the string killing the sustain. If that is the case then lowering the pickups will help.[/quote]

Very good point, often neglected. We're inclined to think higher is better.

[Mr. Foxen]

+1 on finding the source of the problem before trying to correct it.

[Magnolia]

I wouldnt have thought about the pickups, they are a little high. I'll lower them a touch and see if that helps. I was thinking about chucking a beefier bridge on. A badass may do the job.

[dan670844]

[quote name='Magnolia' post='1218522' date='May 3 2011, 12:57 PM']My current main bass has absolutely crap sustain. Its the Retrovibe Ricky copy. Does anyone have any suggestions how I can increase the sustain on it? Im gonna put it in for bit of an overhaul soon, so anything I can get done when its in?[/quote]


Bridge looks pretty heavy on these, have a look at the nut its bound to be crap, bone or graphitex will sort it and compressing your signal will help to

[JTUK]

Some of the tricks above might help but sustain defines a bass so should be one of the first things you look for when buying...

A 10 sec note shouldn't be hard to obtain on a decent resonant bass, IMO, at all..

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='JTUK' post='1218733' date='May 3 2011, 03:51 PM']Some of the tricks above might help but sustain defines a bass so should be one of the first things you look for when buying...

A 10 sec note shouldn't be hard to obtain on a decent resonant bass, IMO, at all..[/quote]

10 seconds?! I'm not sure I've ever let a note sustain for 10 whole seconds (on bass at least - keys, oh yes)

[chris_b]

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='1219160' date='May 3 2011, 08:48 PM']....10 seconds?! I'm not sure I've ever let a note sustain for 10 whole seconds (on bass at least - keys, oh yes)....[/quote]
Oh yeah!
If you've got a well made bass a 1, 2 or more bar sustain in the right place sounds great. Also a natural sustain from the instrument will sound better than getting it through a compressor.

[JTUK]

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='1219160' date='May 3 2011, 08:48 PM']10 seconds?! I'm not sure I've ever let a note sustain for 10 whole seconds (on bass at least - keys, oh yes)[/quote]

Yes..easily....

My two main basses can do that all over the neck, I am pretty sure. Not something you do all the time, of course.
More to the point that whatever duration you are going for...the note stays strong and doesn't die on you., so the longer the better, IMO.

It is a sure sign of a well put together bass, IMO.