Quiet G String On Acoustic Bass

[Linus27]

Hi, I have just picked up a Washburn AB10 acoustic bass and the G string is quite a bit quiter than the other strings. As these basses don't have adjustable bridges and I think the pickup is in the bridge, whats the best way to go about fixing this? Would gently filing down the groove where the string sits on the bridge making the string sit lower work?

Any advice appreciated.

[neepheid]

[quote name='Linus27' post='1249963' date='May 30 2011, 10:11 AM']Hi, I have just picked up a Washburn AB10 acoustic bass and the G string is quite a bit quiter than the other strings. As these basses don't have adjustable bridges and I think the pickup is in the bridge, whats the best way to go about fixing this? Would gently filing down the groove where the string sits on the bridge making the string sit lower work?

Any advice appreciated.[/quote]

I presume that you're talking about the problem being with amplified sound, not the acoustic sound?

[Linus27]

[quote name='neepheid' post='1249970' date='May 30 2011, 10:17 AM']I presume that you're talking about the problem being with amplified sound, not the acoustic sound?[/quote]

Sorry, yes, this is the amplified sound.

[EssentialTension]

Possibilites:

1 Slip a thin bit of card at the G string end under the bridge and above the piezo, or maybe below the piezo.

2 Cut the bridge into two halves between the A string and D string.

3 Cut the bridge into four pieces, one for each string.

4 Some combination of those three.

[icastle]

Underneath the white plastic bridge there is a piezo pickup 'strip'.

Slacken the strings off and remove the bridge (it should just slide out) and make sure that the pickup is seated flat.

[Linus27]

[quote name='icastle' post='1250014' date='May 30 2011, 10:49 AM']Underneath the white plastic bridge there is a piezo pickup 'strip'.

Slacken the strings off and remove the bridge (it should just slide out) and make sure that the pickup is seated flat.[/quote]

Right just done that and it all looks ok. What next? I guess raising the pickup up will raise the bridge and make it worse so would it be wise to file the G string side of the bridge so it sits a little lower?

[neepheid]

[quote name='Linus27' post='1250041' date='May 30 2011, 11:07 AM']Right just done that and it all looks ok. What next? I guess raising the pickup up will raise the bridge and make it worse so would it be wise to file the G string side of the bridge so it sits a little lower?[/quote]

I fixed an electro acoustic guitar which wasn't picking up the E string at all. The owner had had a go at filing down the bottom of the saddle and got it squint, meaning that it wasn't sitting flush and square in the recess. Put the bridge bottom down on a known flat surface - does it rock at all?

[icastle]

[quote name='neepheid' post='1250062' date='May 30 2011, 11:17 AM']I fixed an electro acoustic guitar which wasn't picking up the E string at all. The owner had had a go at filing down the bottom of the saddle and got it squint, meaning that it wasn't sitting flush and square in the recess. Put the bridge bottom down on a known flat surface - does it rock at all?[/quote]

+1
The bridge passes the vibration through to the pickup - an airgap there is bad news.

[Linus27]

[quote name='neepheid' post='1250062' date='May 30 2011, 11:17 AM']I fixed an electro acoustic guitar which wasn't picking up the E string at all. The owner had had a go at filing down the bottom of the saddle and got it squint, meaning that it wasn't sitting flush and square in the recess. Put the bridge bottom down on a known flat surface - does it rock at all?[/quote]

Oops I should had waited for your reply as I decided to go all Handy Manny and get the sandpaper out No panick as I gave the saddle a gentle file with some low grain sandpaper. Plus I gave the nut where the G String sits a little file and so far its sounding a little better. Still not perfect but a bit better. If truth be known, it would be nice to have all the strings lower and the G a little louder but for now its better than it was. The G string also seems to be sitting a little higher than the other strings anyway so it might be worth sanding the nut a little more.

[Linus27]

First rehearsal last night with the acoustic bass (amped up) and it was not bad but the G String really was still a little too quite for my liking. Not wanting to fiddle anymore with this, is this something a luthier/tech would be able to fix or am I pretty much stuck with it like this?

[dub]

The easiest option is get a heavier g string, it will be louder and have more bottom end.

The tricky thing is the piezo strip may not be totally flat so the bit of the bridge above the g string may not be fully in contact yet the tiniest gap makes a difference.

[quote name='Linus27' post='1252347' date='Jun 1 2011, 08:37 AM']First rehearsal last night with the acoustic bass (amped up) and it was not bad but the G String really was still a little too quite for my liking. Not wanting to fiddle anymore with this, is this something a luthier/tech would be able to fix or am I pretty much stuck with it like this?[/quote]