E a bit weak on my new DB

[wambamalubop]

I had a luthier set up my new DB (a Strunal from Thomann). 

I'm a total noob on these instruments so haven't yet got a reference point for how things might sound, but I'm feeling that the E volume is just lower than the other three strings, less sustain, less brightness and frequency range. 

The luthier replaced the original soundpost and repositioned it and did some useful work on the action and bridge (which was fitting rather badly before) and I'm happy with all of that.  He also restrung it for me with some of the Spirocore Weich's as I intend to play mostly pizzicato. 

So anyhow, after the setup, its playing a lot better but the E tone is disappointing as I said before. 

If I tune the A string down to E, its retains the brighter and richer sound, lots of 'mwah' and sustain etc. that it has tuned at 'A'.  From this I conclude that the bass itself isn't lacking ability to resonate at 'E', so its not a basket case, but it must be something else causing the issue. 

Overall I was slightly surprised that the spirocores aren't more bright sounding than they are,  from reading forums I expected them to be really bright more towards the 'Rotosound 66' end of the spectrum on an EB, but they sound quite mellow to my ear.  I've no problem with that though.  

The possible reasons for the E weakness I can think of off the top of my head are 

a) The soundpost still isn't in the best place 

b) The E string itself is a dud 

c) Something about the E string from the nut to the bridge isn't set up right still. 

Any other things I might need to be aware of? 

 

Edited July 3, 2018 by wambamalubop

[SubsonicSimpleton]

Takes a while for any new set of strings to settle in,

your technique might need some work to get a consistently good sound out of the lowest string as the mechanics of playing it differ from the top three.

 

 

[wambamalubop]

That's useful to know that it's normal to have to have to play the E differently to the other three.   The three A,D,G are sounding really great, particularly the A and D.  

I have been trying different approaches to it, and I'll start some lessons as soon as our holidays are over,  right now I can't get all the way over to where I can get lessons.  

 

[petebassist]

It's maybe worth contacting the luthier to ask, as presumably he/she would have tested the new strings while doing the setup. I wouldn't expect one string to be noticeably different. Maybe the sound post slipped in transit or something like that? Is the tuning stable ?

 

 

[wambamalubop]

44 minutes ago, petebassist said:

It's maybe worth contacting the luthier to ask, as presumably he/she would have tested the new strings while doing the setup. I wouldn't expect one string to be noticeably different. Maybe the sound post slipped in transit or something like that? Is the tuning stable ?

 

 

The tuning is stable.   I doubt the soundpost slipped in transit.  

My feeling though is that it might be soundpost position.  When it arrived from Thomann, I thought the strings were at least balanced across the instrument tonally and I didn't find the E substantially weaker than the others.  The luthier remarked that the soundpost was in an 'unconventional position' when he looked at it.  Maybe that is where it needed to be! 

Maybe I need the bass equivalent of a second opinion on the soundpost. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2018 by wambamalubop

[Houndogg]

Yeah, I have the same issue with the E not voicing as well as the other three - advice from tutor was that every bass has something and I just need to pluck it harder to sound better. Maybe I will change the strings and see what happens .

[yanto]

I think it's quite common to fit a mittel E  with the weich set to strengthen the bottom end response

[TPJ]

IME, the Spiro weichs are different to mittels in that they are warmer sounding and generally a little less tension. I struggled to get good definition on the Duke bass with weichs and the E was rather thuddy. It was great for bluegrass but not so much for everything else. The Spiro mittels worked much better and were surprisingly not that much more tension on that bass.

One thing to keep in mind is that strings react differently on differnt basses. Weichs didn't suit the Duke bass where it needed to cover several styles. The Mittels are much better on that bass, but Mittels were like the dreaded banjo strings on my hybrid bass. That bass wears Velvet Animas to try and tame the bright nature.

Hopefully you can find a string or combo of strings early on and not get caught up in the string game. It can get expensive.

[jrixn1]

20 hours ago, wambamalubop said:

 He also restrung it for me with some of the Spirocore Weich's 

...

The possible reasons for the E weakness I can think of off the top of my head are 

a) The soundpost still isn't in the best place 

b) The E string itself is a dud 

c) Something about the E string from the nut to the bridge isn't set up right still. 

Any other things I might need to be aware of? 

 

Can you restring the original E to see if it makes a difference? That might eliminate (b) and possibly (c).

[Jezyorkshire]

playing pizz are you playing right at the end of the fingerboard, on my bass the E is a little darker than the other 3 and it requires a bit more attack but it also requires a slightly different angle with it being where it is if that makes sense, Jez

[Marc S]

6 hours ago, yanto said:

I think it's quite common to fit a mittel E  with the weich set to strengthen the bottom end response

As Subsonic Simpleton says, it can take a while for new strings to settle
Yanto has a point here too - maybe try a different E string, and see if that makes a difference
I'm sure someone on here will have something 2nd hand knocking around - perhaps place a wanted ad for one?

In the meantime, keep playing the bass as it is, and I think I would chat to your Luthier, to see if he / she is willing to try another re-positioning of the soundpost
Good luck with it