JonathanD Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 Well after months of trying to get my handy MIM fender bass neck up and running i finally found a MIA neck that had already been defreted. Got a beautiful job on the fret holes done thanks to the help from this forum. Got it all set up (i knew ahead of time the 22 fret scale would bugger stuff up, but i dont care about the fret markings anyway) So I realize the strings I ordered 4 months ago, arnt in yet! ? ! Long story short they dont have them, have to try a different brand that also has to be ordered. So i settle for roundwounds (black beauties) and plug her in and POOOOOOOPola comes out. the G and B string at 6-12 dB higher that the middle 3 strings on my rms meter (also to check I did the same test on my other 5 string and got all even response). Not to mention that warm fretless (string against the wood sound all warm and smooth) sounds like a cat dying. Its all weak and mid rangy. Im going to hold out for the new strings and see if that helps, but those strings dont sound like that on my schecter so.... If I could take pictures of it I would... but i dont have a Digital Camera. Any ideas? I can play something and post it, but I dont know how to post something. Maybe i could on Myspace if that would help. When I bought the bass it had strings that were starting to rust, and the bridge pick up wasnt working, I LOVED IT!!! and now I have the runs. Any advice on the not so expensive process for finding out why this is happening? if th srtings do not rectify this should I try pickups first? Could It be anything else? Thanks for your time, Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 First of all, I doubt that the strings are a problem. In my opinion all fretless basses should have smooth flatwounds but that is just my preferance. you did not mention what pickup you are using and is it active? You stated, I think, that the outer strings were putting out more db but then you say it is midrangy. Is the bridge pickup still not working if not is it still in the circuit? If it is, I suspect it may be causing a problem. If you could be a little more specific, I'm sure some of our fellow Lowdowers can make some suggestions. Rocky "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonathanD Posted September 27, 2006 Author Share Posted September 27, 2006 Oh sorry about that. I have the original MIM j-bass pickups. Passive. The bridge PUP has been replaced with its equal counterpart and all is in perfect working order... So i thought. A music store put in the pick up for me, and the tone control used for it didnt work will I fixed it. Now the mid range is under control and the tone is SUPA COOL, its what i fell in love with. Still have the G and B string problem, which I could correct with playing, but these are very bad. And slides above the octive g on the g string sound funny, I think I need to resteel wool that part. So, any suggestions on the volume problems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whacked Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 a fretboard radius problem? You didnt (or previous owner) mistakenly over-round the fretboard in the defretting and filling process? Seems to me that if over-radiused, the action would be good but leave the B and G a little closer to the pups causing the dB problem. Just a thought anyhow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Is the B and G string strength the same whether using the front or rear pickup? On the P bass pup, you have the advantage of being able to tilt the pups away from the outer strings. Most P basses have the pups angled quite a bit to achieve a balance. On the Jazz pup, you can't do that. You could compensate with you plucking style or, There are some pups that have adjustable posts. Rocky "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Do you still have your original, fretted neck? If so, put it back on. If you want a fretless bass, then invest in one. Sorry, I just do not believe in this process, having tried it once myself. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NV43345 Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Pack up the whole mess and take it to the local repair shop, or call shops like Bass NW and see if you can send it to them to be properly repaired and set up the way you like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonathanD Posted September 28, 2006 Author Share Posted September 28, 2006 Well, a friend of mine let me borrow some bartolini PUPs he wasnt using at the moment to try them in the bass. Its the neck pick up that is causeing the problem. I will jsut have to replace it, although it make no since to me why it would do that. It sounds great with the bartolini pickups, but i dont have that much cash, so I will be going through the forum to find some suggestions. Whacked: No the neck/fretboard isn't too rounded. But I thought that same thing when I first noticed the problem but quickly saw and remembered I barley rounded it. dcr: I find working on things myself makes them have a lot more meaning to me. NV43345: I was the guy people brought their instruments to for a while, not to say i know a lot, but i dont trust a lot of people to do a better job than I would (only because I will take the time to do it right); let alone like to pay them $30-$90 an hour for work I can do. In the end it all turned out fine, It just took a little effort. Thanks guys, jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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