Thumb bass is weak in the second octave

[thisnameistaken]

This is a weird one... I don't know if this has always been the case because I don't know if I've ever paid enough attention, but my Thumb is seriously lacking power above the first octave. I've noticed it more in rehearsals lately. The bass is a '91 Thumb, completely stock with the original MEC pickups / circuitry. I really like the sound of the bass, but obviously there is a problem.

The tunes we recorded back in April show the symptoms: [url="http://www.myspace.com/copaseticska"]http://www.myspace.com/copaseticska[/url] It almost sounds like the bass itself is compressing out the higher notes. I thought the engineer had put some aggressive compression or maybe a low-pass filter on the bass tracks that was causing the effect but apparently there was nothing on there.

Any advice?

[51m0n]

Do you mean 1 octave up the neck, or 1 octave across the strings?

Listening to the myspace page the bass sounds pretty consistent to me (listening on Sennheiser ear bud thingies), do you find you're digging in harder to compensate then?

If its up the neck, maybe the neck needs a bit more relief to not choke the strings. If its across the neck maybe you ned to have a look at the pickup height on the G string side, lift the pickup, get more oomph (although too close and the pickup's magnetic field will choke the strings). From your description (sounding compressed) I wouldnt be surprised to hear that the G string side of the pup is too close to the strings in fact....

I'd be surprised if there werent some compression on that bass somewhere in that recording/mixing process, but I also dont think its likely to have caused the effet you are describing, largely because there is more energy i lower notes, and these tend to hit the compressor harder, so you are most likely to hear the low notes get overcompressed first IME.

[thisnameistaken]

It doesn't seem to be related to which string or which fret, but rather a particular range of notes that just sound weak. Anything above the second G in particular seems to drop out.

I am using Slinkies for the first time (after a lifetime of Rotosounds) I wonder if that could be anything to do with it?

[51m0n]

EQ then?

Sounds like a dip in a large range of frequencies, around the lower mids, rather than a particular area of the bass. So maybe something in th electronics or pickups is letting it down, or how you eq it.

[phil.i.stein]

some cool tunes there..

i noticed the same as you said mainly on 'restless' and 'firing squad'

a]with 'restless' it tended to be the notes you were sliding up to. b]with 'firing squad' it was when the louder guitar parts kicked in.

have you tried altering the angle of the pup(s) to compensate for the volume drop on the higher strings ? - just an idea

[thisnameistaken]

Phil - yes that's exactly what I was talking about. I haven't tried adjusting the pup heights because tbh it doesn't seem like one string is any louder than another, but I might mess with it and see what it does.

Simon - It does indeed seem like an EQ problem but it must be something onboard. I've noticed it through my amp but I recorded direct and got the same effect.

I wonder if I should take this to a Warwick forum and see if anyone else has had this before, but I've never heard of Warwick's pups wearing out or whatever.

[Chris2112]

Could just be the bass itself and the way you perceive it? My Warwick Thumb sounded a bit like that (albeit not as apparent and lacking in punch). It had so much power and presence in the low mids that the upper registers sounded a little flat by comparison. Certainly nothing to stop you soloing on it, but the design of the bass meant that this was an inherent characteristic.

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='990299' date='Oct 16 2010, 03:35 PM']Phil - yes that's exactly what I was talking about. I haven't tried adjusting the pup heights because tbh it doesn't seem like one string is any louder than another, but I might mess with it and see what it does.

Simon - It does indeed seem like an EQ problem but it must be something onboard. I've noticed it through my amp but I recorded direct and got the same effect.

I wonder if I should take this to a Warwick forum and see if anyone else has had this before, but I've never heard of Warwick's pups wearing out or whatever. [/quote]

Worth posting on the Wick forum BUT as it will likely be guess work and the Warwick forum isn't as busy as here, I think ultimately if it were me I'd see if someone local has a pair of pups that you could drop in and try. I'm not dissing the Wick forum by suggesting that they'd not be able to help but I doubt this is specific to Warwick Thumb basses (not heard of such a thing in the time I've had Warwicks, inc' Thumb basses) and have a feeling that it's likely to be an individual fault (if it has one) that could be found on any bass.

This is just a random thought but there isn't a crack in the bass anywhere (neck laminate, fingerboard delamination etc), no loose frets and the nut is flat and secure? I'm just wondering if something physical with the bass might make it leech certain frequencies!

[LawrenceH]

Rotosounds have more oomph in the mids than slinkies in my experience. It may well just be that the tonal balance of the strings doesn't suit the natural tone of the bass/electrics. Other than that I can only think it'd be worth tweaking the neck a bit just to see if it makes a difference.

[thisnameistaken]

WH no there's no crack in the bass anywhere. The neck laminates have shifted a bit around the body join and a couple of edges feel a bit raised but nothing scary.

I will have to try different strings, then different pickups. I definitely didn't remember have this issue the last time I was using this bass regularly, which was about a year ago. And nothing has changed except the string brand. It just seems like too weird an issue to be strings though.