Mornats Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Hi folks, I wouldn't mind some opinions on this. The bridge J pickup on my Overwater (by Tanglewood) bass seems very quiet. For the most part, this is to be expected due to less vibration at that end of the bass but this one just seems to be a little too quiet. Also, there's not a lot of tone change when I pan from the neck P pickup and the J at the bridge. Here's a simple recording to highlight it: [url="http://soundcloud.com/mornats/overwater-pickup-volume-test"]http://soundcloud.com/mornats/overwater-pickup-volume-test[/url] I recorded it using a Guitar Rig Session I/O, same input volume, same amp sim, same amp sim volume, same EQ in Reaper. The only thing I changed was the pickup pan know. Check the timed comments for when I change it. Well, you can actually see the difference on the soundstream graphic. Would you consider this normal or could there be a problem with the J pickup at the bridge? Any comments/advice welcome! Ta! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Sounds like 2 problems here - bridge pickup quiet (maybe raise it up a bit towards the strings?) and are they wired correctly? If they're out of phase then they'll have the effect of cancelling each other out, and I might be speaking rubbish here but if the bridge pickup was louder then it would have a more pronounced effect on the volume when they're mixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 The lack of tone change when I pan suggests that the bridge pickup may not be outputting at all. The bridge pickup is about 2.5mm from the strings so it's fairly close anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 [quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1332076104' post='1582796'] The lack of tone change when I pan suggests that the bridge pickup may not be outputting at all. The bridge pickup is about 2.5mm from the strings so it's fairly close anyway. [/quote] But surely if you pan all the way round to the bridge pickup and it's not working at all then all you would get is silence? Unless the pan pot has a limited range? Dunno - I think I have exhausted my usefulness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 No idea to be honest! Anyway, I sent an email to Overwater earlier today and Chris May answered it and said to give him a call once he's back from Frankfurt. Really impressed with his responsiveness so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I'm also a bit puzzled by this - i think I've the same kind of thing with my (passive) Classic J. With the blend control fully to the P pickup, it's much louder than with the blend control all the way to the J. I appreciate that the neck pickup will probably be louder than the bridge, but I was expecting it to be loudest with the blend control at the center indent - ie both pickups full bore. As it is, I get: Blend control fully to the J = J tone. Blend control centered = P+J, louder than just the J. Blend control filly to the P = P tone, loudest of the lot. Surely this is wrong, or is it my expectations that are awry? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 [quote name='barkin' timestamp='1332088502' post='1583002'] I'm also a bit puzzled by this - i think I've the same kind of thing with my (passive) Classic J. With the blend control fully to the P pickup, it's much louder than with the blend control all the way to the J. I appreciate that the neck pickup will probably be louder than the bridge, but I was expecting it to be loudest with the blend control at the center indent - ie both pickups full bore. As it is, I get: Blend control fully to the J = J tone. Blend control centered = P+J, louder than just the J. Blend control filly to the P = P tone, loudest of the lot. Surely this is wrong, or is it my expectations that are awry? [/quote] I would expect the centre to be slightly quieter as things start cancelling out with both pups on full. Question, you've tried raising the jazz and lowering the P pups? the passive one I tried was impressive as the pickups were balanced in tone and volume really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I think I may have spoken too soon. I've only had this just over a week, and until last night I'd only really been noodling around at "don't upset the neighbours" kind of volumes. Took it to rehearsal last night, and after some fiddling with EQ at decent at decent volume I don't actually think there's anything much amiss Yes - the J PUP is a bit quieter than the P, but I've now dropped the P PUP a bit and raised the J, and I'm pretty damned happy. I Must say, I'm extremely pleased with this Tanglewater... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 I think I may have solved my issue too. I tried lowering the P pickup and raising the J pickup. At first, when changing the pan knob it seemed to make no difference. However, when I turned the bass knob, it was much louder when I turned it [i]down[/i]. So I now think I've just been a knob myself and have mistaken the bass knob for the pan knob. So, here's what I thought the knobs did (from neck to jack socket in order): Volume - Bass - Treble - Pan. However, it now seems that it's: Volume - Pan - Treble - Bass. I can't believe I made that mistake but to be honest, I've just been turning the knobs until I get the sound I want so never thought about the possibility that I'd gotten them mixed up. Anyway, I'm about to undo the changes I made and see if that helps... oh, and glad you got yours sorted Barkin. As an aside, I've just had mine setup with a really nice low action and it's just a beauty to play, even better than when I first got it. Just as good, if not better than the Fender American Jazz that I played last year (which was the best bass I've ever had a go on). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 If it helps, my Classic J is - from neck to jack socket - volume, blend/pan, tone. If any of them indented at the centre position, That'll be the blend, I'd imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 What threw me off is that the two eq pots and the pan all have centre indents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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