Does a 'good' bass have 'good' harmonics?

[iconic]

I'm going thru a harmonics phase..it will pass I'm sure.

I have noticed that I have 3 bass's here at the moment on the the exact same strings and there is a real difference in the clarity and volume on the harmonics....was bored last night so had a go on them with same amp settings 'n stuff.

[u][b]Method:-[/b][/u]

All running newish Fender superbass nickles...intonation good on all basses...all 4 strings...all passive jazz configurations...on rear pups, tones wide open (as in straight thru, as in no treble cut) I also A/B/A'd them in case my technique was getting better..it isn't!


[u][b]Results:-[/b][/u]

Gold: My Yamaha RBXA2 wins hands down, by a country mile (I do live in Norfolk )...clear as a bell, very loud & easy to find...also plainly audible when unplugged.

Silver: Aria Jazz...very good...clear but not as lively as the A2.

Bronze: Squier Jazz...the harmonics are there of course but a tad dull and I need to be more precise.

[u][b]Summary:-[/b][/u]

I'm not sure what's this is telling me, could be pups, could be a resonance thing...anyone familar with a Yammy A2 will know these things sustain soooooo well and have this internal resonance thing going on in the body. The Aria is a nicely finished one piece Alder body with very hot pups....the Squier Jazz is simply red and is the 'quietest' & flatest of the trio when playing...plays nice enough though.

So if I tried this on a boutique high end bass would I get even better harmonics?

[Fat Rich]

Graphite necks are great for harmonics, you might not like the tone of the bass overall, they're not for everyone.

I've a feeling stiffer necks have something to do with the clarity of harmonics but I've never done back to back tests, there's probably too many other variables anyway.

[Mr. Foxen]

Guessing you mean artificial harmonics where you touch the strings on nodes?

Anyway, the acoustic brightness of the bass is a fairly big factor in how well they work, so stuff that preserves the harmonics of the string (as in not artificial harmonics) like a good solid bridge and other stuff that avoids high frequency energy loss on stuff other than the string vibrating should all help.

[Myke]

I found that the harmonics on my epiphone thunderbird were clearer than the ones on my TRB but... The later is active while the other is passive, this may have something to do with it


edit: damn autocorrect

Edited April 25, 2013 by Myke

[krysh]

it is always about the context....

[sblueplanet]

I have two '94 Fender Jazz MIJ basses and they have very notable differences with the same strings. I put this down to body wood, neck and string setup etc.
One is definitely brighter sounding and other has better sustain. I am inclined to keep roundwounds on one and fit flatwounds on the other to make best of each bass characteristics.

[Musicman20]

The best harmonics I've heard are on Musicman Bongo basses....ridiculously clear harmonics.

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1366880733' post='2058374']
The best harmonics I've heard are on Musicman Bongo basses....ridiculously clear harmonics.
[/quote]

Might the compensated nut be a contributory factor, I wonder?
Otherwise, what's the definition of "good" harmonics?

My Vigier produces nice harmonics. In keeping with the sound the instrument otherwise produces. They're all where they should be, and sound reliably. Nice decay and sustain.

Some basses produce almost artificially loud harmonics. Is that good? I don't know...

I reckon strings/string condition and good set-up (intonation-wise) are likely to have a big effect.

[JTUK]

A good bass will sustain well and the harmonics will ring on virtually every fret.

That is the sort of thing you will expect for your money
A decent set-up will help, but the ability of a bass to sustain comes down to how it all fits together.
This will mostly be down to how much the basses cost...or should be,

I am not saying cheaper basses will not do it, but the expensive basses certainly should...IMO.

[iiipopes]

Yes, a good bass, meaning a bass where the resonances don't sap the overtones, will help. Overlooked: each bass, even if it is the same make or model, may have construction variances where the pickups are in slightly different places, which will sample different nodes and anti-nodes. This will cause a different balance to the artificial harmonics. An extreme example is to compare a Rickenbacker to a Precision: the pickups of a Rickenbacker are at the octave nodes, so the octave harmonics may or may not chime well. Conversely, the segments of a Precision pickup are at the 5th and 7th nodes, and octave harmonics "jump" out of the bass.

[iconic]

Now that is interesting i never knew pups were sited at node points, thanks for that.

[BassTractor]

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1366918348' post='2059105']
Now that is interesting i never knew pups were sited at node points, thanks for that.
[/quote]

I was actually thinking they'd gone away from it in part - these days putting them wherever the Hull they wanna put them.

Back in the days, I was taught that a harmonics test would reveal a classical guitar, and I assumed the same went for basses. However, BC recently taught me that between bad and good harmonics is a good set-up.


best,
bert