EUB sound problems

[Faithless]

So, I got a little sound issue with my EUB.


In the upper register of bass, In terms of 'frets', starting around the 18th one to the very end of fingerboard, nevermind, which string gets played, notes get cut - they do not produce the full sound, they just get cut after a moment, just like getting muted, if it makes sense..


I think, it's due to string/bridge action..

Should I raise the action a bit, or what?

Cheers
Faith

BTW, that's how my EUB looks, if it helps..:

[Duckyincarnate]

Nice bass!

Your string height does look very low - is it easy to raise it? It would give you a more double bassy sound, and might also help with the thumb position notes.

[Faithless]

The problem is, I don't have an idea, how to raise it..

Bridge doesn't seem adjustable..

I've wrote to the previous owner asking about it.


Any ideas on raising action?

[BigBeatNut]

Re: raising action

Does your EUB have neck-tilt feature ? Suspect it's unlikely, it looks like the neck is solidly built in.

Truss rod adjustment ? ...no, forget that, probably not going to help at the dusty end of the fingerboard.

Is the bridge fixed to the body ? If not you could try raising the height with shims maybe ?

[Faithless]

Well, I could probably raise that white plastic thing above piezo, which holds the strings (just before the bridge..)

[Duckyincarnate]

Or slightly more laborious, make a new plastic bridge yourself?

[Faithless]

Myself? Dude, you must be kidding - I am probably the worst craftsman out there..


What about standard electric bass bridge, would it be ok?

[endorka]

String height issues aside, when playing pizz high in thumb position on the double bass, it is certainly not unusual to get a "pinging the elastic band" sound. If you pluck the strings substantially closer to the bridge when playing this high up the neck it can help a bit. Unfortunately it also means you'll get a fistful of rosin but hey...

Bigbeatnut's suggestion about putting a shim between the "white plastic bit" and whatever is below it is a good one, and can be done quickly and non-destructively to see if an improvement is made.

Jennifer

[Faithless]

I've just tried to put some shim underneath 'white plastic bit' - it'd be all good - action gets higer, but, then, somehow, E string gets muted somehow, and it's output is slightly lower..

There's a piezo underneath that white plastic bit, mind you..

I don't even have an idea, what to do..

I've tried removing the part of shim, covering piezo just right there, where the E string happens to be onto, but it didn't help..

[CoolCat]

[quote name='Faithless' post='775392' date='Mar 15 2010, 04:45 PM']I've just tried to put some shim underneath 'white plastic bit' - it'd be all good - action gets higer, but, then, somehow, E string gets muted somehow, and it's output is slightly lower..
There's a piezo underneath that white plastic bit, mind you..
I don't even have an idea, what to do..
I've tried removing the part of shim, covering piezo just right there, where the E string happens to be onto, but it didn't help..[/quote]

This can happen due to the plastic saddle + shim being too soft and not applying enough pressure on the piezzo or the bottom of the saddle + shim are not perfectly horizontal and in full contact with the piezzo. I have seen this mute effect on acoustic guitars with piezzos.

Take precise measurements of the plastic saddle, get on ebay and get a piece of TUSQ, BONE,BUFFALO HORN or EBONY that fit those measurements.

After that a bit of sandpaper (+ glass surface to rest it perfectly flat) a ruler, tlc and elbow grease should do wonders.

[oldslapper]

[quote name='CoolCat' post='775449' date='Mar 15 2010, 05:43 PM']This can happen due to the plastic saddle + shim being too soft and not applying enough pressure on the piezzo or the bottom of the saddle + shim are not perfectly horizontal and in full contact with the piezzo. I have seen this mute effect on acoustic guitars with piezzos.

Take precise measurements of the plastic saddle, get on ebay and get a piece of TUSQ, BONE,BUFFALO HORN or EBONY that fit those measurements.

After that a bit of sandpaper (+ glass surface to rest it perfectly flat) a ruler, tlc and elbow grease should do wonders.[/quote]

+1 on replacing the saddle with bone/tusq. I play acoustic guitar and replacing the plastic saddle with a bone one gave an "even response" across all strings and frequencies.
Your bridge/saddle is similar. You don't have to be a tech to do this, just follow CoolCat's advice.

nice looking EUB.

[OutToPlayJazz]

As Jennifer mentioned, it's a common thing with double basses - The problem is that when you're playing so far down the string, you're physically shortening the string so much that there's literally not enough string left to vibrate fully enough. All of my double basses do it & my Triumph electric upright does it, too. The Triumph is the best of the lot in this respect and I usually run out of playable notes about an inch off the end of the fingerboard. I regularly play that high in jazz solos, so it's a slight fustration, but I usually stop and tell the audience I've run out of notes before carrying on playing! Strangely enough, playing arco up there is usually more reliable, as it requires less physical movement of the string to get a consistent sound.

Edited March 15, 2010 by OutToPlayJazz