bad sustain?

[mike jungle]

man, i'm posting a lot. hope you guys don't mind. i'm curious about a lot of things.

i was wondering why they don't make the strings through the body like they did on the namm basses. it'd result in better sustain.

i feel like when i go higher on the neck, my sustain is cut drastically. it almost sounds like it gets muted right away. is this because of the nature of the bass or is there something setup-wise that can increase sustain? i think there are sustain increasing boxes (don't know what they're called...stompbox illiterate), but since i've played basses with better sustain, i feel like the ernie ball should be able to do the same. maybe i'm doing something wrong.

 

[Joshua]

Sustain, or lack thereof, is a result of lots of things. Construction, strings, setup, and playing style all factor into the equation.

That said, a Music Man instrument will have tons o' sustain if all is working correctly.

 

[Joshua]

I should add that both my other basses have string thru body options and it doesn't add to sustain at all. I actually don't use that option because my favorite strings are not long enough on the E string...

 

[Figjam]

If you dont have proper sustain on upper frets, your bass isnt set up as good as it could be.

 

[prickly_pete]

I have a MIA Jazz with string through bridge, and the sustain is not as good as my Rays. My Rays have plenty of Sustain all over the necks -- so does the Jazz, btw. You probably need a good setup. Also, try changing the strings for a new set of EB Super Slinkys.

 

[midopa]

+1 on the setup. At least take a look at pickup height from the pole pieces to the bottom of the strings. Bovinehost once said that having the pickups too close will ruin the sustain.

 

[mike jungle]

okay, i'm going to try lowering my pickups.

any other suggestions? i don't really know what about setup could increase sustain. i only know how to set it up so that intonation is correct and action is set at a desirable height. how do i increase sustain with setup? maybe i need to bolt the neck in harder? it already looks pretty bolted in, but other than a loose neck, i don't see what could be bugging my sustain. this bass is only about a year old too. i bought it used, but it was made in 2004.

 

[Joshua]

Bum strings?

A correctly set up bass that is of good quality and is functioning correctly should have plenty of sustain.

And it would certainly be a good idea to make sure the neck is bolted on correctly, but that would just be part of a correct setup. Is there a shim?

 

[pattiejay]

i jus wanna ask how much spacing you guys have from the pole piece to your E-strings?

mine's just under 4mm and i lack sustain very quickly (from the G and above) - its just for my E string, the other strings seems to perfectly good sustain - i believe the recommended setting's 4mm?

is it the PUP height near the E string that's killing sustain? i don't want to raise the action if possible...shud i make any adjustments to the bridge or saddle?

i actually asked b4 but no-one really answered...

 

[mike jungle]

what's a shim?

 

[pattiejay]

a shim is like a piece of wood or something to fill a gap...

i assume joshua's talkin bout somethin that's maybe filling up a gap in your neck joint...maybe...

can someone answer my question bout the PUP hieght please?

 

[prickly_pete]

A shim is sometimes placed in the base of the neck joint to angle the neck backwards -- if the bass were laying on a table -- so that the strings can be adjusted to the proper action. Shims are very common and should not affect sustain.

 

[mike jungle]

i would answer your question...but i don't exactly know the answer, and my bass has weird sustain, so i wouldn't want to give you my measurements.

no, there is no shim.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

If pickups are set too high, the magnetic attraction of the pole pieces will restrict string vibration, resulting in lack of sustain.

You describe the sustain on your Bass as "weird sustain" and that it gets worse as you move up the neck. IMO, that indicates the pickup is set too high.

When you fret strings further up the neck, they become closer to the pickup magnets. Pickup height should therefore be adjusted with the strings fretted at the last fret.

Try this:

The pickup/s should be adjusted while the Bass is in the play position (seated with Bass on your lap). While depressing the E string at the last fret, measure the distance from the bottom of that string to the top of the pickup magnet for that string. Adjust for a distance of 4/32 inches. Do the same with the G string but, this time, aim for a distance of 3/32 inches. Final adjustment may have to be made to the G side by ear, so that the volume is even across all strings.

The above procedure applies to other pickups, if more than one. The neck pickup will end up slightly lower than the bridge pickup.

.

 

[pattiejay]

If pickups are set too high, the magnetic attraction of the pole pieces will restrict string vibration, resulting in lack of sustain.

You describe the sustain on your Bass as "weird sustain" and that it gets worse as you move up the neck. IMO, that indicates the pickup is set too high.

When you fret strings further up the neck, they become closer to the pickup magnets. Pickup height should therefore be adjusted with the strings fretted at the last fret.

Try this:

The pickup/s should be adjusted while the Bass is in the play position (seated with Bass on your lap). While depressing the E string at the last fret, measure the distance from the bottom of that string to the top of the pickup magnet for that string. Adjust for a distance of 4/32 inches. Do the same with the G string but, this time, aim for a distance of 3/32 inches. Final adjustment may have to be made to the G side by ear, so that the volume is even across all strings.

The above procedure applies to other pickups, if more than one. The neck pickup will end up slightly lower than the bridge pickup.

.

I have a question about adjusting the PUP height - i tried doing the adjustmemts as per the instructions above to try to fix my E-string sustain issues...but found that there was a lot of resistance when trying to lower the PUP height - to the point where the screws on the PUP started to wear from the resistance (i saw that as a bad sign, and stopped adjusting)

is this a separate issue? or is that normal? i don't want worn screws on my PUP... : (

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Very strange!

Are you sure you're measuring in 1/32 inches and not 1/16 or 1/8 inches.

It's easy to make a mistake. Count the markings on your steel rule to make sure there's 32 to the inch. Did the pickup moved down a lot from its original position?

P.S. Just a rough check. The distance from the top of the pickup down to the pickguard should be approx 1/4".

.

 

[pattiejay]

i live in australia where everything is metric...so i did a conversion - i currently have a gap of 6mm (0.23622 inches) measured from the top of the pickup (not the pole piece) directly under the E-string to the bottom of the E-string

i don't hav a steel ruler so its kinda hard to measure from the top of the PUP to the pickguard...

so it seems the PUP height is alrite...rite? so why the lack of sustain? what shud i look at next? remember - the other strings all hav good sustain...

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Could be a bad E string.

IMO, put on a fresh set of strings.

You can get a 6" steel rule, graded in inches, from Bunnings for a few Dollars.

.

 

[pattiejay]

ahh...Bunnings...where wud we be without 'em..! I miss BBC Hardware tho...

i recently put on some new strings (3 weeks ago) - they're D'Addario XL's...

maybe i'll get it checked out by Bassplayer in Annandale...hopefully they can help...

thanx for da help by the way Rod...cheers!!

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

You'll really find that a 6'' steel rule is very handy. Forget all the metric stull.

If the E is lacking sustain all the way up the neck then IMO, it has to be the string.

D'Addario are pretty good. Infact, I believe they're the string makers for Ernie Ball.

But, on the odd occasion, you can get a bad one.

Let me know how you go