Dead E string..

[spencer]

Well I guess its not Dead, sounds fine with fingers, however when I use a pick, which is when I get really picky about tone [no pun] It just sounds dead. The other three strings ring out with that nice stingray+fresh strings, punkish sound but then the E is just dead.

When I got the bass it came with Super Slinkies, which I thought were just old so I replaced them with New Super Slinkies, thinking I liked the thinner E string, which I thought I did thinking back when I used other brands but not sure. But now im not sure what to do. Also the strings sound old already and it has been 1 week.

Should I try another brand, or should I try some Regulars, OR should I try some other brand regulars. Im trying to stick with Ernie Ball here but, they seem to go dead really fast and just don't seem to be cutting it.

I tried Eq'ing the crap out of it, but nothing.

Any help from my fellow Pick players ie. Phatduck

 

[spencer]

By the way the pick tone Im going for is the old bassist from Chevelle, [One of the reasons I don't want a 5 string is because I never played a stringray that didn't have Dead E and B, but they were all stock at guitarcenter so that explains alot.] And I really like Hawthorn Heights Stingray Tone, not so much the music, just the pick tone.

I can get anything else I want out of my fingers easy, its just Pick tones always seem so forced for me.

 

[phatduckk]

huh, i havent experienced this problem... ive used other brands and switch the slinkys about 2 years ago cuz they last longer for me.

I run my setup pretty basic. I have lower than "stock" action but make sure pickup height is where the FAQ suggestions. otherwise - i use Stainless Super Slinkys or Stainless Hybrids. ill use nickel sometimes but only when i cant find stainless at a local shop. as far as amp etc i run everything flat-ish.

ok so... this is strange since you say it sounds fine w/ fingers. youre positive youre not playing too hard and fretting out right?

just pay attention to your playing - like stare at your picking hand and see if you can spot anything different or wrong.

ill think more about this...

 

[Alz®]

Failing what Phatty said, change your pick brand.

 

[funky_me]

I agree with Phatduckk when he says that its strange since you get a regular sound with your fingers... which you don't with a pick...

This fact tends me to believe that the problem isn't in the strings, but more likely in the playing technique and/or the bass...

Do as he said and watch closely your technique. Also make sure that the string height, tension and pickup height are as they should be. Or even better get it to someone that can setup your bass (if you have no experience doing it).

If you do this and the problem will still arise, then try other brand of strings... Ernie Ball is top of the notch, but it might not be for your personal taste...

Ricardo.

 

[funky_me]

Just to add that I'm not a pick player, so you would be better off with an advice from someone that is...

 

[silverburst]

Is your pickup height correct? If it is too low it could give you some trouble.

 

[Kristopher]

A good setup might fix this. I just bought a SR5 this weekend and the B string didn't ring out as well as the others. I fixed it by lowering the action on that particular string a bit. Now it's fine and unform with all the other strings.

If you're not used to doing this sort of thing, paying a few bucks to a good professional will make your bass play like butter.

 

[phatduckk]

like the guys said ... i vote the first thing would be to make sure your pickup hirght is correct. check out www.ernieball.com/faq

also... do you play harder when using a pick or softer?
do you pick at the same angle with fingers and a pick?
does one technique dig in more?
you dont happen to hit the magnets on the pickup when using a pick do you?

a closeup pick of the bass showing the action and pickup height would help.

 

[rhythmCity944]

I get great pick tones that are fat and full of life...try adjusting your eq settings to cope with pick playing as well...

 

[spencer]

huh, i havent experienced this problem... ive used other brands and switch the slinkys about 2 years ago cuz they last longer for me.

I run my setup pretty basic. I have lower than "stock" action but make sure pickup height is where the FAQ suggestions. otherwise - i use Stainless Super Slinkys or Stainless Hybrids. ill use nickel sometimes but only when i cant find stainless at a local shop. as far as amp etc i run everything flat-ish.

ok so... this is strange since you say it sounds fine w/ fingers. youre positive youre not playing too hard and fretting out right?

just pay attention to your playing - like stare at your picking hand and see if you can spot anything different or wrong.

ill think more about this...

Well first my technique is fine, I have been working with this issue for a while, It seems to happen less on P basses, but in my past the stringray I had and I think the sterling also had this problem.. I know its NOT the bass, happens on others I have played.

Im 99.76% sure its not me because I have had this issue on past basses, A few P basses I had, had this problem. My first stingray, I think my sterling, and now this bass. I have never been big into trying bunches of brands of strings since I really can't waste my money on a tone nobody but me hears, I also play at a church but don't use a pick. The tone sounds Great when my strings are BRAND NEW but quickly goes away, however in the past on other basses I did get the tone I was looking for with old is strings, like 5month old strings.

Thinking about it, I remember I used to have this problem with my first P bass, I was running it through a GK 400 and when I switched to the Ampeg B2-R I remember my pick tone was perfect. But I got rid of the Ampeg for stupid reasons,
I needed more power, my favorite bass player [FLEA] played through a GK so I just had to get one [1001RB2], and I didn't like how EVERYONE played through Ampeg and wanted something different.

But could it REALLY just be from my brand of AMP? That sounds ridiculous to me but I do remeber getting the pick tone of my Ampeg that I didn't get from the Hartke, Mesa Walkabout, or Either GK head I owned. I really don't want to play through an ampeg... And I have always used the same old Avatar 2x10 since the begging. Looks like I'll have to get an AMPEG SVT stack.

 

[phatduckk]

i wasnt quite blaming you technique just trying to get a mental picture.

ironically im having string issues as well. not quite an "unbalanced tone" issue like youre having but im just sad that strings sound different when they get old. this is just a fact of life... thats how strings are. if i was rich enough id replace em every week.

im gonna get a few huge boxes of wonderwipes and consistently clean em off after i play em - this should help keep em fresher for longer.

i really wish i was a flats guy so i didnt have to worry about this stuff.

do you happen to play the crap out of the E string? also do you use the E as your thumb rest when playing finger style. This would put more hand oil on the E and shorten its lifespan quicker than the other strings.

 

[bovinehost]

...I have been working with this issue for a while... in my past the stringray I had and I think the sterling also had this problem.. I know its NOT the bass, happens on others I have played.

Im 99.76% sure its not me because I have had this issue on past basses, A few P basses I had, had this problem. My first stingray, I think my sterling, and now this bass...I used to have this problem with my first P bass....

Spencer, in reading through your post, I can't help but think you've had this problem with various basses, so I have to ask myself, "What's the constant here?"

The bass? The amp? The strings? Or....the player?

 

[Big Poppa]

spenser what jack said strings die quickly if your body is high in acid and high ph...(i guess) I know guys who can play a set and in 10 minutes they are shot and then guys who can play them for days without a problem

 

[TSanders]

I have dead strings on my basses.

The deader they get, the better they sound!!

 

[spencer]

i wasnt quite blaming you technique just trying to get a mental picture..

do you happen to play the crap out of the E string? also do you use the E as your thumb rest when playing finger style. This would put more hand oil on the E and shorten its lifespan quicker than the other strings.

Its cool, didn't take offence, lol and I don't play the crap out of the E string and I use the pickup as a rest half the time for a rest and the other half the E..

 

[spencer]

Spencer, in reading through your post, I can't help but think you've had this problem with various basses, so I have to ask myself, "What's the constant here?"

The bass? The amp? The strings? Or....the player?

I know, but its not me, I really think its the amp. This is why...

Started off with a P copy then a Jazz and then a Fender P all useing the same Gallien Krueger amp, but not getting the tone in the E that I wanted, I tried out the Ampeg, I remember thinking I finally had the tone in my head. Then I got a stringray and at first wasn't all that caring about the sound since, I bought the thing for Finger style, I then went and bought a Mesa Walkabout head and then replaced that with a Gk 1001rb, I found out two of my favorite pick bass tones I heard used stingrays, so I set out to get the sound I heard and it sounds pretty good with every string, untill I got to the E...

I'll keep watching my technique and makeing sure I'm not doing anything wrong. Even though most bassists I watch that play with a pick play a bass like its a guitar, [which I tried btw and with bad results as you could imagine] which I believe I play much better than..

Anyways Im taking this problem down to a Guitarcenter to try it out on some Ampegs, if the problem persists its either me or the strings.....

 

[rhythmCity944]

after you play your strings for a few days, do they still sound tinty like they did when you first put them on? I change my strings every week to every other week depending on my show/recording schedule and I notice that after a few days that my e-string sounds more like a fart tuned to E than actual bass...I usually compensate with my eq some...when my strings are really old and played out for a couple weeks, there is nothing I can do...also, i find too much mid range will also make a bass sound a little ugly at times with a pick...that's just me

 

[mynan]

Thicker pick???

 

[funky_me]

Anyways Im taking this problem down to a Guitarcenter to try it out on some Ampegs, if the problem persists its either me or the strings.....

Do it. And then post your conclusions.

Now I'm getting curious.