Help with neck pickup volume on SR5 HH

[shakinbacon]

Well I saw the light and bought a used SR5 HH. Awesome bass, don't know what took me so long .

I'm loving the tones for positions 1-4 (right to left) on it. However, when I follow the instructions on the EBMM FAQ for setup, position 5 (neck pickup solo'd) has a large volume drop. Actually, position 1 is the loudest of all.

Here is some plagiarism from the FAQ:
"Virtually all the adjustments to string height can be made with the truss rod. Turn clockwise to raise the finger board, counter clockwise to lower. The ideal string height for our basses is 3/32" or 2.4mm between the bottom of the string to the top of the fret on both the E and G strings at the 12th fret. The G string can be slightly lower due to the fact that it is the smallest string. This affects the bow of the neck.

The factory specifications for the pickup height is 6/32" or 4.76mm from the top of the plastic between the pickup covers to the bottom of the G string. The angle of the pickup is set fairly level, so the larger strings are naturally a bit closer. If you haven't already adjusted the pickup or changed to a very heavy gauge string set, you shouldn't have to do any adjustments on the pickup.

On the new 2-pickup basses, the measurements are virtually the same on the bridge pickup and the neck pickup is further away, about 8/32" or 6.35mm from the string to the pickup.
"

So even when I do this I get a big volume drop on the neck pickup. By the way, I assumed this setup translates to a 5 string and the measurements for the "E" can be transposed to the "B" string... perhaps that is a mistake on my part. If an updated setup instruction for a 5 string could given I'd appreciate it.

I've heard some say they love the sound of position five which has me scratching my head as it sounds so low in volume to me. It should be noted that I *can* get the volumes of the neck and bridge to match by lowering the bridge or raising the neck pickup. Essentially, if the distance to the strings is about equal for the two pickups the solo'd volume in positions 1 and 5 are about equal. Also, I'm using a new set of Ernie Ball Slinky Regulars and the Duracell is new.

Thanks much,
Shakinbacon

P.S. Some people on another bass forum have suggested something is wrong with the bass, I'm praying this isn't the case. I'd much rather it be user error

 

[Caca de Kick]

Have you called EB customer service support yet???

 

[Rano Bass]

I'm loving the tones for positions 1-4 (right to left) on it. However, when I follow the instructions on the EBMM FAQ for setup, position 5 (neck pickup solo'd) has a large volume drop. Actually, position 1 is the loudest of all.

It looks like something's wrong, call customer service they're great.

 

[shakinbacon]

Have you called EB customer service support yet???

I'll wait for a chance for some responses then I'll give 'em a call. I agree they are quite helpful.

shakin

 

[shakinbacon]

Spoke with customer service. Based on the fact that I can get the volume to equalize by raising the neck pickup and that it is known that the neck pickup has lower output, they said it didn't sound like there was an issue. They suggested I adjust the pickup height to my liking and use the FAQ as a general guideline.

 

[oli@bass]

I don't have any dual Pickup EBMM's but all my other basses have either a P or a J at the neck position, and not all of them are farther away from the strings than the bridge pickups. It largely depends on the PU type and brand.

I don't know why exactly the FAQ say to have the neck pickup lower relative than the bridge pickup. My guess would be to compensate for the greater excursion of the string when plucked, because larger string excursion results in a larger amplitude in pickup current (it's similar to plucking harder).

Where do you pluck the string? If you pluck very near to the bridge (and using a pick), the difference of string excursion between pickups is much less than if you pluck between them, or over the neck pickup (and with fingers).


(BTW, I've always adjusted pickup relative height by ear not by measurement)

 

[oli@bass]

Customer Service got me beat.
I accept defeat!

 

[shakinbacon]

I don't have any dual Pickup EBMM's but all my other basses have either a P or a J at the neck position, and not all of them are farther away from the strings than the bridge pickups. It largely depends on the PU type and brand.

I don't know why exactly the FAQ say to have the neck pickup lower relative than the bridge pickup. My guess would be to compensate for the greater excursion of the string when plucked, because larger string excursion results in a larger amplitude in pickup current (it's similar to plucking harder).

Where do you pluck the string? If you pluck very near to the bridge (and using a pick), the difference of string excursion between pickups is much less than if you pluck between them, or over the neck pickup (and with fingers).


(BTW, I've always adjusted pickup relative height by ear not by measurement)

Oli,
Thanks for your response, you don't have to accept defeat


I tend to play above the bridge pickup (the right side of it) which does make the volume change more noticeable. You are absolutely right, if I play between the pickups, the volume difference is not as great. I will also concede that I should go by my ears and not measurements - it is just that I bought the bass used and want to get the setup close to what the "ideal" is (ya, I know that is subjective)

Again, thanks for taking the time to read and respond - I appreciate it

bacon

 

[phatduckk]

ya it doesn't sound like a problem. I noticed a similar thing when i first got into 2 pickup territory.

My take (not the official word) is that the height's a suggestion (as you noted yourself). I experimented a bunch and found that when following the FAQ's suggested height my ears like the mixed positions (2, 3 and 4) better than when I had the neck pickup raised. That make sense?

So, for me - positions 2, 3 and 4 sounded best when the neck pickup was at the height suggested by the FAQ.

An easy way to deal with the volume drop is the volume and/or EQ knobs. BP suggests you not play with the basses volume on 10. Following that suggestion you give yourself some room to boost the vol when you switch to position 5.

BUT if you're like me and play with volume on 10 then your other option is to boost each EQ the same amount. So add a tad on the high, equal boost of mid and equal boost on low. boosting each EQ knob the same level should essentially result in the thing just getting louder.

I never switch PUP positions in between songs so the EQ solution works for me since i dime the basses volume knob

 

[shakinbacon]

I'm at it again

I'm still trying to get the tone dialed in and spent (wasted) several hours last night. I think I'm going nuts.

Here is the setup I found works the best in terms of playability,
tonal variation with pickup settings and string-to-string evenness:

(all measurements for action and pickup height taken when wearing
instrument and putting ruler behind string (ie. for the B string the
ruler would be on the 12th fret on the E side of the B string (but
abutting it)).

I like the neck relief to be very small if not zero.

Action as measured at the 12th fret
B - 3/32" (a tad heigher)
E - 3/32"
A - 3/32"
D - 3/32"
G - 3/32" (a tad lower)

This is essentially as explained in the FAQ.

There is a bit of fret "clank" and "buzz" when pushed hard with these
settings, but I've found that this is part of the tone of the
stringray. With no buzz and the action high, the bass just sounds
dead to me.

Pickup height (measured from bottom of string closest to the pickup to
the closest point directly below the string on the pickup):

Bridge: B string to Pickup - 5/32"
G string to Pickup - 4/32"
Neck : B string to Pickup - 6/32"
G string to Pickup - 5/32"

But then again, if I use the factory setup, I think I like the sound of positions 2-4 better. They aren't as muddy when the EQ is set flat. It is just that the volume drop going from position 1 to 5 is large.
This is the factory setup as I understand it:

Bridge: B string to Pickup - 6/32"
G string to Pickup - 6/32"
Neck : B string to Pickup - 8/32"
G string to Pickup - 8/32"


I tend to play between the pickups most of the time and occasionally over the pickups for variation.


I'd love to hear opinions on this and suggested setups.

Thanks

 

[nicjimbass]

Someone beat me to it, but I'll repeat it, for emphasis. BP taught many of us that you shouldn't set your volume to 10 on an active bass. There's a thread somewhere about it, but basically, it's like flooring the gas on your car... you'll go fast, but there's no room to speed up after that. Because of that lesson, I now never take my volume past 5, UNLESS I'm soloing the neck pickup on my Bongo 5HH... there is a volume drop, but since I have more juice to give, I just take it to 6 or 6.5, and viola! everything is good.

 

[shakinbacon]

Someone beat me to it, but I'll repeat it, for emphasis. BP taught many of us that you shouldn't set your volume to 10 on an active bass. There's a thread somewhere about it, but basically, it's like flooring the gas on your car... you'll go fast, but there's no room to speed up after that. Because of that lesson, I now never take my volume past 5, UNLESS I'm soloing the neck pickup on my Bongo 5HH... there is a volume drop, but since I have more juice to give, I just take it to 6 or 6.5, and viola! everything is good.

Interesting, I'll give this a try! I've always run my basses full out volume wise (for max SNR), but I see your point. It actually is a very good idea. I'll search for the thread but if someone could point me to it I'd appreciate it.

I'll set the bass to the factory setup and give it a try.

Again, thanks for the reply. Sounds silly but it is a paradigm shift in how I approach tone settings.

 

[nicjimbass]

I completely understand... when BP told us this, it rocked my world. I too used to dime the volume, and use the EQ sparingly... now, I can EQ much more, and still have a cleaner, bigger sound.

 

[LowMoJo]

Someone beat me to it, but I'll repeat it, for emphasis. BP taught many of us that you shouldn't set your volume to 10 on an active bass.

I tried this on my HS SR4 which has a much bigger volume difference between pickups than my HH Sterling and SR5. it actually made quite a difference in getting the perceived volume closer in line.