rediscovering the treble knob on SR5

[shakinbacon]

Me likey tone
Me no likey hiss

SR5HH

Any suggestions?

In particular this is positions 3 & 4 with slight boost on bass & mids with mucho treble boost (75%ish)

Slinky strings may need changing soon. Not dead but not crisp either.

 

[Duarte]

Sounds to me that you are boosting your treble too much. Get new strings and then that won't be necessary, and the hiss will be gone...surely?

 

[bizmarckie]

I would also check the amp's settings... I plugged in yesterday and was getting a ridiculous amount of hiss... It took me like five minutes to actually look at my amp's EQ and go "Oh, the high mids are cranked to 10"
(I'm slow sometimes )

 

[dave64o]

Quick question... Are you hearing hiss a) in the mix or b) just during the "silence" between songs or when playing by yourself? Off the top of my head I'm guessing that when the band is playing the hiss would probably not be a big issue.

Another possibility is to try a cut instead of boost (a classic recording technique). In other words what happens if you cut some bass and maybe some of the mids? I'm not a big fan of cutting mids but if the trebly tone is what you like it might be another way to help get you there.

Also, I notice a lot of string noise when I turn up the treble on my Stingray 5HH, so if that's another issue you're having then trying flats might help with that one as well. Of course, if your technique is better than mine you might not have this problem.

EDIT - For what it's worth, I don't often turn the tone knobs very far in either direction. I usually find that a modest adjustment goes a LONG way on my Stingray. One exception where I *do* like to give the treble a good boost is for getting Mike Rutherfords trebly tone for old Genesis songs. But like was saying above, I usually only notice significant hiss and string noise when I'm playing by myself.

 

[shakinbacon]

Quick question... Are you hearing hiss a) in the mix or b) just during the "silence" between songs or when playing by yourself? Off the top of my head I'm guessing that when the band is playing the hiss would probably not be a big issue.

Another possibility is to try a cut instead of boost (a classic recording technique). In other words what happens if you cut some bass and maybe some of the mids? I'm not a big fan of cutting mids but if the trebly tone is what you like it might be another way to help get you there.

Also, I notice a lot of string noise when I turn up the treble on my Stingray 5HH, so if that's another issue you're having then trying flats might help with that one as well. Of course, if your technique is better than mine you might not have this problem.

EDIT - For what it's worth, I don't often turn the tone knobs very far in either direction. I usually find that a modest adjustment goes a LONG way on my Stingray. One exception where I *do* like to give the treble a good boost is for getting Mike Rutherfords trebly tone for old Genesis songs. But like was saying above, I usually only notice significant hiss and string noise when I'm playing by myself.

Thank you for your reply

Yes I am hearing hiss - not hum, buzz, distortion or string noise. It gets louder as the volume and/or treble is increased on the instrument. I am hearing it between songs not in the mix - also with headphones. The hiss isn't dependent on the pickup selection except that position 1 is so much louder than the rest that I can turn the volume down and get less. Positions 5 and 3 have the least volume and I have to turn up the volume knob to equal the sound level of the other settings

With headphones it is especially noticeable if I move the treble at all past center. My soundman cranks down the treble on the board. His quote:
"I love that bass but it is kinda noisy". I'm not happy with him taking out the high frequencies as it neuters the tone.

I may try your trick of cutting and not boosting. I generally play with the eq flat but I do like to boost the bass and treble in position 1 of the SR5HH. Position 3 I'm liking slight boost on all the knobs (to my ears even when equalizing the volume, it isn't the same sound as leaving the eq flat).

I called (the superb) customer service and will likely send the bass in to have the pros look at it.

I'm not trying to slam anyone else's basses, just trying to see if I have an issue (equipment or hearing sensitivity wise). Sending it in for a fix will be pricey but I love the instrument.

 

[mynan]

How are you sending signal to the board? I have a similar situation, and I don't know why, but it's not my bass. If I use anything like the DI out on an amp or a SansAmp to send signal to the board, I get a lot of hiss. If I put a DI box between my bass and amp and send signal from there, the hiss goes away but my signal drops by about 25db.

 

[shakinbacon]

How are you sending signal to the board? I have a similar situation, and I don't know why, but it's not my bass. If I use anything like the DI out on an amp or a SansAmp to send signal to the board, I get a lot of hiss. If I put a DI box between my bass and amp and send signal from there, the hiss goes away but my signal drops by about 25db.

mynan thanks for the note.

I usually use the (active) DI out of a Genz Benz Shuttle using the "pre" not "post" setting into a 1:1 Jensen transformer for better ground loop isolation (some rooms don't need the Jensen but I've found if I use it I don't have to worry about ever getting hum).

I've tried with only the DI out and no transformer as well as with a passive transformer based DI box without the Genz Benz. The result is always the same in terms of hiss. I'll try the passive DI box again based on your experience.

However, I can hear the hiss with headphones if I go directly into a mixer at home, so I don't think it has anything to do with the amp or transformers in the live situation.

By the way, if you are using a passive DI, the 25dB drop in signal is likely due to a 12:1 transformer. This is done for several reasons but mainly to impedance match the mixer to the bass for driving long lines.

 

[mynan]

By the way, if you are using a passive DI, the 25dB drop in signal is likely due to a 12:1 transformer. This is done for several reasons but mainly to impedance match the mixer to the bass for driving long lines.

Is the Jensen transformer in the Radial JDI a 1:1 transformer? I've been looking for a reason to get one.

 

[shakinbacon]

Is the Jensen transformer in the Radial JDI a 1:1 transformer? I've been looking for a reason to get one.

To my knowledge, the JDI uses the Jensen JT-DB 12:1 transformer

The 1:1 Jensen is a custom box I made to break ground loops that active DIs have hard times with.

btw Jensen transformers are awesome