The 'thin' G, Ive been thinking..

[Mr.Mow]

I'd never experienced it before, I'm new to the MM scene, went from none to 3 in the last two months (and back to one)..

Ill start by saying I'm not a 'play at the bridge guy', I'm used to Ps and Js and play off the front pickup.. My first and second MMs were both HH setups, never noticed this 'thin G' phenomenon, my third MM was a single H Classic.

Pow.. thin G.

So, I tried playing forward, kinda went.. I'm a hang off the pickup guy as well, so I tried my jazz off the bridge and my Les Paul bass off the bridge.. plinky thin Gs, I'll also add I play standing with a long strap and the bass neck angled up about 45'.

So, neither of my HH's had it hanging off the front pup, but got plinky off the rear.. is it a matter of technique?, when the neck is angled up, the bridge pickup is set fairly far back your fingers are angled back giving you less plucking force closer to the bridge and that far away?

Is it an inherent design and ergonomics thing? I'd be interested to know the opinion of guys who use a floating technique and play more around the 'middle' like a P bass placment.

 

[Powman]

I float back and forth all the time. I have learned to keep my thumb off the rear pickup so that I am free to move around. And I think you nailed it on the head with your observations. I never noticed it before, but when I play the opening bass line to Sweet Child O Mine, I move my hand a bit closer to the neck to get a fuller sound.

I love the effect of playing in different places with my plucking hand.

 

[oli@bass]

I never really understood the issue, because no one who complained about a "weak" or "thin" G string ever cared to post sound files.

Your theory sounds interesting and appropriate to explain a "thin" G and is pretty much what I've observed (and expected from) every bass: Thinner strings make thinner sounds (doh!).

What still is a mystery to me is the so called "weak" G string, where players complain that the notes on the G string are less loud (NOT thinner) than on other strings, and some other players say that they could even out the loudness of notes between strings with tweaking the EQ (which BTW is utter BS looking at it from a scientific angle, because you cannot EQ one string and leave the others alone). I still tink that "weak" G issue is down to a combination of your theory plus a bad combination of string saddle height and pickup height - especially on the single H models which have staggered pole pieces. Think a bit about that geometry... it is designed to make the A and D strings relatively louder, or, to make all the strings equally loud if the bridge saddles follow the curve of the pole pieces.

Regarding technique: I also like how many different tones I get from moving the plucking hand.

 

[Chuck B]

I never had a problem. Then I had a bass from a local luthier and wondered. Does the G-string on the EBMM Ray sound weak... Asked the band mates. They looked at me: What do you mean? She sounds great!