Why does my SR4 sound so tinny?

[ROON]

Hey guys,

I've been a bit frustrated with my SR4's tone lately. I recently got a new Ampeg rig, since the hot pickup on the 'Ray was making my 1x10, 30w combo distort.
Now, my Ray sounded beautiful through the Ashdown combo, even though it distorted and the amp itself was falling to bits. But even after having my Ampeg rig for around 4 months I still can't find a tone that I'm 100% pleased with.

Everything is so... metallic... tinny... thin... COMPLETELY out of character for a Stingray, right?
I've tried EQing it out, both with the amp's EQ and the Ray's EQ. Whenever I EQ, it's either too heavy in the treble and mids, or far too heavy in the bass. So I either have mud, or clanky garbage. It's starting to really frustrate me. To the point where I will play my $400 Ibanez instead of my beloved Ray. What am I doing wrong? I play pick style about 80% of the time. But my tone isn't being ruined by using a pick, it's just as bad when I play fingerstyle too.

My rig is as follows;

SR4 --> Ampeg SVT-3PRO --> Ampeg 410HLF

I love the sound of everything else through this rig, everything sounds real growly with just the right mix of lows, mids and highs. But why does the Ray ALWAYS sound crap through it? I fell in love with the Stingray when I first played it through a Roland Cube 100. It was rich, full, bassy and... well... perfect. No matter what I do I can't recreate that fullness that I fell in love with.

Could it be the strings? It's got a set of 6 month old Power Slinky's on it at the moment. My favourite strings. They desperately need to be changed though. Maybe I need something more mellow like DR's???

Help, please...

 

[Lync]

Start flat in both places. I would then use the 'ray to add some bass and cut some highs. The secret is-when you start flat, keep it that way for a while and let your ears adjust. If you give it some bass and the quickly go back to flat, it is going to sound thin.

 

[58super]

Change the battery, strings and try gradually increasing the bass' volume control.
As well make minor changes to the tone controls. They interact and a small change in a setting can impact the sound in a big way.

 

[nashman]

Check your set-up - pick-up height and string height based on factory settings detailed in the FAQ Section - after changing battery, strings etc..

 

[Steamthief]

This may be heretical, but try a set of Fat Beams. My Ray sounds good 'n' growly.

 

[Aussie Mark]

Start flat in both places.

Or, in all three places. Strings too.

 

[ROON]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I'll replace the battery tomorrow, and seeing as I am going to be driving into the city to check out a design college I might be going too, I'll pick up a new set of strings from a music store around there. I'm thinking DR's, but I might get a pack of Power Slinky's too, just in case DR's aren't my thing.

I have actually tried a set of Fender Flats on my Ray, I wasn't really digging them. I love flats but I don't like them on my main bass. It's a tad too mellow for the metal that I play. They are now on my Ibanez which I use for all my groovy stuff.

EQing is still a very new concept to me, the Ashdown combo that I used before had a REALLY weak EQ. The sound didn't even change when you turned the knobs. Well, it did, but not enough to make a significant difference. So I'm used to hearing mud and putting up with it. Now I have to actually EQ in a sound I want, it's odd! But I'm learning.

By the way, does anyone know of a website that shows some 9-band EQ pattens? The 3PRO amp has one built in and I have NO idea how to use it effectively!

Thanks again,
Josh

 

[theoldmiami]

I haven't found any suggested EQ setting for the SVT-3 I've been looking!

I will say that my SR5 through the Ampeg SVT-3 Pro and SVT-410HLF sounds anything but tinny!

 

[MrMusashi]

turn the horn all the way down on the dial on the back of the ampeg cabinet, then turn it on till you find the balance between highs and mid/lows suitable for you. i personally find anything above 12 makes anything too zingy.. even my crappy jazz bass

MrM

 

[Brim]

I haven't found any suggested EQ setting for the SVT-3 I've been looking!

I will say that my SR5 through the Ampeg SVT-3 Pro and SVT-410HLF sounds anything but tinny!

I couldn't stand the amount of EQ'ing I had to do on my SVT3-pro...so much so that I sold it and got an Eden wt550 which runs flat 99.9% of the time. Generally, I had to smiley face the graphic EQ on the SVT3-Pro to get something decent....even then way too much hiss.

 

[ROON]

I couldn't stand the amount of EQ'ing I had to do on my SVT3-pro...so much so that I sold it and got an Eden wt550 which runs flat 99.9% of the time. Generally, I had to smiley face the graphic EQ on the SVT3-Pro to get something decent....even then way too much hiss.

Yeah, I've been having doubts about the head. The amount of EQing I have to do is pretty insane. I was thinking "this can't be normal", so it's good to see someone else has been frustrated by it also. In the future I will probably save up and buy a full tube Ampeg head. I always have to use the EQ in a smiley shape too.

Should be getting a new set of strings in a few hours. I've noticed some slight distortion on the E and A strings too so I probably need a new battery too. I'll let you guys know how it sounds when I get back!

 

[theoldmiami]

I'm not sure what kind of sound you guys are looking for, but it probably isn't the 'Ampeg sound.'

The SVT-3 Pro has a very specific few sounds that are very easy to get, but beyond that you've gotta use the EQ. I pretty much never use the EQ. I really like the sound I get that's pure Stingray + pure Ampeg. It's a specific sound, not good for everything/one!

 

[ROON]

Update,

I got some GHS Bass Boomers today, 45-105 set. Because they didn't have Power Slinky's eek:). First impressions are, very very zingy straight out of the packet, but you can tell there is some pretty phat low end in these puppies. I'll be expecting that to come out in the next few days. So all is well there, got some good strings. Finally.

Today I played a Warwick Corvette 5er with a Bubinga body, and I tried the Warwick Double Buck 4 again. I still hate the $$ 4, but I must admit the Bubinga 5er was beautiful. But it weighed tons! Anyways, I was listening to all the other basses in the store being played, and when I got home and played my Ray through the Ampeg rig I actually thought, "Hey! This is quite nice!". In comparison to the music stores setup (Markbass LMII + 410) my rig really does sound pretty deep and ballsy.

I often switch between my flatwound equipped Ibanez to my roundwound equipped Stingray a couple of times per night when jamming. Maybe just the shock of going from flats (with a neck J pickup solo'd) to a Stingray with dead rounds was what made me think my tone sucked. I think the new strings really did it though, it breathed some new life into my tone. Still gonna have to do some EQing, but I think my tone has been repaired for the time being.

P.S: The demo model Ray they had at the music store was filthy, the maple fretboard was turning grey from being played with grubby hands, eww!!! But hey, that exact Ray was the one which made me buy mine. So whatever.