Sliding on my Thumb NT 5 is muted. Suggestions?

E

Echo

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Heya!

I know Thumb NT 5's are known for sounding a bit compressed versus the Bolt-Ons. But I am having a hard time maintaining any kind of sustain on slides. I get lots of punch and sound from a fresh pluck, but when I slide the volume is gone before I go from the 12th fret to the 7th.

Is this common for my model or is there something going wrong here with my specific bass? It happens on all the strings, by the way. The strings are brand new Warwick Black Labels.

Honestly I have noticed a lack of sustain on the NT over the BO (I have both). The BO strings vibrate until I force them to stop, but the NT strings seems to stop vibrating much quicker. That is why i am posting - this doesn't make sense to me.

Any advice?
 
Two things:

1.) I notice that I get a lot more sound when my frets and fretboard are clean. I usually tape off each fret and use steel wool to scrub off the filth. It will make your frets look brand new and will help with the sound a lot.

2.) I just found this out recently but there is a little dial in the electronics that you can turn to increase the basses gain. If the gain is to high than the bass will distort even at low levels. If its to low than you will have less signal leading to a loss of output which may be why your bass isn't sustaining as long as it should.

Here's the link to the picture I took of what the dial looks like. The picture is at the bottom of the page. The dial is in font of the red arrow.

Just turn the dial all up until your bass starts to distort. Then turn it down a bit. Let me know if this works.
 
It's normal for it to happen this way. The string will always lose energy when sliding downward. The energy present in the string at the 12th fret is expected to excite a string that keeps getting longer as you slide. This uses up the available energy quickly. Dead strings definitely won't help you in this case.

When sliding upward, the energy in the string excites a string that gets shorter and shorter. The shorter length requires less energy to excite. You'll probably see that upward slides actually get louder.

I'd suggest that when sliding downward, simply attack the string again at the landing point. It will announce your arrival.

FWIW,

O

PS, I love the avatar, thndrstk6.
 
Escobon said:
It's normal for it to happen this way. The string will always lose energy when sliding downward. The energy present in the string at the 12th fret is expected to excite a string that keeps getting longer as you slide. This uses up the available energy quickly. Dead strings definitely won't help you in this case.

When sliding upward, the energy in the string excites a string that gets shorter and shorter. The shorter length requires less energy to excite. You'll probably see that upward slides actually get louder.

I'd suggest that when sliding downward, simply attack the string again at the landing point. It will announce your arrival.

FWIW,

O

PS, I love the avatar, thndrstk6.
Click to expand...

+1, exactly what happens.
 
flipper_gv said:
Escobon said:
It's normal for it to happen this way. The string will always lose energy when sliding downward. The energy present in the string at the 12th fret is expected to excite a string that keeps getting longer as you slide. This uses up the available energy quickly. Dead strings definitely won't help you in this case.

When sliding upward, the energy in the string excites a string that gets shorter and shorter. The shorter length requires less energy to excite. You'll probably see that upward slides actually get louder.

I'd suggest that when sliding downward, simply attack the string again at the landing point. It will announce your arrival.

FWIW,

O

PS, I love the avatar, thndrstk6.
Click to expand...

+1, exactly what happens.
Click to expand...

+2
 
i noticed warwick black labels have good attack, average overtones and poor fundamental...

i started appreciating my darklord when i put some rotosounds on it ... the darklord came with black labels in medium gauge (i asked for it to be tuned normally).

currently, my Buzzard B05 has warwick strings on it... and since it is still fresh, im still using them, when they get old, ill be switching to rotos for sure.

so i suggest you try out other brands... DR seem to be a very popular choice ... we dont get em here in the philippines, so im sticking with roto nickels for now (i love them better than the swings)
 
thndrstk6 said:
I just found this out recently but there is a little dial in the electronics that you can turn to increase the basses gain.
Click to expand...

Yes, there is a trim pot on the circuit board in the three-way electronics. It does adjust the gain of the bass when using the active circuitry. It is adjusted at the factory to compensate for circuit losses that occur when using active tone controls. It is intended to balance the volume of the active controls with the volume of the bass when the tone controls are bypassed (Volume knob pulled outward).

I personally wouldn't mess with the adjustment. For more gain, I'd adjust the pickups closer to the strings.

FWIW,

O
 
Patrik said:
flipper_gv said:
Escobon said:
It's normal for it to happen this way. The string will always lose energy when sliding downward. The energy present in the string at the 12th fret is expected to excite a string that keeps getting longer as you slide. This uses up the available energy quickly. Dead strings definitely won't help you in this case.

When sliding upward, the energy in the string excites a string that gets shorter and shorter. The shorter length requires less energy to excite. You'll probably see that upward slides actually get louder.

I'd suggest that when sliding downward, simply attack the string again at the landing point. It will announce your arrival.
Click to expand...

+1, exactly what happens.
Click to expand...

+2
Click to expand...

Although I agree with the theory, I don't think it is applicable in this case. For the simple reason that Echo is able to compare the sliding behaviour of his Thumb NT with that of his BO, and his NT has a lot less sustain..........This is not supposed to happen. :?
 
Not supposed to happen, but yet it is. I'd bet there's nothing wrong with the bridge, saddles, and nut, but it's worth a check. It's a neckthrough, so it should have the best glue joints on the planet. If the wood is killing the string response, that would be a long shot. I've heard of those that have clamped on weights to increase the mass of their basses to improve/alter sustain properties. It's possible that might help.

If the bass has always been like that it's one thing. The most earthly solution I can envision would be to try a more lively set of strings.

What do you think?

O
 
What I like to know:

1 Does the loss in sustain with the NT occur only when sliding ??
2 Or does it at all time have less sustain, with open and fretted notes as well ??
3 Is the output of the NT as high as that of the BO, or do you need to adjust the gain of your amp ?? If the output is equally high, then it is most likely not a setting problem (pickup height etc.)

You can always swap strings easily to check whether it's a string thing or not, so you don't need to buy a new set of strings.
I think it's pretty tough to talk about "lack of sustain", since it's best to actually hear what you are experiencing............
My personal experience with sustain, is that I still need to do an A/B test with my basses to figure out whether NT basses have more sustain or not. :shock: Sustain of my BO Thumb and Ibanez BO are really good too........... 8)
 
All good points. I agree it would be good to know more. Hey Echo, is your bridge locked?

O
 
Escobon said:
All good points. I agree it would be good to know more. Hey Echo, is your bridge locked?

O
Click to expand...

Or maybe the bridge is resting on some kind of rubber (sandwiching the bridge and bridgeframe). Is the nut original ??
 
I haven't seen them all, but I've only seen trim pots in the 3-way electronics. NTs often come with three way.

O
 
Echo said:
Heya!

I know Thumb NT 5's are known for sounding a bit compressed versus the Bolt-Ons. But I am having a hard time maintaining any kind of sustain on slides. I get lots of punch and sound from a fresh pluck, but when I slide the volume is gone before I go from the 12th fret to the 7th.

Is this common for my model or is there something going wrong here with my specific bass? It happens on all the strings, by the way. The strings are brand new Warwick Black Labels.

Honestly I have noticed a lack of sustain on the NT over the BO (I have both). The BO strings vibrate until I force them to stop, but the NT strings seems to stop vibrating much quicker. That is why i am posting - this doesn't make sense to me.

Any advice?
Click to expand...
The Thumb NT has more attack than the BO. Having more attack it gives the illusin of having less sustain. All you have to do for a long sustain is to play soft and increase your amp's gain.
How new are the black labels? They die pretty quick, if they have a week, they are not new anymore, and they do lost their sound and sustain.
Also if the pickups are too close you can have susain loss. Never less than 2,5 - 3 mm.
I hope it helps... Flo
 
Yes, if the ceramic magnets are too close to the strings, the magnetic field can actually 'slow down' the strings. It's worth a check.

Good call, Flo.

O
 
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