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Post subject: New American Standard Jazz too bright
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 11:59 am
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I have a new American Standard Jazz bass. It's Blizzard Pearl with a Rosewood neck and plays great. The only thing that I would like to change is that it sounds way too bright for my taste. It almost sounds like it has a chorus effect on. The strings are the stock Super Bass 8250s.
What would you suggest to warm up the sound? Different Pickups? Strings?
My other bass is a Rickenbacker with TI Flats and I love the sound but want something with Roundwounds so that I have some variety.


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Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 10:42 am
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Well...If you have gotten used to the sound of flats, just about anything round wound is going to sound really bright. What I would do is take the bass to any guitar shop in your area and play it against another Jazz. That way you can try it out with the same amp at the same settings. What that will allow you to do is see if your bass is different from any other stock Jazz. At least you will know if it's a tech problem, or just a sound you have to get used to. I can tell you with almost absolute certainty that you will not be able to play your Jazz using the same settings on your amp that you do with the Ricky. So play with your amp as well. You should be able to dial in some nice tones with both basses. Good luck!


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Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 12:15 pm
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Thanks for the info. I played another American Standard and it sounded the same. Don't get me wrong, it sounds great but I think I want a more "vintage" sound. I compared it to a fretless with flats and a 62 reissue which has vintage pickups. Both of them sounded closer to what I am looking for.
So, my dilemma is do I get custom shop pickups, install flats or find rounds that are a little warmer sounding. I am hoping that strings will do the trick, since my original goal was to have it strung up with roundwounds.

Any suggestions on warm deep sounding rounds?


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Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 1:22 pm
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I play Ernie Ball Mediums. I'm not very picky about strings though. I just need something that holds up to my aggresive right hand. I know a lot of guys who can't wait until their strings go "dead". They love old strings. I even save my dead strings for one guy who can't stand new rounds. Another thing you can try is putting a small piece of foam rubber under your strings near the bridge. That will give it a real upright bass sound and deaden some of the mids and highs that are bothering you. I'm sure someone will chime in with more string suggestions but the foam is a cheap and easy thing you can try. Good luck!


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Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 11:36 pm
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Turk80 wrote:
Thanks for the info. I played another American Standard and it sounded the same. Don't get me wrong, it sounds great but I think I want a more "vintage" sound. I compared it to a fretless with flats and a 62 reissue which has vintage pickups. Both of them sounded closer to what I am looking for.
So, my dilemma is do I get custom shop pickups, install flats or find rounds that are a little warmer sounding. I am hoping that strings will do the trick, since my original goal was to have it strung up with roundwounds.

Any suggestions on warm deep sounding rounds?


Yes absolutely, try DR Sunbeams. They're like Hi-Beams but nickle instead of stainless, very warm tone. Hard to find in stores, however, so you may need to order online. Try www.juststrings.com if you can't find them locally.


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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:25 am
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Location: In the pocket north of Washington D.C.
On the too bright Jazz Bass- Why not just turn down the tone control?
That's what it is there for.

If you still want a bassier tone after doing that , then I would say you want flatwounds on that bass.

One thing to remember- The sound you hear next to your amp is not what the audience hears when you play at a gig.
Those highs get cut off by cymbals and guitar chords and just the size of any room you are in will boost the low end to where the highs get muffled.

Don't judge your tone by what you hear in a small room or practice studio.
When performing- Highs in your tone are your friends. Otherwise its mud city and your bass part turns into a sonic blur!

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If thine enemy wrong thee, buy each of his children a drum.


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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 11:06 am
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BCbassman wrote:
On the too bright Jazz Bass- Why not just turn down the tone control?
That's what it is there for.

If you still want a bassier tone after doing that , then I would say you want flatwounds on that bass.

One thing to remember- The sound you hear next to your amp is not what the audience hears when you play at a gig.
Those highs get cut off by cymbals and guitar chords and just the size of any room you are in will boost the low end to where the highs get muffled.

Don't judge your tone by what you hear in a small room or practice studio.
When performing- Highs in your tone are your friends. Otherwise its mud city and your bass part turns into a sonic blur!


+1

I can dial in nice fat bass tones from my Jazz bass using more (or all) the neck pickup instead of the bridge and rolling off the tone a bit.


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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 12:51 pm
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Personally I think the new type of Fender basses do have overly Bright Modern esque type tone,and I agree you can take some brightness out of it by rolling of some of treble,but it still has a Modern type tone too it.
I like a Fender to sound like a Fender,not to half a_ _ sound like someone else's bass


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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 8:17 pm
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I have tried playing with the tone and do get some good sounds. I still can't dial in the sound that I hear from the '62 reissue. I guess the question there is...How much of the sonic difference is from the materials (wood, Nitro finish, etc) and how much from the pickups?

Has anyone tried the 60's Custom Shop pickups or others like Fralins in a newer American Standard? I'd love to hear opinions.

On the subject of strings...
Has anyone tried the TI Nickel Rounds?


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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 9:07 pm
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Turk80 wrote:
I have tried playing with the tone and do get some good sounds. I still can't dial in the sound that I hear from the '62 reissue. I guess the question there is...How much of the sonic difference is from the materials (wood, Nitro finish, etc) and how much from the pickups?

Has anyone tried the 60's Custom Shop pickups or others like Fralins in a newer American Standard? I'd love to hear opinions.

On the subject of strings...
Has anyone tried the TI Nickel Rounds?


Yeah you won't get the same tone as the reissue, but it's a good tone. My only new 08 is a P5 and I hear the difference from my reissue P-basses, e.g., more "modern" but it's still a good tone IMO.


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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:20 pm
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I have experimented with different kinds of pickups and turning down the tone knob will help reduce the brightness but just won't do it........the 60's custom shop over-wound pickups sounds great! high output lots of mids and bass and not much of the unwanted treble-noisy-over tones! I would also recommend the Vintage noiseless pickups (I have it in my Fender Deluxe Jazz bass), they work wonders with round wound strings! It has a nice clean tone with less of the annoying finger to string squeaking and noisy metallic treble over tones, I have a video of the custom shop 60's pickups but I have flat wounds installed..... I wish I had the round wound so you can hear how it would sound like

check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soMjc6mpGuE

Image
I also have the samarium cobalt noiseless pickups and it's just way to bright for me.... a little too much for my taste... I guess thats just how modern pickups sounds like, SCN + Badass bridge + ash wood + roundwound strings = Ultra bright!!! good thing I have a 3 band EQ to shape down the tone.

Image


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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 3:23 pm
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markbass4444 wrote:
... I have a video of the custom shop 60's pickups but I have flat wounds installed..... I wish I had the round wound so you can hear how it would sound like

check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soMjc6mpGuE


Nice groove there, you got my toes tapping! :wink:


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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 3:29 pm
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cool, thanks Mastermold :lol:


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Post subject: Re: New American Standard Jazz too bright
Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 9:49 pm
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Resurrecting an old thread here that I found in a search, seemed kind of applicable. Okay, I just bought a new 2012 AM Std. Jazz, jade green, rosewood. It, of course has the C.S. 60s pups that are now standard. So far ,I frankly am not happy with the overall tone I'm getting. I was expecting more of a vintage tone, and this bass just sounds too bright and "modern", even rolling the tone back and etc. I know firsthand that the '12 Precisions sound really good, with a nice round, warm vintage-style tone, but with a little more punch. I expected the new Jazz to be likewise, but it doesn't seem to be. I owned a '62 AVRI Jazz, and I loved the vintage Jazz Bass tone it had (wish I still had it). I had two MIM standard Jazz basses that I traded in on this new one, and I'm not kidding, those MIM basses were closer to the warmer vintage tone than this one. I really never cared much for the previous AM Std. Jazz bass pickups, I've preferred the AMVI or MIM Jazz basses for the reason of the AM Std. pickups being too harsh and trebly. Like the original thread poster described, this one has kind of a "chorus" effect sound too. Kinda odd. Would like to hear from anyone who owns and or have played a 2012 Jazz to hear some other experiences on this. Maybe I just got a "dud". Wish I had my MIMs back. Seriously.


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Post subject: Re: New American Standard Jazz too bright
Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 2:17 pm
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Problem solved. I took it back, and got one of my MIM Js back, plus an American Special P bass. That was the worst sounding pos bass I've ever owned. Yuck. :?


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