Controlling the bass.

[Philco]

I have a GB10 and I use 12 to 53 Flatwound strings on it.
I'm using a Fender Deluxe Reverb for an amp.
Love the sound in general except I have to much bass on the bass strings.
The Bass on the Amp is set to 0.
Even at low volumes the bass strings are out of balance with the treble strings.
If I play an A or Bb then the amp has a resonant frequency and the spring reverb has a little fit.
This is at low volume...it's not feedback. It's a resonant frequency.
Now acoustically the guitar sounds even. No problem.
If it was a standard mounted humbucker I would just screw the bass side down. I think that would do it.
But it's a floating pickup and there is a bracket screwed into the side of the neck with no room for vertical adjustment.
BTW I am in my recording studio and I have bass traps right behind me. It's not the room.
Really don't want to use a graphic because that will remove some harmonic content from the other strings and I like the way the top end sounds.
I'm thinking it's all about the pickup.
My Peerless Monarch does not do this. It's much more even.
But I prefer the GB10.
Anyone had this problem before?
Suggestions welcome.

[NSJ]

That guitar pup floats, but should still have pole pieces, no? Try adjusting them accordingly. Pole piece adjustment, something I'm not good at, makes a huge difference in "balancing" the sounds on the strings.

[Pierrot]

Even I you are convinced it's not the room, try to move around the amp in the space. Stationary waves are very ....capricious.
Make sure it's not in a corner, and there is no other speaker cabinet or instrument in the proximity which could resonate by sympathy.
I had myself a similar "problem" (at a frequency of 220 Hz, by the way -you mentionned A or Bb-) with an extension cabinet that I had put under my amp (Polytone MegaBrute II combo, with a 8" speaker, being the extension cabinet a Lopo bafle loaded with an Eminence Delta Demon 10"). Now I put it aside...

Now, maybe in your case, the reason of this to occur is a different cause, but, you loose nothing trying...

[Philco]

Thanks guys. Great suggestions. I'll try them both.

[fep]

A or Bb - sounds like the room. Most home construction rooms resonate right around that frequency. My whole house does (it's actually more in the range of the guitars low Bb to C.

To test that, play the amp and guitar outside a bit away from the house walls and see if those frequencies resonate.

[hot ford coupe]

I use to have the same problem before I knew how to balance the pole pieces. It takes a little time but it's not all that difficult. Herb Ellis describes how to do that on his instructional vid. First, he said to bring the high E pole up as high as you can without the string touching when you fret the highest note. Then listen to how loud or soft each string sounds compared to the E. Then raise or lower the poles accordingly. At this point, play the guitar and see if you still get that resonance problem, If you do, then you may need to lower the high E pole and rebalance the whole set again. That's what I had to do on my guitar. It used to resonate or "wolf out" (comes from the term wolf notes familiar to those who play bass also) at the F or Eb on the A string. It drove me nuts since I couldn't play the thing at the right volume without the wolfing. I lowered the high E pole and rebalanced until I couldn't get it to resonate. That seemed to solve my problem. Try that. It may help.

[Philco]

I think we can rule out the room because as I said my other guitar does not do this and it is acoustically very much bigger than the little GB10.

So I have my screwdriver in hand and am about to attack my beloved guitar
I'll report back.

[hot ford coupe]

Originally Posted by Philco

I think we can rule out the room because as I said my other guitar does not do this and it is acoustically very much bigger than the little GB10.

So I have my screwdriver in hand and am about to attack my beloved guitar
I'll report back.

Be gentle. Pickups have feelings too.

[Philco]

Ok that really helped! So I have rid myself of the uneven volume problem.
Thanks guys.

Now I have to get my amp seen to. Even at the lowest volume it will "buzz" on certain notes.
I think it's the reverb spring housing or perhaps even a valve.
The amp is less than a year old and has never been moved. Annoying as hell.

It's the model where the valves are not mounted directly to the circuit board. At least that was part of the sales pitch.
Makes it impossible to record with.
Does this with or without reverb engaged.

[hot ford coupe]

I'm glad to see the treatment worked. Looks like the doctor is in. I would assume first the buzz is coming from something loose. I had that problem with an amp also. It was coming fom a loose chassis section. A few twists of a driver and buzz gone. Don't put the screw driver away yet.

[Philco]

Unfortunately you mistake me for someone who knows what to do with a screwdriver.
There is one handyman job I have completed in the 20 years of living in my home.
I decided to fit a spy hole in the front door. One of those small magnifying ones.
Simple enough you say?
I drilled the hole (I actually own a power drill!) and fitted the contraption......well I had to put some wood putty around it because the wood in the door must have been faulty.
Only then did I discover that one must hold the drill level when drilling the hole.
So for twenty years we have been able to look at the knees of anyone standing at the front door.

One positive result is that I have not been allowed near any tools for 20 years.
Then again there was my attempt at fitting a cat door.
I'd rather not have to explain that.
They don't make doors straight do they?

To bring things back on topic, seeing it's a guitar forum.
I had a Roland Guitar Synth once. I was a clinician for them.
I decided to fit a new pickup. This required routing. I didn't have a router.
But I did have a power drill (yes the same one).
You know if you drill a hole and move the drill sideways you can make different shapes.
This was my theory.
I drilled straight through the guitar. Right out the other side.

I don't think I should approach my amplifier with a screwdriver.
I think you may agree

[Vihar]

Originally Posted by fep

A or Bb - sounds like the room. Most home construction rooms resonate right around that frequency.

Actually, most guitars with a regular size hollow body resonate around that frequency. It's called the Helmholtz resonance.

For further reading on that topic, check out this article: Research in guitar acoustics

[The_Dude]

Originally Posted by Philco

....well I had to put some wood putty around it because the wood in the door must have been faulty .... I discover that one must hold the drill level when drilling the hole.... I drilled straight through the guitar. Right out the other side. ...

LOL funny life stories Philco. Anyway, I'm glad you fixed the uneven volume problem. I have a minor version of that same problem when using my Fender Jazz King... I'll try doing the same thing.

[whosgarethparry]

man, tube amps always seem to develop a rattle on certain notes. half the time you can never even find the source of the rattle. i've spent some frustrated days with my amp tech trying to make it rattle so he can hear it, typically it'll never do it in the same way. they service it, tighten every screw, send it back, and boom -the rattle is still there
the only soultion i can find is have a separate head/cab, then the head doesnt rattle in the same way.........

[hot ford coupe]

Hey Philco, I hope you don't have the same problem a friend of mine had. He was bad with tools also. Anything he touched with a tool became more messed up than it was before. He broke his ankle using 6 inch ruler. When he went to Sears tool department, the power tools used to fly off the shelves by themselves, crash onto the floor and spinter. He's been barred from going into Lowe's forever. Fortunately, he's never been to Home Depot. Good luck with the amp.

[Philco]

Yes I think your friend and I are of the same breed.
I like to think that it springs from a "free thinking" approach.
For example, I think of a screwdriver as multi tasking. It doubles as a chisel.

If I can't rid myself of this rattle I will definitely look for another amp.
This is unusable in its current state.
I wouldn't bother putting a microphone on it.

I note a lot of folk around here look for a small amp. I'm assuming that choice is for convenience of gigging.
I'm not worried about that.
I'm also dubious about the midrange qualities of a single 12" speaker.
A Twin Reverb might be the way to go. As long as I don't have to lift it.
Doesn't solve the rattle problem though. I don't think it would be that much different in regards to that.
Is there a "Holy Grail" of Jazz guitar amps?
I've lost touch with what is available lately.
I don't want overdrive. Just nice warm round and fat.