Strings sound very dead on EHB

Lee Bakker

Lee Bakker

Jan 2, 2019
9
7
4,551
Ontario, Canada
#1
I've owned my EHB1005ms for several months. I put d'addario Pro Steels on it almost as soon as I got it. (it's the tapered balanced tension set with a tapered .135 instead of .127). Even with the stock Nickel strings, it sounded quite dull and dark acoustically (and by extension electrically). Even my squier jazz with two year old nickel strings sounds brighter and snappier (acoustically) than the Pro Steels did when they were brand new. Anyone else have this issue? Any strings that sound good on the EHBs? I'm thinking of trying light gauge (.120-.040) coated DR's.
 
#7
Check the pickup height. If the pickups are to close to the strings it will reduce vibration and cause a muddy sound. For clarity you may want to lower it 1/32 inch or even more depending. If your pups are already low then not sure

I didn’t care for the pro steels. I love the daddario exl 170. And their flats. But the pros didn’t work for me. They just sounded dead.
 
#8
Lee Bakker said:
I've owned my EHB1005ms for several months. I put d'addario Pro Steels on it almost as soon as I got it. (it's the tapered balanced tension set with a tapered .135 instead of .127). Even with the stock Nickel strings, it sounded quite dull and dark acoustically (and by extension electrically). Even my squier jazz with two year old nickel strings sounds brighter and snappier (acoustically) than the Pro Steels did when they were brand new. Anyone else have this issue? Any strings that sound good on the EHBs? I'm thinking of trying light gauge (.120-.040) coated DR's.
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Might check out @LowEndLobster's video on the comparison between the EHB1005ms vs the EHB1505ms.. the Bartolini's just kind of sound dull and warm compared to the nordstrand pickups.

He replaced the Barts in his 1005ms with Aguilar soapbars and it sounded so much better than the barts imo.. Like..bright and clean without the bright grit of the Nordstrands.. I was sold on an EHB1505MS eventually but a 1005ms with a pickup swap sounds very appealing.
 
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#11
Matty Koff said:
Might check out @LowEndLobster's video on the comparison between the EHB1005ms vs the EHB1505ms.. the Bartolini's just kind of sound dull and warm compared to the nordstrand pickups.

He replaced the Barts in his 1005ms with Aguilar soapbars and it sounded so much better than the barts imo.. Like..bright and clean without the bright grit of the Nordstrands.. I was sold on an EHB1505MS eventually but a 1005ms with a pickup swap sounds very appealing.
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I am aware of the relative dark sound of BH2's. I'm not the biggest fan of em. I plan on replacing them in the future. But even acoustically the prosteels were completely dead. The XL nickels I just put on are much brighter. I'm pretty sure D'addario sent me a dud.
 
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#13
I think you just got a bad set of strings. Those strings should sound bright and zingy with good sustain when fresh installed, at least when you play the bass unplugged.
If they are dull, with short sustain when play unplugged, that means the strings are bad.
It happened to me quite a few times with: Rotosound, Daddario, and Labella, but it was just the B string, not the whole set
 
#14
Lee Bakker said:
I've owned my EHB1005ms for several months. I put d'addario Pro Steels on it almost as soon as I got it. (it's the tapered balanced tension set with a tapered .135 instead of .127). Even with the stock Nickel strings, it sounded quite dull and dark acoustically (and by extension electrically). Even my squier jazz with two year old nickel strings sounds brighter and snappier (acoustically) than the Pro Steels did when they were brand new. Anyone else have this issue? Any strings that sound good on the EHBs? I'm thinking of trying light gauge (.120-.040) coated DR's.
Click to expand...
The Bartolinis that come with it have a muted top end by nature. Putting some Nordstrands or other pickups will give you a more open sound
 
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#15
Possibilities:
If the bass is brand new the outgassing of the case can kill strings in days.
I have two OEM cases in storage that were replaced by Oneill Bodyglove cases.
Soap residue on your hands can kill strings.
A grounding issue. If the jack touches an over zealous application of shielding paint the bass will play but have muted highs. Extremely muted highs. I changed pickups before I found this culprit.
Your issues while unplugged wouldn't be the shielding issue.
Good luck.
 
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#17
As mentioned, possibly a bad set of Pro-Steels.

But, also mentioned, the EHB has a chambered body, which emphasizes a hollowness and explains what OP heard acoustically.

And yes, the Bartolini BH2's on the EHB aren't the types that have lots of top-end frequencies response.

Although, they aren't the darkest sounding Bartolini customized for Ibanez either. On the solid-body models, they have a decent brightness. At least the highs are more audible when compared to older Ibanez models with previous gen Bart BH1 pickups, which probably are the darkest sounding custom Bart made for Ibanez.
 
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#18
Lee Bakker said:
I've owned my EHB1005ms for several months. I put d'addario Pro Steels on it almost as soon as I got it. (it's the tapered balanced tension set with a tapered .135 instead of .127). Even with the stock Nickel strings, it sounded quite dull and dark acoustically (and by extension electrically). Even my squier jazz with two year old nickel strings sounds brighter and snappier (acoustically) than the Pro Steels did when they were brand new. Anyone else have this issue? Any strings that sound good on the EHBs? I'm thinking of trying light gauge (.120-.040) coated DR's.
Click to expand...
Maybe that's just the way that Bass sounds.
 
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