Volume Shifts Between Different Notes

Gear
#1

I was torn on where to post this but I think it ultimately belongs here.

I use a number of pedals to play around with (overdrive, reverb, envelope, octave) to change my sound but I’m always trying to keep a nice fundamental tone with just a tinge of color.

With each pedal, I try to get an even volume where it sounds relatively the same level with the pedal on or off. Stacking them often creates bigger shifts in volume.

All that being said, I keep noticing that certain notes are louder than others. For example, the low G on my E string hits nice and deep but the A just two frets up sounds wimpy and noticeably lower volume.

I think I have a ton of variables going on, like room resonance, amp EQ settings, a single 15” driver, my distance to the amp and of course all the pedal settings.

I’m trying to figure out what’s going on and if this is an actual problem or if everyone experiences this at some degree with their set up. Anyone wanna weigh in?

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#2

I’ve never had one of these but it sounds like a “dead spot”.

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#3

It could be a “dead spot”, as @howard suggested, but as far as I know, they seem to be more pronounced/noticeable on the upper strings (D/G).

In your case, it could be that you have a lot of resonance when you play the low G, i.e., that it makes something in your setup, in the room etc swing in resonance and that makes it appear more boomy than the notes away from the G. Do you notice a similar (if less pronounced) effect on one of the higher pitched Gs??

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#4

Dead spots are a thing for sure.
I find on lower strings that it seems to be ‘hot’ spots vs. dead spots where one or two notes are a lot louder than all the others.

#5

You could try out a compressor pedal tbh. It’s a great way to even out the volume. Just make sure it’s one of your first pedal in your signal chain.

#6

I figured it out! I moved my amp away from the wall and racks full of stuff and the sounds evened out. Then I set my EQ to be more even. I had my lows pretty up there as well.

On a separate note, I also have a beat buddy mini 2 running into a mixer that’s feeding into my amp input song with my bass. (no aux input on a BR-100). With a single 15, the sound is somewhat muted. It’s hard to tell but I feel like the volume gets a little weird as the speaker tries to play everything at once. So that’s a factor in all this as well.

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#7

What amp is that BR-100? Yeah I would personally stack a cabinet with smaller speakers for better mid/high if the single 15 cabinet has no horn.

#8

Sorry I wrote it wrong. It’s the Ampeg B100R. I got it excellent condition for a steal at $100 from Craigslist. Love the sound.

BUT I agree. It sounds really off when playing along with a song. With the 15 woofer, there’s no high end sparkle at all.

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#9

Ah I see! That B100R is really nice for bass. Dunno if this is an option but you could use a separate (cheap) portable stereo speaker for your Beatbuddy. Those usually have an aux-in.

#10

Also some useful B100R tips from my man Tyler Spice!

#11

Tyler’s reviews are great.

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