Sharp attack on low E

lysander

I recently picked up an Ibanez TMB100 - love it, almost too good for the price, but I’ve noticed that on the low E I have to be very careful to play close to the bridge and to pull the string fairly vertically rather than toward me when I play ( I use index and middle fingers ) or the note will be sharp on the attack and take fairly long to settle to correct pitch.

Is this purely a technique thing or a setup / string gauge issue ?
I’m not really a bass player, I used to have a 5 string Yamaha some years ago and can play reasonably simple parts but that’s it.

Funkfingers

Sharpness on the attack transient is normal. The time taken to settle to tuned pitch needs to be defined a little more precisely than "fairly long".

It might be worth examining how accurately the string sits in the nut slot and the bridge saddle groove. (Filing issues.) It might help to know what brand of string is on the instrument and how old they are. (Fatigue issues.)

Other than that, my solution would be to switch off the tuner display and cease obsessing about these things.

lysander

Fairly long as in long enough to be noticeably out of tune. I know transients are always sharp but this is really going into the body of the note being sharp for close to a second.
The nut and intonation are fine, I can play in tune if I’m very careful with my right hand but I can’t play as loud as the other strings.

The strings are the new factory ones and seem fairly decent.
It could be purely down to my technique but I’m not experienced enough to know.

Epsilon

Could be placement in the nut slot/bridge saddle as suggested above. Could also possibly due to playing technique combined with low tension strings (light gauge). If you play hard on light strings they will inevitably go sharp on attack. I'd recommend trying a heavier gauge set. Are you tuning down or playing in standard?

lysander

Standard tuning. Yeah I was thinking as well that the strings are probably fairly light gauge as the E feels a bit floppy, I think I will try a higher gauge.

fretmeister

My precision is a bit like that. I did have 45-100 on it.

Now I've got 45 - 105 and it's a lot better.

ICBM

Tune to the transient not the decay. It will then go slightly flat as the note sustains, but that's less noticeable.

lysander

^ Thanks, that's a good point too, was thinking of trying that as well.
I looked up the strings and they are already 45-105, but I might put some flat wounds on which should be higher tension and more my kind of sound anyway.

Jeremiah

Is it only on the open string or on fretted notes too? If it happens on fretted notes, it's unlikely to be related to the nut.

lysander

Agreed, fretted notes too.

Funkfingers

How closely do you have the pickups adjusted to the strings?

lysander

Haven’t measured exactly but eyeballing I’d say at least 3-4mm.
In any case it’s gone with the new set of flatwounds, which also made the bass sound even better.

prowla

Loose saddles?