Unwanted bass distortion

[tc4b]

I am getting distortion from my bass, from the instrument itself, it seems. Is that possible? I played it through a couple different preamps (all cheap)* with differing levels of gain, and even when the lights are in the green, the lower notes, played with any kind of force whatsoever makes it sound like a distortion pedal. What might it be, the electronics? The pickups? I have used the bass through the Mackie before with acceptable results. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


*digi 001, mackie Micro 1202, and presonus TubePre

[Minion]

Well if you had a bad Volume or Tone pot or some Loose wires or shorting wires in the Bass it could cause some frequencies to distort or if the Capacitor on the Tone knob went bad it could cause intermitent distortion but those caps are usually very durrable so I doubt it is that.....

Have you Tried Playing the Bass through an actual Bass amp?? Cuz I know when I plug my Bass into my Mixers preamps I get Distortion even at Low gains ,i don"t know if it is because the Preamp is a for a Low Impedance source and the Bass is a High Impedance source or if it is Because of the gain on the Preamp but the way I record Bass Now is By Micing my Bass amp as opposed to going DI....

Good luck

[Anfontan]

If you are using active pickups in the Bass you may have a low battery in the Bass pre-amp. A voltage starved pre-amp will distort in an ugly way. Check voltage if you have a voltmeter or get a new battery if you can't check it.
Other than than I might suggest the volume and tone pots on the Bass itself may need cleaning with a contact cleaner spray-even the output jack to the guitar cable may need cleaned as well. These are a few standard places to check when instruments start distorting all of a sudden~hope it helps

[ermghoti]

Depending on your experience level, you could be interpreting fret buzz as distortion. Raise the action a bit, see if it goes away.

[AGCurry]

I have to ask if the preamp is designed for a musical instrument, or for a microphone. Most bass guitars will overload a mic input unless you turn the volume way down on the instrument. Doesn't matter how much gain the preamp is giving you.

[noisedude]

Yeah, I'd be wanting to know what DI box you're using, or if there's a high impedance input that you're going into before guessing any further!

[ggunn]

Originally Posted by Anfontan

If you are using active pickups in the Bass you may have a low battery in the Bass pre-amp. A voltage starved pre-amp will distort in an ugly way. Check voltage if you have a voltmeter or get a new battery if you can't check it.
Other than than I might suggest the volume and tone pots on the Bass itself may need cleaning with a contact cleaner spray-even the output jack to the guitar cable may need cleaned as well. These are a few standard places to check when instruments start distorting all of a sudden~hope it helps

That was my first guess - low battery in active electronics. However, a voltage check will not always show a low battery. Many times a battery will show 9V to a meter even when it is just about gone, because a meter doesn't load the battery enough to show the voltage drop. The "tongue test", conversely, is very reliable.