Just in case anyone needs a primer the 4 string is the D string.
I have an awesome lefty 1987 RG 550 that I seem to have trouble getting the D string to project.
It seems that when you palm mute the D string and play notes in the 7-12 fret range it's hard to get a chunky sound like you can on the A and low E strings.
A good example would be playing double stops on the 3rd and 2nd strings at the 9th fret and using the D string (9th fret) as the pedal note and it's just not there.
I would say the other notes outside of that range are fine as well as the other strings.
Granted it's not the same as those strings but I'm wondering if it's an issue with these necks or models?
Everything seems to check out, very little buzz, the notes don't choke but they're very hard to hear in the mix (as in the mix with the other strings)., frets and setup are in good order.
Try raising your pickups poll peice for the d string a little. This can also happen if your pickup height is too high... If the magnets are too close to the string it can make the sustain fall off too soon.
But I had an issue with my d string not ring very well on a JS I had once... harmonics and tap harmonics sounded dead. I Just raised the poll peice a little and the harmonics jumped off the fretboard after that.
Jsxline6 is on the right track I think.
take his advice and mess with that pickup pole under your offending strings. like he said though, too close and your sustain rolls off. but to take it a step further, all of that can be seen as a preference. if you constantly play fast and "attacky" staccato type things and Never use legato styles of expression and letting things ring out. you might want to capitalize on the punchlines of an aggressively high pickup, but very few artists set up like that for a reason, its not as flexible. Although groups like sonic youth did stuff like that, with shocking success, so its not unheard of. They did it to make cheap guitars not sound like cheap guitars but something else.
my point is, it can be subjective sometimes, and your ears could (and do) hear different, it could be set up to a perfect standard and maybe you just want to hear that 4th string more. as with anything, perspective is a useful tool, so if raising that pole doesn't work. then try the other side of things and lower the other 5 poles to attempt to level it out. but do them one at a time and make small adjustments starting from the centermost poles and working your way to the outside poles. until you get the sound you like. If you want you can take notes on each step so you can track right back to where you were, I dont do that simply because it takes away from the fun and creative aspect of shaping sound and tone. I feel strongly that creation is always precluded by destruction, lol.
(this is just how I approach these things, I'm sure there's an official, or more "classic" way of going about it)
but like I said, if your messing around and eventually love the sound you got then it doesn't matter how you got there. if you do it your way, then that sound now belongs to you and wont be easy to imitate.
again, just my take.
you said it wasnt projecting so I doubt its a nut or saddle issue, that leaves the pickup and the string itself to be things you could change.
**** sorry man. I know I need to practice more, I have been slacking lately, I just didn't think anyone would notice.
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