GUITAR BOARD

I have in my hands an interesting 5-string bass... but I feel the B string
is a bit floppy. The bass is the usual scale length (like a Jazz, for
instance). as I am still quite pure and virginal on things bass... Im a
little lost when it comes to string gauges.
Can anyone suggest whats a good string gauge for the B?

Jose
--
Musha ring dum a doo dum a dah - www.mcnach.com
Current fave guitar: Fender Sambora Stratocaster
Current fave bass: Tanglewood Warrior III

Fender Stratocaster - part coffee table, part spaceship.

Jose de las Heras wrote in message
news:5ov5d1Fns4ljU2@mid.individual.net...

B string is usually 130, as compared to an E at 105

On 2 Nov, 00:24, 2pods wrote:

I think you normally get a 130 if your using medium/light 40s (like I
do), or 135 if your using medium 45s. As youve probably noticed,
bass string tend to work in 20s, so youd get 40, 60, 80, 100, or 45,
65, 85, 105. But for some reason the low B needs to be much heavier
than just adding on another 20.

Also, although guage does make a difference I personally think the way
the string is constructed has a big influence on the feel and tension
of the string.

You might want to check out Warwick black label strings, the low B has
a tapered core at the ball end which helps it sit in the saddle
properly and vibrates better. Theres a couple of other string that
have tapered Bs but I havent tried them. I think DR do them, their
Low Riders also have a hex core that increase the tension which should
stop them feeling to floppy.

Saying all that, the bass itself has a lot to do with it too, my
Warwicks low B feels and sounds a lot tighter than my much cheaper
Vintage bass, even with the same strings. Different woods must have
something to do with it I guess. I lot of manufacturers now offere
extra long scales of around 35 or even 36 in some cases for multi-
stringed and detuned monsters.

As a side note, I have installed a D-tuner on my 4 string Yamaha. I
have put a custom guage on that is 43 to 110 instead of the the usual
45-100. I do find the 110 feels a lot better when flicked down to D.

So yeah, I think its a mixture of things. Unfortunately for us
bassists, it not cheap to experiment with strings! It might be an
idea to try a bass out with a tapered B to see if it feels any better.

On 2 Nov, 10:07, gregedwa...@tiscali.co.uk wrote:
I meant to add, if youve got a choice between through body stringing
and bridge surface stringing, try just the B thru body and the other
on the top. The extra length might help balance things out.

Ive also heard of people whove put a metal sleeve around the string
before stringing up, so that it sits on the ball end side of bridge
(if this makes sense) to increase the string length.

Greg

Thanks for that Greg. Yeah, bass strings are not the cheapest, but your
comments will help me narrow down the choices so that I dont hurt my pocket
too much searching for The B String.

I had always (ignorantly) dismissed 5-string basses. I didnt see the point
of the extra string/wider fretboard, just for a few extra notes. But its
not just the extra low notes, its the ability to play notes in other
places... stuff you would notmally play on teh first few frets on teh E
string now you can play 5 frets down on the B string, where teh frets are a
lot smaller and this may make some things a lot easier to play. Also, its
not that much harder... I find it ok to move from 4 to 5 string (apart from
hitting the wrong string sometimes, but that will come with practice I
guess) but then when I move back to 4-string, it feels like I am holding a
toothpick, which takes me a few minutes to adjust to... I wasnt expecting
that.
The extra lows are a lot of fun... when dialed in carefully they could
constitute an instant cure for constipation :-)

Jose
--
Musha ring dum a doo dum a dah - www.mcnach.com
Current fave guitar: Fender Sambora Stratocaster
Current fave bass: Tanglewood Warrior III

Fender Stratocaster - part coffee table, part spaceship.

On Sat, 3 Nov 2007 13:15:40 -0000, Jose de las Heras
wrote:


Ive just been playing a Danny Gatton live CD with John Previti playing
a Kay 5-string acoustic bass, with a low B, and Danny soloing on the
6-string bass neck of his twin-neck Telecaster - a feast of low notes :-)

--
Cheers,
Stan Barr stanb .at. dial .dot. pipex .dot. com
(Remove any digits from the addresses when mailing me.)

The future was never like this!

Stan Barr wrote in message
news:slrnfip6l8.qcp.stanb45@citadel.metropolis.local...

tastes better than prune juice, I am sure! ;-)

Jose
--
Musha ring dum a doo dum a dah - www.mcnach.com
Current fave guitar: Fender Sambora Stratocaster
Current fave bass: Tanglewood Warrior III

Fender Stratocaster - part coffee table, part spaceship.