Lakland 55-02: DR SS Hi Beam low B vs. DR SS Lo Rider low B?

[Mobile Sprout]

After searching "Lakland" and "55-02" on the strings forum, it seems like people have pretty varied opinions about what they like in a 35" scale B string..

Has anyone had experience with both the DR SS Hi Beams and DR SS Low Riders on a Lakland 55-02?

I'm looking for even, articulated tone, especially below the 5th fret but also higher up. The strings on the bass now (I think) are very well used Lakland Nickels. The silks are silver colored... are those Lakland strings?

The low B right now is nice and big sounding... but I miss the articulation and feel of the SS Low Riders that are on my 4 string jazz bass. My first instinct was to put a 5 string set of Low Riders on my Lakland, but then I thought: "With the 35" scale, the tension is going to go up, maybe I'd like the more yielding Hi Beams instead?"

And then I came on here to find threads about Hi Beams having weak low Bs... and I sure don't want that.

So, what's the best all around SS round for me and my 55-02? In particular, how big a deal is the .125 vs .130 B string? Lo riders vs Hi beams??

[Double Agent]

I am a fan of Lo-Riders as well. I use them on my Spector 5er, which is also 35" scale. I don't think the extra tension is a huge deal, if you're already used to the tension of Lo-Riders it probably won't bug you that much. I've always used the .130 B string and it sounds fantastic, regardless of the scale length. Full, yet crisp enough to retain good articulation. I say, stay with the Lo-Riders. If you are really worried about the extra tension, go with the .125 gauge, but like I said, the tension has never bothered me, it is what I like about those strings in the first place.

[Mobile Sprout]

After reading more threads the consensus seems to be that if I want to play low, I should go with the 0.130 B string for even tone. The 0.125 Hi Beam is the supposedly problematic B string - the 0.130 is supposed to be fine. So it just becomes a question of what tone I want. It would be nice to get some more modern sounds, but I already like my Lo riders on the other bass... I guess I could get lower action and thus easier playing with the lo riders also.. hmm..

Have you tried the Hi Beams? That guy on youtube that plays the crazy solos on his Lakland uses the 0.130 Hi Beam set... but he plays almost exclusively above the 12th fret and with all the modern sounds dialed out; probably not the best example to work from.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9BUyhgl_B0

Anyway, I'm less concerned now that I've figured out the 0.125 vs 0.130 issue. Now I just need to pick one..

[pickles]

IMO all of the DR low Bs are weak above the 3rd or 4th fret on most basses. Some basses can deal (particularly Warwick NTs and certain Sadowskys), but 95% can't. There are B strings out there that play great and true up to the 10th or 12th on most basses:

Labella HRS, Slapper, or Super Steps .128
Lakland .130 steel
Sadowsky Black Label .130 steel
Pedulla .128

And others that do pretty well to the 6th or 7th:

Dean Markely Blue Steel
D'Addario XL and Pro Steel (though I've had big problems with prosteel on some basses)
Sadowsky Nickel .130
Slinky .130

Lo Riders (steel especially) do better than Hi Beams typically, but you're still going to get a ringy, funky tone if you use a heavy attack on them high up the neck. This frustrates me to no end and makes me want to play 4 string. My '72P and Sadowsky MS4 are perfect with hi-beams. Almost any 5 string I put them on is "sounds ok ... but you gotta be careful". Right now I've got a Sadowsky MV5 that sounds great down low, and good to the 6th or 7th fret with a hi beam 130 as long as I don't play with a pick Frustrating. The top 4 strings sound perfect. As far as trad-sounding instruments that is about as good as it gets, along with my USA Laklands and Fender RBV, which are about the same story. All those basses sound crazy good on the B string to the 12th fret and beyond with one of the good low Bs.

The taper core DRs are not any different.

So, if you can deal with the highish tension ... I'd try the Lakland Steels or Sadowsky extra longs on your bass.

Also, don't twist your core on install, press down on the string to bend it over the saddle once it is strung up, and dial in your action carefully for best results.

[Mobile Sprout]

Follow up questions for pickles:

1) You've tried the Lo Rider steels with the 0.130 B specifically on your Lakland and found the Sadowsky B to sound more even? If so, how did the tone differ on the other parts of the instrument?

2) I see the Sadowsky low B strings are tapered.. I don't even know what that means, but there seem to be multiple posts from people on here that either don't like a tapered string or are looking for string sets without a tapered B. What's the deal? Does the tapered string change the tension? Change the tone? Is it really necessary on a 35" scale?

3) How's the tension of the Lo riders vs the Lakland strings and Sadowsky?

After doing some checking I found that the strings currently on my 55-02 are in fact Lakland steels. They've just been on the bass for years and need changing.

My jazz bass has heavy gauge Lo-riders tuned down a half step. Going back and forth between the two basses I prefer the feel and the tone of the strings on my jazz bass. I realize its a terrible comparison because the gauge, tuning, scale length, and age of the strings on the two instruments are not the same, but this has me leaning towards the Lo riders for my Lakland at this point.

[pickles]

Originally Posted by Mobile Sprout

Follow up questions for pickles:

1) You've tried the Lo Rider steels with the 0.130 B specifically on your Lakland and found the Sadowsky B to sound more even? If so, how did the tone differ on the other parts of the instrument?

Not on the Lakland, but on Sadowskys. The Lo Rider 130 may be good enough for you on a Lakland. In fact now that I think about that, maybe I should try it, since the laklands do better than average with DR Bs, and the lo riders tend to be better than hi beams. I have a hi beam .130 on my 55-94 right now.

Originally Posted by Mobile Sprout

2) I see the Sadowsky low B strings are tapered.. I don't even know what that means, but there seem to be multiple posts from people on here that either don't like a tapered string or are looking for string sets without a tapered B. What's the deal? Does the tapered string change the tension? Change the tone? Is it really necessary on a 35" scale?

That means that the string is a .130, but where it goes over the bridge it is more like .100 or .90. That allows it to vibrate more freely at the witness point, which makes it act more like a string and less like a bar of steel. I do tend to have better luck with tapered Bs (see my lists above -- all the best are tapered), but just being tapered doesn't necessarily mean its going to be great. It doesn't seem to make any difference with DRs.

Originally Posted by Mobile Sprout

3) How's the tension of the Lo riders vs the Lakland strings and Sadowsky?

About the same. All are hex core steel medium gauge strings.

Originally Posted by Mobile Sprout

After doing some checking I found that the strings currently on my 55-02 are in fact Lakland steels. They've just been on the bass for years and need changing.

Old strings tend to sound muddy, dull, and unfocused.

Originally Posted by Mobile Sprout

My jazz bass has heavy gauge Lo-riders tuned down a half step. Going back and forth between the two basses I prefer the feel and the tone of the strings on my jazz bass. I realize its a terrible comparison because the gauge, tuning, scale length, and age of the strings on the two instruments are not the same, but this has me leaning towards the Lo riders for my Lakland at this point.

That is another thing that confuses me. A lo-rider .105 sounds awesome tuned down to D. But a .125 tuned to B sounds funky. I wonder if a .120 would be better???

Try the lo riders and let us know. Do you play with a pick? I really want to know if you can play with a pick to the 7th fret. That is what I want out of a B.

[Double Agent]

I use a Lo-Rider .130 B on my Spector and I play anywhere from the 1st to the 10th frets on the low B with none of the issues you have described. The caveat to that is, I don't play with a pick. I don't know if its the 35" scale that makes a difference or not, I used to have an EBMM Bongo 5, which is 34" scale, and I had no problems with the low B on that bass either.

I would go for the Lo-Riders. If you find them not to your liking, get the Sadowskys next time. There is a lot of info on TB and sometimes you can wind up talking yourself out of something you like that works for you because on the contrasting opinions here. I am not doubting the experiences posted by pickles above, I've read the same experience elsewhere by different people. But, I've been playing DR Lo-Riders non-stop for 3-4 years now and never had it. Since you already know you like the Lo-Riders for 4-strings, they are definitely worth a try for the 5. If they don't work out, you've gotten a very good recommendation to try next time (the Sadowsky steels).

[pickles]

Yea, agreed. It really varies from bass to bass and player to player. I had a warwick streamer stage II that was just perfect with a hi-beam 125, so I'm not surprised the spector likes the DRs as well.

EBMM basses also tend to do well with a wide variety of strings.