overtones on low B fretless - should i use taper core?

[larryelwood]

Hey all,

Just acquired a Music Man Fretless Stingray 4 string. WOnderful bass. I'm stringing it BEAD. I just put a set of D'addario ProSteels on it with a low B that is .130 and i'm getting pretty undefined tone and some weird overtones compared to the E A and D strings. I've read up on the DR Long Neck Taper core set and they claim to help tighten up the low end so the B string Fundamental notes come out better.. Anyone have any experience with using Taper Core strings on a 34" fretless.. Better note quality??

Thanks!

[knuckle_head]

A tapered B will invite more upper harmonics, a thicker tapered B will invite more, and a thicker flexible tapered B will likely get you where you want to go.

Weird harmonics can be caused by a number of things, but if it is inharmonics you are dealing with they are usually caused by a string that is quite rigid and vibrates as a marimba key would as opposed to vibrating along its length as a string is supposed to.

Look for a flexible 'low tension' tapered .135/.136 for your B.

[lowfreqgeek]

Before you spend a lot of money on strings, make sure that your pickup isn't too close to the strings and that the B-string (and the others) is WELL intonated. I learned it the hard way, through experience (and a ton of frustration)...

To set up your pickup, you need a good high-precision tuner. Put the pickup down as low as you can (without driving the pickup screws through the bass...) and then tune it up. Slowly raise the pickup till you see the B-string start to pull out of tune. It's best if you can fret the note at the highest point you'll be playing on the B-string. Unfortunately, with the fretless, it's really easy to mess up because there's no fixed position to consistently fret at. Perhaps a capo high on the neck would work... Anyway, the point where the pickup starts to affect the pitch is where it's too close. You WILL get inharmonics, no matter what strings you use, if the pickup is too close.

I spent a few years dealing with this issue and finally found the secret formula when I used a DC Magnetometer to compare magnetic field strength at the strings among various pickups. The larger mass of the B-string is more susceptible to the magnetic field interference. After figuring out how to use the tuner to find when the pickup is too close, I've very successfully gotten a great-sounding, in tune, clear, B-string on about 4 or 5 different basses of varying scale and price ranges. I swear by it...

Once you've figured out how to get a good-sounding B-string, you can start experimenting with different brands/types to zero in on the sound you want. I did find that some string materials react differently and require different pickup heights. Keep it in mind as you may find (as I did) that one string sounds great, while another is awful until the bass is correctly adjusted. Once you know how to do it and what to listen for, you can usually adjust by ear, without the tuner.

Good luck, and don't get too frustrated with it. It'll take some time, but is worth it in the end.

[knuckle_head]

lowfreqgeek - good points.

I feel compelled to add that if you even out the tension in your set there is far less compensating/adjustment at the bridge or pickups that will be called for.

Pickups being too close will cause chorusing, and while this can accurately be labelled inharmonics it is VERY different from inharmonicity. Chorusing is only a slight misalignment of frequencies within the sonic spectrum of a bass note, where inharmonicity is the inclusion of frequencies well outside the sonic structure of a bass note.