Unusual string sound (could be a pickup problem)

[McTaylo]

Hey everybody, I'm new here, but I got a question perhaps y'all could answer. I got a 5 string Cort Action V bass and I do enjoy playing the lower grooves with my low B string, however everytime I play my low B, it makes a bizarre noise, almost like I got a phaser pedal on. Does anyone here know what could be causing this? None of the other strings have any problem at all and the bass sounds fine otherwise.

[ByF]

Either a bad string, or the pickup is too close to the string so that the magnetic field is affecting the motion of the string.

Ed

[McTaylo]

ah alright, guess I'll buy a new string and see if that helps me at all. I mostly have the problem when I drop that B to A, then it gets really bad.

[mcnach]

Originally Posted by McTaylo

ah alright, guess I'll buy a new string and see if that helps me at all. I mostly have the problem when I drop that B to A, then it gets really bad.

I suspect it's low tension. Not unusual on the B string, as it's often working at quite low tension on 34" scale basses. It probably is most noticeable if your sound is bright-ish.

Cure? Try a different gauge (thicker) for your 5th string, or change brands/type of string... different brands often have different tensions.

A lot of people prefer 35" scale basses to be able to get a nice tight B string.