does bead get "choked"

[nun lover]

compared to the electronics on a 5 string, are 4 string pickups and preamps not fully capable of letting the low b sing?

[A9X]

Originally Posted by nun lover

compared to the electronics on a 5 string, are 4 string pickups and preamps not fully capable of letting the low b sing?

The electronics should have enough bandwidth at the low end. I can't see why four string pickups would fail to reproduce the fundamental on a B string, providing the string was fully in the pickup's magnetic aperture; ie a 4 string pickup would be too narrow for most 5 strings, but if it were moved to give a correct position for the B, why not?

[PilbaraBass]

I have just changed a cheap $80 P-copy to BEAD...no problem at all with the pickup on the B string...

the bass actually plays and sounds quite good...

I don't use a preamp, rather I run the bass through a Zoom B2.1u and then straight DI to the house, and into my Laney HCM60 combo amp...the amp sounds just fine with the the B-string...

[saxofunk]

I don't see why not. AFAIK most manufacturers use the same preamp from one model to the next, even those who make several models (e.g. Bartolini, Aguilar) don't specify tuning or string count. You'll be safe as long as your pickups and preamp play well together.

[nun lover]

Originally Posted by PilbaraBass

I have just changed a cheap $80 P-copy to BEAD...no problem at all with the pickup on the B string...

the bass actually plays and sounds quite good...

I don't use a preamp, rather I run the bass through a Zoom B2.1u and then straight DI to the house, and into my Laney HCM60 combo amp...the amp sounds just fine with the the B-string...

just out of curiousity, what kind of strings are you using and what guage?

[MrSquirrel]

I bumped my Warwick corvette standard into a B-E-A-D about two months ago and am more than pleased with the results. Although there was a fair bit of physical modifications and tweaks, no modifications to any electronics were made and the result sounds very nature. (That said, I don’t spend much time thumping out open B's. Mostly, I like being able to work lower scales in higher positions and create that 'wow, NICE!' response when I do sink low; therefore, I use the <41Hz freqs very sparingly.)
Some 34” 4-strings modded to BEAD sound like the B string belongs on another instrument – a three-string bass with an alien hanging on the bottom end. In my opinion, this has more to do with the physics of the instrument, string selection, and set-up.


Important bits:
-Warwick’s standard passive MEC J pickups
-D’Addario ECB81-5 Chrome Flats: .065/.080/.100/.132 (I just tossed the G out.)
-Acoustic B100 (15”)