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34" in B flat tuning?

M

Mogalen

Mar 5, 2013
105
4
#1
I'm getting a new bass soon, and I've so far only owned 34" basses, and just cheap ones at that. They have done very good, mind you, but I think it's time for a upgrade. I've only played one 35", and that was a 6 stringed BTB, the kinda yellow one. It was a good experience, I couldn't really feel any difference in the length, but I was able to decide that I didn't want a 6 stringer at least.

I'm considering a ton of different basses, but I kind off have a fetisch for basses with a single sweetspot humbucker, Music Man style. But I've noticed that Music Man only have (from what I've seen) 34" basses. Do they have any basses with 35"?

If you could recommend me a 5 stringer, preferably 35", with a sweetspot humbucker, that'd be great.
Budget of 1500$.

Oh yeah, I play technichal metal.
This is one of our songs:
 
#4
35" is not necessary for a 5 string bass. 34" will do just fine.

I only play 5 string basses. I have played 5 stringers with 33" 34" and 35" All 3 work equally well for the low B.

A good setup and a good set of strings will do more than that extra inch in length will ever do.
 
#5
My Carvin 34" has a considerably better B than my old Ibanez BTB 676 which was 35". The Ibby one was decent but the Carvin is actually tight and responsive. You notice more benefits as you go up the neck but you need to go to 37"+ to actually get a true clear note all the way up the fretboard. Realistically nobody plays their B string that high though.

If you are insisting on a 35" I know Carvin has the XB series which is 35", you could probably get it with 1 humbucker but I am not positive.
 
#9
Ric5 said:
35" is not necessary for a 5 string bass. 34" will do just fine.

I only play 5 string basses. I have played 5 stringers with 33" 34" and 35" All 3 work equally well for the low B.

A good setup and a good set of strings will do more than that extra inch in length will ever do.
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Spot on. With the right strings and setup,any 34" scale can get a good B string. I'd go with a .130 minimum B string. Look at any Music Man 5 string,especially the Bongos!
 
#13
My 30" scale 6 has a tighter B than my 34" scale Carvin 6. I used the Carvin in drop A with a .130, and to my surprise the short 6 is still tighter in drop A with a .125.

I guess my point is it is different from bass to bass. Do a little travelling and play some different stuff. These guys will have you plucking the cables from the golden gate bridge.
 
#18
Mr_Music90 said:
.150 for Bb? Are you kidding me? I use a .140 for Low A and it works perfect!
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guy n. cognito said:
Hardly. I play 5 string in one band that tunes to Bb, and I'm using a .135 "B" string that works perfectly.
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I bet you can't play that B string like you can play your A D or G strings . . . . and I bet it booms like a mother, unless you've lightened the rest of your set accordingly and adjusted your technique.

If the tension that .140 has at A were carried over to the rest of your set you would have .105 .080 .060 and .045 above that, but I bet you don't.

That .135 Bb string would have .100 .075 .055 and .040 as complements - more likely than the above, but I bet you don't.

Truly - it's up to you how you want your bass to feel, sound and behave. If it's working for you then great, but it can work and sound better and play easier.
 
#19
My Low A is .140, the rest is .110 .085 .065 .045 :)

knuckle_head said:
I bet you can't play that B string like you can play your A D or G strings . . . . and I bet it booms like a mother, unless you've lightened the rest of your set accordingly and adjusted your technique.

If the tension that .140 has at A were carried over to the rest of your set you would have .105 .080 .060 and .045 above that, but I bet you don't.

That .135 Bb string would have .100 .075 .055 and .040 as complements - more likely than the above, but I bet you don't.

Truly - it's up to you how you want your bass to feel, sound and behave. If it's working for you then great, but it can work and sound better and play easier.
Click to expand...
 
#20
Assumption on my part that you are in A standard . . . .

FWIW your .140 is pulling 32 pounds. The .110 at D is 38, .085 G is 40 pounds, .065 at C is 42 pounds and the .045 for F is 36 pounds. To get to the same tension your .110 has you'd want a .155 - not that you want that, but . . . .

Evening out the tension on bottom lets you play your lowest strings with the same technique - no backing off of it because it is too loud or too loose.

.145s can be got (bigger can be got, but that's another discussion) - if you're in a mood to experiment you should try it.

Ain't notin wrong with what's working for you, but there are more than a few ways to get there . . . .
 

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