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34 or 35 scale 5 string?

tjclem

tjclem

Supporting Member
Commercial User
Jun 6, 2004
6,353
544
66
Central Florida
www.clementbass.com
Disclosures
Owner and builder Clementbass
#1
Are there some of you that avoid 34 scale 5 string and believe that to have a good "B" string it has to be a 35? Conversely are there some that have tried 35 scale and it just doesn't feel "right" to them and you can't adapt and switch easily between your 34 scale 4 strings to a 35 scale 5 string? Thanks ..tom
 
#3
tjclem said:
Are there some of you that avoid 34 scale 5 string and believe that to have a good "B" string it has to be a 35? Conversely are there some that have tried 35 scale and it just doesn't feel "right" to them and you can't adapt and switch easily between your 34 scale 4 strings to a 35 scale 5 string? Thanks ..tom
Click to expand...

IMO and IME, not at all. The very slight increase in tension (all other things being equal) has very little impact on anything from my experience. Stiffness of neck, mass of instrument, and string choice has much more impact than a tiny percent increase in string length.

All my 5's are 34"... not because 35" is uncomfortable, but rather that the basses I like happen to use a 34" scale.
 
#4
depends on the bass....

I've had three fender-like 34" scale 5 strings. Two had flaccid low Bs and the other was really excellent. Even with a similar setup, similar strings, etc...
go figure?

My Warwick Corvette $$ 5 has a great low B and that's 34" scale.

Although, in the end, I prefer the tightness of a 35" scale low B. They sound and feel different. YMMV.

Not all 35" scale low Bs are guaranteed to be good either. Strings and setup play a big part in being "good".
Electronics can be big too.....since the string to string volume is something I'm sensitive to.
A lot of times, you have to raise the low B saddle to prevent buzzing......thus moving it farther away from the pickups in relation to the other strings. Leaving you with a quiet low B. :(

So I don't think one is better then the other......
 
#6
Honestly, I think most would prefer a 34" scale and only use 35" scale because they can not find a 34" scale with what they view as a satisfactory low B. I have found that, if the bass is well-built, scale length really isn't an issue. String choice and setup have a lot to do with whether the low B sounds good, regardless of scale length.

For me, personally, I think I'm discovering that 35" scale basses don't work well for me. I would rather "deal" with an inferior low B than the physical issues of playing a bass that it too large for me. I know other short folks don't mind the extra inch of scale length, but I am just WAY more comfortable on a 34" scale bass and would be more willing to tweak one to get a decent low B than to play a 35" scale bass at this point.

Also, I would rather deal with a slightly floppy B instead of D & G strings that sound thin because of the extra inch of scale length. However, I will admit that if the B is too floppy it can be frustrating, and some 34" scale basses are harder to dial in than others. I've heard that Sadowsky low Bs are awesome and I've always gotten good results with EBMM low B strings.
 
#8
Here's another way to think about it. Roger Sadowsky (who REALLY knows how to build a great instrument for the working bass player) has the 5 string thing really worked out.

He uses ROCK hard flat sawn maple necks... they are like iron... and hand fit/carved tight neck pockets. So, that stiffness of the neck and rock solid attachment to the body results in just great punch, sustain and low end to my ear.

Then... he uses a slightly asymmetrical string gauge combination for his 5 string sets 45-105 (even increments), but then a 130 B string. That increase in diameter of the B string (versus the symmetrical 125) results in a very similar percentage increase in 'tension' versus the 34" to 35" scale.

Nice!

Edit: The 'myth' of the 35" scale IMO came from many of us back in the day experiencing their first 35" scale B string via the Modulus basses. Amazing, big, clear B strings. What we didnt' realize was that (IMO) had MUCH more to do with that uber stiff graphite neck than the tiny percentage increase in scale length.
 
#10
FunkMetalBass said:
IME, 35"+ users like clear, defined notes. 34" users just haven't discovered their favorite 35" yet.
Click to expand...

Not the case here. One of my favourite basses is an MTD 535, but it's not because the B string is any more clear and defined then the B on my Sadowsky or custom build - because the B strings on those basses are, in my opinion, as clear and defined as a B can get.
 
#11
something to consider,


A proven fact that is still ignored and argued in this entire forum. The lower the pitch, the longer the string must be to achieve the notes proper timbre.

Hundreds of years of piano building proves this. Take a look at a piano sound board, notice how long and thick the strings are at the lowest octave? Ever wonder why that must be so?

Only one bass builder that I'm aware of supports this and that is Dingwall basses with a 37" fret board. I would love to try one if I could find one!
 
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#12
Sadowsky said:
I have two main issues with 35" scale. First, it is not a magic fix to create a tight B string. I have seen many 35" basses with B strings floppier than ours at 34".

The other issue is tone. When I did prototype 35's many years ago, I felt the bass became more "generic" sounding and lost a lot of the tonal character I am used to hear in my basses. Finally, I especially disliked the sound of the G string in the upper register. At 35", it starts to get nasal sounding to me.

There you go!

R
Click to expand...

... and there you go
 
#13
tjclem said:
Are there some of you that avoid 34 scale 5 string and believe that to have a good "B" string it has to be a 35? Conversely are there some that have tried 35 scale and it just doesn't feel "right" to them and you can't adapt and switch easily between your 34 scale 4 strings to a 35 scale 5 string? Thanks ..tom
Click to expand...

I have owned 40 or more 5 string basses. Most were 34" scale. I find a 34" scale 5 string will be good if you give it a good setup. Floppy B strings are usually a result of a bad setup, a bad neck or a bad B string.
 
#15
fourstringburn said:
something to consider,


A proven fact that is still ignored and argued in this entire forum. The lower the pitch, the longer the string must be to achieve the notes proper timbre.

Hundreds of years of piano building proves this. Take a look at a piano sound board, notice how long and thick the strings are at the lowest octave? Ever wonder why that must be so?

Only one bass builder that I'm aware of supports this and that is Dingwall basses with a 37" fret board. I would love to try one if I could find one!
Click to expand...


While string length definitely has an impact on the timbre you get when it is tuned to any particular note, this fact has a different impact on an electric bass guitar then on a piano. Check out the diameter (mass) of those lower strings. The string must have enough kinetic energy to vibrate the sounding board with enough energy to be heard.

Not so on an electric bass. And, in fact the desired timbre on an electric bass is not the same as that from a piano. In fact, given the choice of playing a b-flat on the A string (1st fret) or on the E string (6th fret), I will often use the shorter E string fingering because of its tonal "fatness". :cool:

I agree with the a poster, I use 0.130 B strings and hear no significant difference in my 34" Bs and my one bass with a 35" scale length. What I think gets less talk than it should, though it is coming up frequently enough in this thread, is neck stiffness... and I like chunky necks. :bassist:
 
#16
I have both scales, and like them both just fine.

However, for me, I think overall I prefer 34" scale because I find it very difficult to do chords on a 35" scale because the frets are farther apart. My short, fat fingers are probably the main cause though. So if you are cursed with stubby fingers you might want to try a 35" before buying.

I think the tension thing is a moot point because that can be controlled by strings.

I also think that anyone who thinks a 34" scale cannot have a good B string has never played a G&L L2500.
 
#17
thehurlatron said:
So to sum it up, buy a Dingwall. :D

I don't even know what the scale lengths are, but it's something like 34" for the G and 36" for the B (just guessing here)

I've never tried one, but the theory makes sense.
Click to expand...

I've played them. Great basses... good sound... I attribute very little of that to the fanned frets myself. The B string on the Dingwalls sounds great... just like Fodera, MTD, and other soapbar loaded, well made instruments... they have that 'Big B String' sort of vibe like the MTD's, versus the more 'logical extension of the E string' sort of tone that I prefer with my Sadowsky and A-C basses.
 
#18
tjclem said:
Are there some of you that avoid 34 scale 5 string and believe that to have a good "B" string it has to be a 35? Conversely are there some that have tried 35 scale and it just doesn't feel "right" to them and you can't adapt and switch easily between your 34 scale 4 strings to a 35 scale 5 string? Thanks ..tom
Click to expand...

I would fall into the latter. My first 5 string was/is a 35" scale - that's part of why I'm selling it (the other is the 17mm string spacing). The Carvin B50 I just recently bought is 34", has a nice tight B and 19mm string spacing.
 
#19
KJung said:
All my 5's are 34"... not because 35" is uncomfortable, but rather that the basses I like happen to use a 34" scale.
Click to expand...

+1

My MTD 535 (35") was a dream to play, because of the asymmetric neck profile. But I wanted a more traditional look and sound so I now play 34" Sadowsky fivers. I'd put the Sadowsky B string against any 35" bass I've played, aside from the graphite-necked Modulus Quantum. The Q5 has an unbelievably clear B string, but the entire bass has a non-traditional tone to my ears, even more than the MTD.
 

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