5 string basses should be 35” scale

[bobknowsbass]

I've played 34" five-strings since the late 80's exclusively. Yes, depending on the set on a given bass, some may feel tighter . . . . and some looser, as you've experienced. I learned to live with it and forget about it a long, long time ago. All instruments are a compromise in one way or another, and for me it was never a thing. I just play it. If anything, it's easier to bend or vibrato!

I'd also suggest two things I've found from experience:

First, the harder the woods, the better B (and overall articulation up and down the neck) you'll find. In most regular instruments, I find an ash body and a hard maple neck are a very good recipe, with a rosewood or better yet, ebony fingerboard.

Second, regardless of whether it's cheap passive pickups all the way to sophisticated low-impedance electronics, a good setup followed by very careful attention to the pickup heights on the B side can be critical. It's very easy with that big string for it to get woofy REAL fast if you're pickup height is off.

I prefer 34" over 35" (or more . . . ) as basses are big enough (and I'm not a little guy) and I far prefer the greater string choices available for 34" than 35".


As seen above . . . . your results may vary.

Great response! My Lakland has a maple neck and I don’t think I’ll ever go back. The components are a factor. Thank you very much!

 

[A9X]

I got the privilege of working with Louis Johnson years ago. He told me “The 4 string was never broken, you don’t need a 5!” I said that I need the extra notes, he said “use a synthesizer!”

He's entitled to his opinion. Do I need to make a list of 5 and 6 string players of high regard?

My point is that 34” is ideal for 4 strings. I have played wonderful 34” 5 strings, but none stand up the Lakland 35”

In your opinion.

My 33-inch B string on my Ibby does just fine, thank you very much: no flop, good tone, consistent with the rest of the strings, defined in articulation.

Ditto.

 

[WillyW]

How am I going to step on the geetarists solo with a B string?

EADGC

 

[Ric5]

I love this bass ... it is a 5 string bass at 32" ... I love the low B and I use light scale strings 125 95 75 60 40. It has 3 pickups wired V-V-V-T. The only problem with the low B is I use long scale strings and the wrong part of the string enters the tuner and breaks, so I made an extender at the bridge to stop that.

 

[micguy]

25908521[/URL], member: 175508"]If your only reason is string tension, you're using the wrong gauge string.

I studied the Physics of Musical instruments in college, and this is absolutely the right answer. String sets for basses are typically designed with an arithmetic progression in string diameter - 45-65-85-105. This results in uneven tension. When extended to a 5th string, this thinking flat out fails. I like really light tension - 40-55-70-95 on a 4 string. A well matched B string for that set is a 130. If you’re playing a 105E, a 140 is what you need. The 120 or 125 in the set you bought is just a bad choice.

35 inch scale is a band aid for the fact that string companies don’t make matched sets - it helps the floppy B somewhat, but makes the other strings tighter as well. With well designed string sets, none of this would be necessary.

I buy single strings to get a well matched B string. It works very well on a 34 inch scale. With the right strings, a 34 inch scale bass is better for a 5 string - shorter necks are, by definition, stiffer. That difference is small, but it is there.

 

[luciens]

Scale length is a bit of a ways down the list of culprits of the "floppy B" syndrome. Technique is probably the main contributor, followed by string gauge (and maybe string quality). Plucking up towards the neck, and/or digging in too hard can really exacerbate the washtub bass/giant rubber band effect on the B. Also that sucker needs to be fat, or it'll feel a bit loose kind of all the time.

My best sounding B string was on my 34" Carvin Brian Bromberg 5 string FL (may it R.I.P.). It was the most solid B I'd ever heard and it was an easy job to pluck it over the bridge PU.

But looking back, I don't recall meeting a B string that I didn't like once I figured out how to play them "correctly". I just don't have the hands for those wide necks anymore, otherwise I'd probably still have B string sitting around here somewhere...

L

 

[Ric5]

Here is my 1993 4004L Rickenbacker modified into a 5 string bass. It is 33" and it has a good low B. Also it has a 4 band preamp, it is also strung with light strings.

 

[Ric5]

here is a 34" scale Rickenfaker ... strung with light strings

 

[Ric5]

these 2 stingray clones are both 34" and both have an excellent low B.

 

[Ric5]

I had a 35" scale bass and I did not like it

 

[31HZ]

I've recently said this elsewhere, but here it is again: Lakland really, really got that B-string right. It's not just string tension, and it's not just scale length. *Nothing* beats its B for power.

On my '00 Lakland 55-94, the sub-E1 notes are simply monstrous. Beats the B on the Smiths, Fbasses, Sadowskys, EBMMs, Warwicks, Muckelroys, MTDs, Zons and others that I've played (and those are all great instruments with solid Bs). And it sounds good with nickels like Sadowskys or stainless-steels like HiBeams (my favorite on the 55-94). (EDIT: I string through the bridge, and not through the body.)

Sadowsky makes a killer instrument with an even-feeling B, awesome playability, tone that simply WORKS live, practical touches (that wheel adjuster for the neck relief is genius) that someone who plays a lot will appreciate, and customer service that is second-to-none. I wouldn't count them out based on a 34" scale.

 

[Afc70]

I definitely believe scale length is one factor in having a tight low B string, but neck construction Imo has an impact as well, as well as strings..
I recently sold a Dingwall Abz 5 string that I bought a few months ago, one reason being I felt my 34” scale Zebrawood Tobias basic 5 has a superior overall sound, including a beefier, tighter B string. My 35” scale Modulus Quantum 5 has an amazing B string as well, but there are great 34” scale low B’s out there. And I’ve heard a 33” scale lowend jazz bass with a robust and full Low B. So I believe scale length, neck construction, strings , all play a part in Low B string quality.
Edit: one observation I’ve noticed- the Dingwall (which I sold) had a slightly tapered low B & I’ve owned a couple of high end Ken smiths with fully tapered low B’s & did not like the sound at all. I did change strings on my Ken smith to non tapered strings and the sound improved greatly.

 

[sikamikanico]

I just got into the 5 string territory (aside from a brief BEAD excursion 15 years ago) and decided to enter on the cheap end (Squier) to test the waters before committing, but fully expecting a relatively crappy B string at a 34" scale on a Squier. I was pleasantly surprised how workable a 34" B is with the right strings and setup. I also moved the neck pickup closer to the bridge (around the DG area on a P bass), which IMO improved the tone on the B.

I still want to try extra long/multi scale basses (36" or 37" or even 38" B), but even just tuning a 34" B to C (which, in my theory, should approximate a 36" B) didn't reveal a massive difference. I will experiment more with gauges and strings, but overall so far my conclusion is that a 34" B can work just fine.

 

[rafitoprtx]

I did the switch from 34 inch to 35. And the difference in tone of the B string is noticable but it came with the price of more string tension and the relearning of the fretboard, specially the first 5 frets. The bass came with Slinky's, I will change brands probably but I get my arm tired quicker than with the other bass for sure.

 

[tbz]

String type and overall construction can have a much bigger impact than scale length.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I have...

Warwick Corvette fretless 5, 34", TIJF .136 B. Not floppy.
Wilcox Lightwave fretless 5, 34", LTF .018 B. Not floppy.
Ibanez SR1805 fretted 5, 34", TIJF .136 B. Meh.
Turner Renaissance fretless 5, 35", Acousticore .118 B. No floppier than the rest. TIJFs were too high tension.

 

[musicman556]

I had a 55-02 and was unimpressed, and frankly disappointed. Mine had a kinda rubbery neck, for lack of a better term. It was the all-maple neck, cherry quilt top 55-02. Guess I just got a dud.

I replaced it with a Sterling Ray35 which has a roasted maple neck and fretboard with a 34" scale. It has a BEASTLY good low B! Neck feels like it's carved from granite or something.

I just got an MTD Kingston Super 5 35" and it has a good B, but not as good as the Sterling.

I won't say that scale length doesn't matter, but I also won't agree that it's all that matters.

 

[BarfanyShart]

I don't know, I got a 30" tuned down to C. It's pretty good, with a .128 LaBella flat.

 

[Beef_Wallington]

For me, the sound of the B trumps the feel. So far, my favorite B string sound is the F Bass BN5. It is an odd duck at 34.5 inch scale. My next favorite is any flavor of Ernie Ball B string. That being said, my Sterling SUB 5 B string sounds epic, especially for the price!

I don't find any EBMM or SBMM B to be floppy. As for the F Bass, I just wish I could afford one.

My Sterling SUB 5 is the best playing 5er I've ever put hands on. I sold it, then bought it back with a Duncan 3-band Stingray preamp installed and now it sounds beastly to match!

 

[iiipopes]

I studied the Physics of Musical instruments in college, and this is absolutely the right answer. String sets for basses are typically designed with an arithmetic progression in string diameter - 45-65-85-105. This results in uneven tension. When extended to a 5th string, this thinking flat out fails. I like really light tension - 40-55-70-95 on a 4 string. A well matched B string for that set is a 130. If you’re playing a 105E, a 140 is what you need. The 120 or 125 in the set you bought is just a bad choice.

35 inch scale is a band aid for the fact that string companies don’t make matched sets - it helps the floppy B somewhat, but makes the other strings tighter as well. With well designed string sets, none of this would be necessary.

I buy single strings to get a well matched B string. It works very well on a 34 inch scale. With the right strings, a 34 inch scale bass is better for a 5 string - shorter necks are, by definition, stiffer. That difference is small, but it is there.

There is another reason: inharmonicity of strings. Physicists develop bass string theory and String inharmonicity vs material

Italian harpsichord makers needing to shorten the instruments to fit, learned in the 1600's that too thick a string will not vibrate freely and even though may have similar tension, will not have the overtones or sustain necessary to match, and the overtones can go sharp. This is one reason B strings in commercially available sets are lesser diameter than equal tension figures might indicate otherwise as to how large a diameter a B string should be. Piano tuners also work with this, actually progressively flattening the fundamentals of the lowest octaves so the overtones will be in tune with the middle of the piano, and sharpening the treble pitches for other bioacoustic reasons as well as the inharmonicity of the solid strings as they get shorter.

Yes, I have been using custom singles to get a more balanced tension, usually with 45-60-80-105 GHS Progressives on my Rickenbacker 4002 (yes, "2," not "1" or "3") since the early 90's, and more recently the D'A XL170BT plus a 130 B string on my Ibby gig bass for these very reasons.

Bottom line: depending on the construction, set up, and choice of strings, any 5-string bass of any scale can sound good, even superlative, so long as the player is aware of the inherent compromises and limitation inherent in having a 5th B string on a bass.