B-string and upper register playing

[Christov]

A lot of the articulation of the B string depends on the strings. A taper wound B string will speak with more articulation, so if you see yourself doing a lot of work above the 12th fret on the B, I would recommend a taperwound B.

 

[Santraginus]

A lot of the articulation of the B string depends on the strings. A taper wound B string will speak with more articulation, so if you see yourself doing a lot of work above the 12th fret on the B, I would recommend a taperwound B.

Thanks for the advice. Aren't there problems regarding intonation with taper wound B strings...?
Thinking about it... fretting higher registers, the string length to string mass ratio won't behave as in "normal" strings. So intonation should differ, too.

 

[exin]

I've been playing 5-strings ever since i switched my TGM to a 5-stringer ... here's my experience with the low B ...

i get the low B cos i'm a lazy person .. i don't like to go up and down the neck .. so i usually stay in one position and play ..

regarding the low B string .. Gary Willis actually had a solution for it .. that's to use a thicker low B string due to the string dynamics and physics .. i actually tried it and it works ... but the problem is of course heavier tension on your necks and a little less string dynamics cos the strings don't vibrate as freely ...

but playing up past the 12th fret is much better. I was actually a big fan of Warwick Red Label strings because they have their low B in a .135 .. until i tried DR Strings .. which is currently on my Yamaha ...

i believe it's due alot to bass construction also .. how well the basses are built ..

i tried playing past the 15th fret and pushing the pickup down at the same time to see whether it's due to the proximity of the pickups and .. really it's just the nature of the strings ...

i lost some low end .. naturally .. but the string still sounds muddy .. =) ..

 

[Amoebehemoth]

I wander around up there all of the time ...

I have only experienced a minimal loss of tonal quality on the B above the 12th, and frankly, in live gig situations it's not noticeable at all to me. Studio work is a different story, things get way too muddy up high when isolated and I find that I have to back down away from anything higher than the 12th.

I know, the money is in the first 5 frets, only a lazy bassist plays across the neck instead of up and down it, why don't I just get a guitar if I want to be in that range, blah, blah, blah ... But in the course of my playing, most of the time I'm between the 7th and 12th frets.

Like I said, in a live setting it's usually manageable, but in the studio, well, not so cool. I seem to have less of a problem with 12th & up tonal breakdown when using neck-throughs as compared to bolt-ons, I seriously doubt there is any real fact to support this, but it has been my experience that neck-throughs give me a cleaner upper fret tone.

I’m very interested to know more about that theory. I’m testing a brand new Spector NS Pulse 5 bolt on to add a 5 to my home studio, and was immediately troubled by the sound of both the E and B strings past the 12. (Upon checking, my 4 string Jazz Bass E string also sounds murkier up there, but notably better than the Spector). In any case, I’ll also be testing a neckthrough Ibanez BTB next month when they come into stock, and will be interested to compare against the Spector.