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B string definition => pickups

Frenchy-Lefty

Frenchy-Lefty

Sep 8, 2009
1,972
1,863
Lake Tahoe, Ca
#1
I have owned a few five strings and always felt the B string definition came mostly from the pickups (or the pickup/preamp combo for active basses).
In other hand I have never felt that 35" vs 34" scale made much of a difference.

My current 34" scale Jazz Bass V with Delano JMVC-5FE has a better B string definition than my old 35" scale Yamaha TRB1005

Thoughts?
 
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#3
I couldn’t tell you the specific ratios of which characteristics make up B-string definition, as it’s all subjective. What I can tell you is that the most important thing to do is to play the various basses and find out which basses work best for your individual needs. This explanation doesn’t address your question, but....
 
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#6
For me the 34/35" scale definitely ensures a higher string tension & therefore a less floppy B, but not sure if that necessarily equals more clarity by itself. The few 35" scale instruments I had also had pretty modern sounding pickups/preamps in them. So what is the pickups/preamps, the scale, or a combo of them both those cases? Not sure.

This past weekend I installed a new preamp in one of my basses and noticed a marked clarity (a piano-like richness) down to the B string that wasn't there before - well, certainly not to that level.

So I'm inclined to believe that there is something to this theory as far as both pickups & preamp (for actives) having an influence on the clarity of the B string. I'm gonna stay out of the whole "to what percentage" can of worms that will surely, most likely follow in this thread. :laugh:
 
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#7
I played fives exclusively since the late 80's (until I bought a Jazz Bass two years ago, strange, but true).

Speaking strictly from my own experience, the ticket seemed for me to be a combination of a hard-er neck and narrow pickups: A hard neck seemed to 'reveal' those low notes a bit better (fewer competing resonances, I'm guessing), and what we'd call 'narrow aperture' pickups (say, a Jazz shape narrow shell like your Delanos) seemed to work better than a soapbar shape in that the magnets were sensing a shorter length of string, particularly on a two-pickup instrument. Conversely, a wider aperture pickup seemed to work better on single pickups axes, like a Stingray 5 or a PBass 5.

I was never even slightly convinced that 35 or 36-inch scale did anything for me in the real world except make it harder to buy strings . . . . and I am convinced that an ebony fingerboard is the way to go if available: Ebony adds hardness (backup to your truss rod, really) and adds a small amount of brightness that I think helps.

Again, this is only one man's subjective opinion and experience. YOUR results will vary.
 
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#8
A longer neck is more flexible (which isn't a good thing in a bass guitar - scale length isn't responsible for the issue of flabby B strings. For some reason, string makers seem to like an arithmetic progression of diameters - 40.60, 80, 100, 120. This doesn't really work - the tensions vary too much, even in a 4 string set. In a 5 string set, the situation is just worse, and the place that suffers most is the B string

To get equal tension across strings on a bass, the diameters need to be 4/3 in ratio (which is also the frequency ratio - there's a square and a square root in the Physics equations, which thankfully cancel each other out). String makers don't seem to be hip to this - if your E string is good tension wise at a diameter of .100, your E should be a .133 - so nominally, a .135 would be good.

I like low tension strings. The sets I just ordered (had to order singles to do this) are 40/52/70/95/130. That's a well balanced set, but the fact that an E string that's skinnier than most sets and a B string that's bigger than most sets are what it takes for equal tension just hows you how far off most sets are.

Low B string tension isn't a scale issue - it's a string issue. If your E is .100, try a .135 B. If your E is .105, try a .140 B
 
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#10
I’ve had a handful of basses with low B strings. Sometimes it works great (Conklin GT7, Tobias KillerB, Ibanez Portamento) and other times it doesn’t (Tune TWB53, Ibanez BTB1206). Many of those have had the same Bartolini pup configuration. I’ve not been able to determine what makes one play/sound great, and another not. All I know is which ones do, and which don’t.

The Tune was in a way the bigger disappointment of the two I didn’t like. The thing sounded acoustically like a combo of a piano and an electrical cable, incredible and that came through the pups.... but every set of strings I put on just flopped around too much. I dunno, perhaps the neck was just not stable enough.
 
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#11
micguy said:
To get equal tension across strings on a bass, the diameters need to be 4/3 in ratio (which is also the frequency ratio - there's a square and a square root in the Physics equations, which thankfully cancel each other out). String makers don't seem to be hip to this - if your E string is good tension wise at a diameter of .100, your E should be a .133 - so nominally, a .135 would be good.
Click to expand...
Never heard this before, but on the surface it makes sense. Do you have a link to the math as I'd like to study this further (engineer and nerd)?
Cheers
 
#13
Too many factors come into play with B string definition. I use 40-120 on my 5 strings mainly and it sounds great, on my Fender 5 I'll use 45-125.

Scale length helps if the bass is properly constructed. I have a Surine 5 with 35" scale with 40-120 gauges, the B string sounds huge and very clear.

I found that B strings that are too thick can have really odd harmonic content in the sound, I've done quite a bit of experimenting over the years and for me those standard gauges are just fine.

On pickups, if the other strings sound good the B should sound the same, even on my Fender 5 it sounds like an extension of the E string.
 
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#14
Frenchy-Lefty said:
I have owned a few five strings and always felt the B string definition came mostly from the pickups (or the pickup/preamp combo for active basses).
In other hand I have never felt that 35" vs 34" scale made much of a difference.

My current 34" scale Jazz Bass V with Delano JMVC-5FE has a better B string definition than my old 35" scale Yamaha TRB1005

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I agree to some extent. Good pickups is a big part of it and one that probably doesn’t get as much attention as it should. I think scale does also but the difference between a 34” and 35” is pretty small compared to say 34” vs 37” where the difference is much more noticeable. Overall thought I don’t think there’s any one feature that makes bass sound good on the low B. More so that it's several things coming together in the bass and also the amplification side of things.
 
#16
scale length and string type are the biggest factors in your B string. the longer the scale the higher the tension for the B coupled with a string that has a higher tension will provide the most clarity.

I run a 35" Czech MTD with DR black beauties and I've never played a better B.
 
#17
jnuts1 said:
scale length and string type are the biggest factors in your B string. the longer the scale the higher the tension for the B coupled with a string that has a higher tension will provide the most clarity.

I run a 35" Czech MTD with DR black beauties and I've never played a better B.
Click to expand...

That's interesting. As much as I love my Black Beauties, I've come to the conclusion that the B string has a lot of unwanted overtones, which makes it distinctively different sounding from the rest of the set. Tension wise it's fine. Tone wise, not so much.
 
#18
[QUOTE="Samatza, post: 23274583,
I found that B strings that are too thick can have really odd harmonic content in the sound, I've done quite a bit of experimenting over the years and for me those standard gauges are just fine.[/QUOTE]

When I first started playing 5's I tried this theory.
With the biggest B string possible I had the same result.
Its was similar to ring modulation.
(@34").
 
#19
My Warwick 5 with a wenge neck and board are more articulate than most (maybe not all) basses with maple necks, even those with 35” scale. I think high density and stiffness are key, in addition to getting the right break angle on the B.
 
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