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Battle of the B-Strings!

#123
lomo said:
I'm surprised noone mentioned the Bass Player 5 string shootout from a few yrs ago. Normally I don't place much credence in those because IMO they don't want to PO the sponsors so everything they review has its' good and bad points and there's seldom a clear winner. In that case, however, in spite of the fact that Dingwall was a little-known company at the time (who did NOT advertise in Bass Player), the verdict was clear; Dingwall has the best, tightest feeling and sounding B. For those of you who haven't played or heard a 37" Dingwall B, imagine how obvious it had to be for the reviewers not to waffle. Yeah, construction and setup and the strings all matter a lot, and if those factors are optimized AND the string is 37" long, it's a whole 'nuther level. I bought my 1st Dinger when shopping for my 1st 5er. The sales dude said: "look, I play a Stingray 5 and there are a lot of good 5ers in this store, but if you really want the BEST 5er made, try a Dingwall"......even though he had none in stock to sell me!!! (He was later let go, BTW). The 37" is too tough for my hands and meager chops, but the tone and fel of the B are undeniable to any I've met who've actually tried one. I'm sticking with 32-35" fanned 5ers (and have a Dinger SJ5 ordered), but for those who can play the 34-37, it's the grail.
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I have owned and played most of the basses featured in that review (with the notable exemption of the Acaccia). The verdict still remains Dingwall IMO
 
#125
I've owned a few that really stand out, in no particular order:

1. Roscoe SKB3006
2. Modulus Quantum 5 and 6
3. F Bass BN6
4. Warwick SSI
5. Fender American Deluxe P 5 (yep, that's right, I mentioned a Fender--that bass had a better low B than my 35" scale Mike Lull M5V did)
6. Peavey Cirrus 5
 
#127
spade2you said:
LOL, the lists are nice n' stuff.....unfortunately, it's not particularly feasible to play EVERY bass out there. I haven't been lucky enough to play a Dingwall. I know none of y'all have ever played a 35" scale neckthrough Conklin fretless 6er with a Dymondwood fingerboard.....cuz I kinda have the only one! :p
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The OP asked for basses with tight B strings. So I listed basses that, IME, have had balanced, articulate B strings on them. That I've had personal experience with/have owned.

Am I missing something?? What's so funny about that??:confused:
 
#131
Chasarms said:
The rigidity/dampening characterics resulting from the bass's structure and materials have more to do with it than the string, IMO.

The string is only going to get you so far. If the bass is flimsy, it'll be flimsy to some degree with any string.
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Actually, the "rigidity/dampening characteristics resulting from the bass's (sic) structure and materials" have a lot to do with sustain, but have nothing to do with tension.

Scale length, desired frequency and string mass are the only three things that actually determine "Tension".

Breakaway angle off the nut (whether by angled headstock or string tree has a profound affect on tone and sustain, however the string will be the same level of floppy at desired frequency when the scale length, string mass and tension are applied, whether on an instrument or strapped to a piece of steel.

BTW: I have never really seen a "flimsy" bass, exactly what does that mean? Are you meaning a bass with a thinner profile neck that is relying more upon the truss rod to keep it straight, or what?
 
#133
Smallmouth_Bass said:
I have yet to play a bass with a better B-string than my Dingwalls.

I am not so sure about some comments that the scale length is the least contributing factor to the sound of the B-string. Why would so many manufacturers go to a 35" scale (over 34") for their 5-string models?

It seems like a bit of a crapshoot though. I've tried some 35" scale length basses with floppy Bs while other 34" ones are pretty good. The StingRay5 is good as are the Laklands, but nothing compares to the 37" of the Dingwall. Not even close.
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The longer scale length allows for a lower fundamental frequency. The down-side to the longer length is the apparent looseness of the string, using the same mass string on a longer scale. To compensate for the additional flop and to allow for lower tuning, a string with more mass is needed. Additionally, the longer scale length requires a higher tension on the string to create the same frequency. If the instrument is quality built, the neck will be stiff enough to allow for a higher tension without damage to the instrument, thus allowing for a higher mass B string, which will give a more pleasant and clearer sounding tone (more fundamental tone, less overtone).
 
#136
capnsandwich said:
How does that explain hexcores being much tighter than roundcores, in which I've experienced to be true? Both B strings were .130's and both were stainless steel, but the hexcore was just as tight as my E and A strings but the roundcores were unplayable.
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Mass. The mass of the hex-core's you used was higher than the roundwound. (One of the reason's manufacturers started making them)

The higher mass allows for a higher tension to tune to the same frequency.
 
#137
Alaska Bass said:
Actually, the "rigidity/dampening characteristics resulting from the bass's (sic) structure and materials" have a lot to do with sustain, but have nothing to do with tension.

Scale length, desired frequency and string mass are the only three things that actually determine "Tension".

Breakaway angle off the nut (whether by angled headstock or string tree has a profound affect on tone and sustain, however the string will be the same level of floppy at desired frequency when the scale length, string mass and tension are applied, whether on an instrument or strapped to a piece of steel.

BTW: I have never really seen a "flimsy" bass, exactly what does that mean? Are you meaning a bass with a thinner profile neck that is relying more upon the truss rod to keep it straight, or what?
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I dunno, my Peavey Cirrus 5 tends to get touchy if I don't have a few coils along the tuner. I keep the action very low and get a lot of flop if I don't maximize my the breakaway angle at the nut. With more of an angle, the problem went away.
 
#138
spade2you said:
I dunno, my Peavey Cirrus 5 tends to get touchy if I don't have a few coils along the tuner. I keep the action very low and get a lot of flop if I don't maximize my the breakaway angle at the nut. With more of an angle, the problem went away.
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The number of coils shouldn't affect the tightness of the B string, unless the string is slipping on the tuners. The anchor point of the string will always be in the same place whether you have 1/2 wrap or 6 wraps on the tuner head.

In this description, I will assume by flop you mean noticeable fret buzz. The fret buzz is caused by the string not being broken in as it passes over the nut. It causes buzzing of the string on the fret. By pushing down on the headstock side of the string as it passes over the nut, you will slightly bend the inner core of the string and increase the breakaway angle, which increases sustain and tone quality.

This is basic instrument maintenance and should be done on every string swap, especially if you have a sunken flat headstock with string trees. Although the symptom may be the same, it is an entirely different topic from the initial post.

Without the string being mated to the nut in this way, you will have issues with the string coupling more to the tuner and not the nut. This makes the nut act more as a dampener than an actual resonation point. You therefore make your 34" or 35" scale bass to now be a 36" or 37" scale bass with a mute (nut) 2" down the string. A higher mass string would then be required because of the extra scale length, otherwise the string is too low in tension (picture detuning an E string to a D and then fretting at the second fret. It may allow the same note to be played, but your actual tension is lower, making the string swing further in it's travels back and forth.

I hope this helps. Let me know if it is not clear enough or if you don't understand the physics behind it.
 
#140
Alaska Bass said:
Actually, the "rigidity/dampening characteristics resulting from the bass's (sic) structure and materials" have a lot to do with sustain, but have nothing to do with tension.

Scale length, desired frequency and string mass are the only three things that actually determine "Tension".

Breakaway angle off the nut (whether by angled headstock or string tree has a profound affect on tone and sustain, however the string will be the same level of floppy at desired frequency when the scale length, string mass and tension are applied, whether on an instrument or strapped to a piece of steel.

BTW: I have never really seen a "flimsy" bass, exactly what does that mean? Are you meaning a bass with a thinner profile neck that is relying more upon the truss rod to keep it straight, or what?
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I said nothing about tension. I understand that a given string at a given length must be at a given tension to produce a desired putch. But physical tension does not fully and solely equate to the "feel" of the string under your fingers. The overall rigidity of the structure certainly will impact the the "feel" of the B string (as well as the others to a lesser degree).

When you pluck a steel string, the instrument will deflect to some extent. The bass' resistance to this deflection absolutely impacts the feel of the string. Along with tone, sustain, etc.
 

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