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Best low B string in the Biz?

I think you mean 34", or did you have Fender CS build a 36" bass? What I said applies to your neck at 34". Fret the 3rd fret on the B string and then fret the 15th. You will hear how muddy it gets and how bad the wolftones get.

If you have an actual 36" Fender bass, tell me more with pics. That is one unique bird. I have never played a 36", pretty rare scale length only available as boutique or custom order, so it may be enough to remove the wolftones.
No the Neck was a Custom Order back in 1998. I bought it this way. It originally was made for the former Bassist of the "Fabulous Thunderbirds". So l bought this Bass of all places, Rapid City So.Dakota at the city's premier Music-related, to perform 15 shows a the Sturgis Bike Rally. So l haven't this Bassinet,with Seymour.Duncan Pickups in it too.
 
Had a Lakland 55-02 once. Great bass, would love to try a 55-94 some day. And yes, very nice B-string on the Lakland (but it was 35" which may (or may not) play a part as well).
I may not be the Expert that alot of you fine players responding, but l play with GHS Boomers med. Brite strings. They give me that Grand Piano Bass str.sound. And the combination of everything else.l am banded from some clubs here in the Branson,Mo. Area to LOW, to LOUD.so l use my 4 str. Jazz, smaller Amp Rig, then Fine. JohnBurns
 
No the Neck was a Custom Order back in 1998. I bought it this way. It originally was made for the former Bassist of the "Fabulous Thunderbirds". So l bought this Bass of all places, Rapid City So.Dakota at the city's premier Music-related, to perform 15 shows a the Sturgis Bike Rally. So l haven't this Bassinet,with Seymour.Duncan Pickups in it too.

Can you take some pictures of it? I would really like to see this.
 
I don't mean to be rude, but I have no idea what you just asked me:bag:.
Which is quicker, to Philadelphia, or by bus?
smiley-shocked028.gif
 
I am really interested in that beast. What's it like playing that close to 40 inch neck?
A bit more of a stretch, more like an upright in some ways, but I've never had too much of an issue with different scales - regardless of the scale, the proportions remain the same. Not that I can play everything quite as well - I don't practice on it and my other upright-scaled basses enough. But I absolutely love the tone playing around the 5th-9th frets - get the same "singing" tone as any fretless in that range, except, of course, a full octave lower. So I can play those "regular low notes" like E1, but get the singing mwah of a fretless played mid-neck. It's as much about that as it is the extended range, honestly.
 
Pretty relative question, IMO.

One answer is: the best B string in the biz is the B string in the hands of the best player in the biz.

Back to the instruments, we all understand scale length matters a lot for lower string projection. Upright players have struggled with this for literally centuries. Yes, plural. The 4/4 full size upright was made a few times; but pretty much everyone agreed you can't really play it. Some players soldier along with the 7/8 these days; and they do sound fantastic. But, they can be more work than fun. Most upright players use 3/4 with scale lengths around 42" +/- and call it good.

Back to electric bass guitars, same thing but different gigs. I'm sure some here are playing in styles where the low B response is a high priority. For traditional cover band situations, the B simply needs to be even with the other strings, rather than a long range howitzer. Most of the respected builders now produce pretty dependable B strings that will get the job done. If you really need the long range howitzer, then the answer is probably one of the 35" basses or the Dingwall; or, if you have unlimited funding, a custom long scale Alembic with ebony stringers and the Series electronics.

I don't need that kind of low B. In fact, very few cover tunes, even the newer ones really require notes below D, which I can actually get with better projection on the 4 with a HipShot. And, while the Modulus does have a thunderous B, I personally never really liked the way the rest of the bass handled. For me, the 35" scale is kind of like the 7/8 upright. Sounds great, but more pain than gain. I'll stick with my 34" B strings, thank you very much, from builders like Sadowsky, Zon, and Tobias (yeah, I know Mike has mostly gone to the 35"). That is what is "best" for me. In production axes, the SR5 has had a VERY respectable B for a long time now, and I have a gigged a Fender MM5 which also had an outstanding B. Of course, YMMV.
 
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A bit more of a stretch, more like an upright in some ways, but I've never had too much of an issue with different scales - regardless of the scale, the proportions remain the same. Not that I can play everything quite as well - I don't practice on it and my other upright-scaled basses enough. But I absolutely love the tone playing around the 5th-9th frets - get the same "singing" tone as any fretless in that range, except, of course, a full octave lower. So I can play those "regular low notes" like E1, but get the singing mwah of a fretless played mid-neck. It's as much about that as it is the extended range, honestly.

Thanks for the reply. There are hardly any videos of this beast on the internet and needless to say you can't feel the vibration through the pc. So it won't do any justice.... Yours is a bolt on or thru? How do you think a fretless version of the quake would sound?
 
There were a few people here last year talking peavey cirrus bass. Just a heads up they announced at namm that they will be building these again.

Last I heard, they were only offering it as an import. Not sure how good it will be. As for the USA Cirrus. Good B for the money and perhaps one of the better store brands. A good luthier can still build one slightly better for a higher price tag, of course.
 
My Pedulla Thunderbass ET-5 has a very Usable B string. It is consistent in volume and tone from the 1st to last fret. I have D'Addorio XL's on it which I have grown to really like. I gigged a Sadowksy MS-5 for 2 years and this Pedulla is as good if not even better. However, the overall sound of the Sadowsky Vs, Pedulla is significantly different.

They both have great B strings though. Also, both Sadowsky and Pedulla are 34" Scale.

I have played many many 35" scale basses only to be disappointed by the floppy B string.

That may be attributed to the Factory supplied strings but it was enough to disprove the hype about longer scale being better for B strings.
 

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