Is there a cure for weird B string overtones?

[Angus]

No, I'm not a luthier, but I am a working dynamics engineer.

The problem with the source you listed is not the actual content but rather the application. That's referring to hollowbody, acoustic instruments like violins, cellos, double basses, etc, where the resonant frequency of the body is substantially different than that of a solid body. There is far less mass involved and the air between the wood layers has a very strong effect on it as well. Same goes for the wood- a thin piece of maple is going to have a much closer resonant frequency to sounding tones than a piece of brass or aluminum (where that number would be very, very high; same for solid bodies).

This is why you get really strong wolf tones in orchestral instruments (and brass, actually) and very very seldom in electric solid body instruments that tuned in equal temperament and that don't have sympathetic vibrating strings.

I'm going to put it down to the exposed/tapered core strings.

 

[Dbassmon]

Angus, thanks for the thoughtful post.

No doubt this is phenomenon which more commonly effects acoustic string instruments. Absolutely.

It does rear it's ugly head from time to time on solid body instruments as well. I owned a Peavey TL5 for a New York second. The B String was a symphony of discordant overtones. No matter what strings you put on that bass, there was no taming that wolf. It was absolutely the interaction of the wood and it's resonance and the frequency of the low B.

One of the managers at Guitar Center liked the bass and bought it. Otherwise it would have ended up as a wall decoration or firewood.

Due to the mass of a solid body instrument, it much rarer than on DBs, where it is fairly common.

 

[spade2you]

It's interesting that tapercore strings can make this worse. My new Conklin is useful all the way up to the 12th position. I haven't really tried it past the 12th position at this point. So far, the sound is great and the RMC piezos seem to love the low B.

 

[L. L. Elwood]

Zombie thread, I know.. But this thread cured my issues. I was using Smith taper core medium steel strings on a Smith 5 string. HORRIBLE overtones all the way up the B string. They would last about 1/2 - 1 second at the front of every note played. The B in that set was .130 gauge. I ordered a Daddario .120 gauge prosteel non taper core (just a normal B) string from StringsByMail.com (they're great.. and cheap). Problem fixed. No overtones and super defined B string now.