Lakland B string issue?

[SwitchGear]

Hey TB'ers, I absolutely love my new (two months old) Skyline JO5, it has a wonderful feel and vibe. What a jazz bass! The B is strong, sustains well and is tight BUT, it has a harsher, more metallicy type of tone then the E,A,D & G strings. This was been the case with the stock-OEM strings and now the DR Fatbeams I recently installed.

I do blues and electric jazz gigs and don't want the harsh B string, while the other strings have a nice, round tone goin' on.

I'm reluctant to switch to nickelwounds to try to calm the harsh B because IME with other 5'ers, the B may lose it's solid sustain and sound thuddy.

Your experiences please...

 

[steve21]

Are the fatbeams Nickelwounds? If not, try that?

 

[hasbeen]

well, I use DR Sunbeams....Nickel....and the B is definety not thuddy. It is very well defined.

Oh yeah....the bass is a Lakland 55-94

 

[pickles]

Sounds like a typical medium guage stainless B string. It should mellow with a little playing time, but if you want a quick fix try a lighter string or go nickel. Sadowsky nickels were great on the fralin-loaded DJ5 I used to have for a warm smooth sound. Dadarrio XLs were also quite good.

 

[Chef]

You might try lowering the pups on the b-string side just a tad...
Also, daddario xl170 nickel rounds are real nice. And, LaBella 760fl Stainless flats are real tasty; big fundamental, and the stainless means they deliver nice clear highs without "dead/thud."

 

[Kitsapbass]

make sure if you do the d'addarios to get the SL length; I got the normal XLs and they were about 1/2 short going across the nut; had to use a piece of paper to shim it up....

 

[SwitchGear]

Thanks much for the replys! I will try lowering the pups on the B side first. If that isnt enough, I will install nickels on her.

 

[Revolver323]

Lakland nickel rounds are great. If you like flats, try Lakland JO flats or TI Flats (expensive, but great). Never ran across a stainless round set I like.