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Looks terrible, sounds... OK? Kinda?

#21
There may be something else wrong with this B string. The winding/tape is not adhering to the core, and at the taper (now exposed) it kind of peeks out (? English is not my first language) outwards in a couple of places so you can feel the discontinuity with your fingers.

The taper is exposed because I nicely removed the silk, but the sound didn't change.
 
#22
totalnoob said:
There may be something else wrong with this B string. The winding/tape is not adhering to the core, and at the taper (now exposed) it kind of peeks out (? English is not my first language) outwards in a couple of places so you can feel the discontinuity with your fingers.

The taper is exposed because I nicely removed the silk, but the sound didn't change.
Click to expand...

You mean where it crosses the zero fret or other?

Riis
 
#24
Break angle does look good..... So just curious..... writing paper is roughly .004. Take a piece, fold it (.008'ish) and put that under the "B" string at the nut. Any better??? We still need different strings, but it might make it better in the mean time.
 
#25
totalnoob said:
No, where it crosses the fret it's OK. It's before that point. The taper is only barely starting. I should have said that the part of the string that is now exposed, because it's not quite clear if the taper has already started at this point or not. My bad.
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Can you post a pic and point out the suspect area? I'm of the suspicion the area in question belongs in the afterlength and NOT anywhere near the vibrating string path.

Riis
 
#30
Zooberwerx said:
Can you post a pic and point out the suspect area? I'm of the suspicion the area in question belongs in the afterlength and NOT anywhere near the vibrating string path.

Riis
Click to expand...
Not now. You may be right, but here is something interesting: the wounding/tape is detache from the core the whole length of the B string. In my totalnoobish, totally unqualified opinion, this is wrong.
 
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#31
DrBnz said:
Break angle does look good..... So just curious..... writing paper is roughly .004. Take a piece, fold it (.008'ish) and put that under the "B" string at the nut. Any better??? We still need different strings, but it might make it better in the mean time.
Click to expand...
This is a 0-fret setup, shimming the nut does nothing. Apart from that, YES WE DO NEED NEW STRINGS. I have now removed these flatwound strings. It makes me quite sad because they sounded great, except for the low B. But.... the low B is the whole point of a 5-string bass.
 
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#35
Bob Coldwell said:
Yeah, I wouldn't think that extra inch would make a difference. Is this the first time you've used this particular string brand/set? Does the package state the string length (in inches)?
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Yes, first ever time, and soundwise it delivers.... except for that low B. The package states "5 - string bass guitar 45 - 128" and "FLAT WOUND", and in much smaller script "Complete long scale set".
 
#37
This is normal for the B string to be shorter because that was intended for a shorter scale. I bought the wrong D'Addario for my 6 string (36 inch scale ), I knew it and was excited that the longest distance it has to cover, the D string was long enough, until I got to B string. They were kind enough to just send me the right length set and told me to keep the other set which I used for my 5 string.

Fret nation has the info.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

You can burn the silk, but the windings will not be as tight and could unravel. if it's a few mm, yeah maybe, but that's a lot of silk. It has happened to me before.
 
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#39
logdrum said:
This is normal for the B string to be shorter because that was intended for a shorter scale. I bought the wrong D'Addario for my 6 string (36 inch scale ), I knew it and was excited that the longest distance it has to cover, the D string was long enough, until I got to B string. They were kind enough to just send me the right length set and told me to keep the other set which I used for my 5 string.

Fret nation has the info.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

You can burn the silk, but the windings will not be as tight and could unravel. if it's a few mm, yeah maybe, but that's a lot of silk. It has happened to me before.
Click to expand...
In the end, the string length is not the main issue. The detachiment of the windings from the core must have a far bigger effect on the sound.

But let me add a comment about the length: I've had a number of strings on this bass, all marked as "long scale", and all fit nicely. Till today, that is. And even this set is mostly OK except the low B is just a tiny bit at the taper.
 
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