Any tips to tighten up the B string? This things like a wet noodle.. Its a though body string but it has a "Hipshot" so I did away with through body and it helped some! But its pretty floppy. Just the way the Bass is made? Or is there something I can do help it?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Loose B
- Thread starter Bassman197835
- Start date
Hi Ant, I might have to desagree with you on this. My bass is a 34" inch scale fiver. I use a set of Fodera nickels .40 to .120. The .120 B string is thight and at 1.6mm at the 24th fret without buzzing (I have a medium-light touch). Before trying this bass I was after a 35" inch scale due to floppy B problems, but not anymore, so IMO a floppy B has more to do with the contruction of the bass itself than the scale lenght.
Will a 120 help or make it worse? I assumed thicker gauge stiffer string? But hey! Whatdo I know!
What DRs are you using? I use Lo Riders on my 5s and the B (130) sounds fine. I do believe Lo Riders are the highest tension rounds DR makes. I tried Hi Beams and the B was too floppy. I haven't experimented with any other strings, but I figured it was the higher tension of the Lo Riders that made the difference.
Are they Hi Beams? They sound nice but are a bit floppy... Try Fat Beams maybe?
They have slightly higher tension and sound really good.
And you´re right, a thicker gauge has more tension and stiffer. But if the bass is not so well contructed a higher gauge (stiffer) string or a higher scale helps a lot.
Yo Emibass,
You didn't didn't disagree with me. If you said that a 35" scale wouldn't make it tighter you would've disagreed with me. But you didn't say that. You just said that you found something that works for you.
My answer was based on science. Take a rubberband and pull it further apart and the rubberband gets tighter. And that is why grand pianos are shaped the way that they are. The lower(thicker) strings are lower.
Like I said,...
I don't think you disagreed with that.
peace,
anthony
You didn't didn't disagree with me. If you said that a 35" scale wouldn't make it tighter you would've disagreed with me. But you didn't say that. You just said that you found something that works for you.
My answer was based on science. Take a rubberband and pull it further apart and the rubberband gets tighter. And that is why grand pianos are shaped the way that they are. The lower(thicker) strings are lower.
Like I said,...
I don't think you disagreed with that.
peace,
anthony
Hey Ant, you're right about higher scale length more tension. But I also find that the same set of strings feel different on different basses with the same scale length and normally the better constructed the better feel (tightness)...but math is math and don't argue about that. But in terms of feel there are differences, at least for me.
FWIW I went from GHS Boomers to Rotosound and it made a world of difference. Not to say the GHS Boomers were bad, but for my taste, the Rotosounds made a big change on tension...
I agree with that. But science is science. The lower the note a instrument has to produce the bigger that instrument has to be.
That's why,...
Even though a violin, cello and double bass look the same they are different sizes. Lower notes require a bigger scale. That's science, not my opinion.
There are many reasons why an elephant and a bird sound different. One of the big reasons is scale
And actually, scale is the simplest solution. But,..you just can't change it 'after the fact'.
That's why Leo Fender didn't just put thicker strings on a Strat when he wanted to make a bass guitar. He knew that the E string should be at least 34". But he didn't account for the B string back then. Ideally, the B string should be 37". But that's too long for my short limbs.
But that is why the 'fanned fret' idea is genius.
peace,
anthony
That's why,...
Even though a violin, cello and double bass look the same they are different sizes. Lower notes require a bigger scale. That's science, not my opinion.
There are many reasons why an elephant and a bird sound different. One of the big reasons is scale
And actually, scale is the simplest solution. But,..you just can't change it 'after the fact'.
That's why Leo Fender didn't just put thicker strings on a Strat when he wanted to make a bass guitar. He knew that the E string should be at least 34". But he didn't account for the B string back then. Ideally, the B string should be 37". But that's too long for my short limbs.
But that is why the 'fanned fret' idea is genius.
peace,
anthony
I just know my B sucks balls! Anyone have a neck stretcher I can borrow?? I only need to go one more inch... 
