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String set for a drop B tuning on 4 strings bass

Rupss

Rupss

Apr 16, 2024
7
4
#1
Hey there!
I play heavy music with my epiphone thunderbird tuned in drop B (B F# B E).
I tried so many different string set to find the right balance and the best i reached (by now) it's a 130, .095, .075, .055 set.
The main problem, of course, it is the 4th string that remains floppy and affects the sustain of the low notes, due to the contact with frets and pickups.
I know that the problem will never be completely solved, due to the scale lenght, but what do you suggest?
I was considering to put a 132 string as 4th string, do you think i'll get more tension and more sustain?
(the instrument it's been setted even recently by an expert liuther, but still a bit far from the sustain i'd like to get).
 
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#5
so your low Bº is (standard 5str set B). if too floppy look for Hex core, Flats and tapewounds will stiffen up even more but you may lose some sustain.

Rotosound
DR lowriders
Fodera
labella

Kalium, D'addario, others have roundwounds in all gauges for DIY sets


Beyond the strings sets and setup, don't overlook technique if you're still 'bottoming out'. IF setup and pickups are adjusted to your needs and you still aren't getting sustain look to your technique. 'Over-playing'/hyper-pulling the string will dampen its sustain, along with 'where' you're striking along the string—consider playing closer to the bridge on the B string.

After all that, if you still want more sustain than a string can offer look to compression/sustainer FXs.
 
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#7
Karl Kaminski said:
so your low Bº is (standard 5str set B). if too floppy look for Hex core, Flats and tapewounds will stiffen up even more but you may lose some sustain.

Rotosound
DR lowriders
Fodera
labella

Kalium, D'addario, others have roundwounds in all gauges for DIY sets


Beyond the strings sets and setup, don't overlook technique if you're still 'bottoming out'. IF setup and pickups are adjusted to your needs and you still aren't getting sustain look to your technique. 'Over-playing'/hyper-pulling the string will dampen its sustain, along with 'where' you're striking along the string.

After all that, if you still want more sustain than a string can offer look to compression/sustainer FXs.
Click to expand...
Thanks for answering. What about the string gauge? would be a 132 better in tension?
 
#8
132 would not differ much from a 130 in tension, especially stiffness. Stiffness involves factors that have little to do with the gauge, mostly rooting in how the strings are made. It's tough to find that balance between stiffness and sustain, because I found that thinner strings had better sustain when I was playing in Drop B. I actually used the EXL 160 BT set from D'addario, with a .120 on the bottom.

Since you already got a professional setup with the gauges you have, I would consider other options, perhaps with a compressor to help your note sustain?

Karl Kaminski said:
Beyond the strings sets and setup, don't overlook technique if you're still 'bottoming out'. IF setup and pickups are adjusted to your needs and you still aren't getting sustain look to your technique. 'Over-playing'/hyper-pulling the string will dampen its sustain, along with 'where' you're striking along the string.

After all that, if you still want more sustain than a string can offer look to compression/sustainer FXs.
Click to expand...
Also, this x2!
 
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#9
Rupss said:
yes!
Click to expand...
Keep in mind gauges are only part of the whole equation. Based on my experience, when it comes to the low B, bigger isn't always better. Stiffness is more important than higher tension or bigger gauge. I've had more success with low B's by mix-and-matching something "stiffer" than the rest instead of just increasing the gauge.

If you want to stay with nickel rounds, I might suggest the DR Nickel Lo-Rider .130 or GHS Boomer .130, both of which are stiffer than the EB Slinky .130.
 
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#11
Rupss said:
Hey there!
I play heavy music with my epiphone thunderbird tuned in drop B (B F# B E).
I tried so many different string set to find the right balance and the best i reached (by now) it's a 130, .095, .075, .055 set.
The main problem, of course, it is the 4th string that remains floppy and affects the sustain of the low notes, due to the contact with frets and pickups.
I know that the problem will never be completely solved, due to the scale lenght, but what do you suggest?
I was considering to put a 132 string as 4th string, do you think i'll get more tension and more sustain?
(the instrument it's been setted even recently by an expert liuther, but still a bit far from the sustain i'd like to get).
Click to expand...
If you find a 130 low B floppy

- a 132 or 135 won't make a significant difference: if you think about it, in relative terms (compared to the initial .13") two more hundreths of an inch is very little, both linearly (diameter) and volumetrically (ergo mass-wise), so the corrisponding rise in tension would be only subtle;

- there's no reason *not* to try a 145.
Get a single D'Addario XB145, and/or a XB145T (tapered; make sure you don't get one nor the other in SL = super-long version, unless your bass can accommodate it), hopefully from the same source you got your Ernie Ball Slinky singles. You could get both tapered and not-tapered, and decide which is your favourite, but know that they require different bridge-saddle heights. Also, ideally, the T version should happen to have the tapered secion end right past the saddle (if behind the saddle, it would be useless; if a lot ahead of the saddle, it would increase the chorusy, inharmonic component to the tone). Also also, not all bridge-holes or string-through-body paths are wide enough for a 145.
And also get a guitar capo: during the first week, protect the low-B nut slot with something rigid (a piece of supermarket discount card, or similar) between nut and string, capo the bass at the 1st fret, tune to CGCF, see if you like the string and, if you do by the end of the trial period, commit to it, file the slot wider (not deeper) and let the string fall into it.
 
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#14
I cant recommend DR DDT's enough.
i use a .145 for A on a 34" scale bass. The feel, tone, and tension is really great in my opinion.
DR allows you to mix and match gauges through any dealer, i use fretnation to order custom sets. they also sell the .145 as a single.

and yes, theyre marketed for drop tuning, but i use them on every bass i own, and theyre awesome in STD as well.

I like a little higher tension.
 
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#15
Rupss said:
Hey there!
I play heavy music with my epiphone thunderbird tuned in drop B (B F# B E).
I tried so many different string set to find the right balance and the best i reached (by now) it's a 130, .095, .075, .055 set.
The main problem, of course, it is the 4th string that remains floppy and affects the sustain of the low notes, due to the contact with frets and pickups.
I know that the problem will never be completely solved, due to the scale lenght, but what do you suggest?
I was considering to put a 132 string as 4th string, do you think i'll get more tension and more sustain?
(the instrument it's been setted even recently by an expert liuther, but still a bit far from the sustain i'd like to get).
Click to expand...

It seems to me that if your strings are hitting the frets and the pickups that either:

1. You are playing extremely hard and you need to stop it, or
2. You have changed something (string height, neck relief) since your "setup", or
3. This so called "expert" you had set up your bass, is not an expert

I am betting that it is a combination of 1 and 3 and that the majority of the problem is due to 3.
 
#16
I used 65/85/105/125 DR DDT's for drop C and 60/80/100/120 for drop C#. By that logic maybe get a set of DR DDT's 70/90/110/130 would be perfect. Gonna have to buy a custom set (Fret Nation) or the heavy 4 string pack, toss the .050 and buy a .130 single. I was looking at the exact same tuning a few months back and that's what I'd do.
 
#17
As a non-scientific note, I will add that I favored a BEAD tuning for a while on my first (short-scale) bass, and simply used an E string for the B. This was of course very floppy, and I eventually switched to a heavier-gauge B. I don't recall a significant difference in sustain, but then that may owe more to the shorter scale and semi-hollow construction of that bass, plus perhaps the merely moderate volume and compression used.
 

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