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Struggling to find a high F string that works

#23
jzucker said:
Currently playing an Ibanez SR506, six-string bass with the low end bart pickups/preamp. Tuning E-F tuning...

I use a set of EXL-170 6 string bass strings (.123 - .032) but I throw out the Low B string and then add a high F string. So far I've tried .020 to .022 plain and recently tried a .022 wound.

The issue is that with the plain strings, the high string is about 25% louder than the other strings and with the wound .022 it's about 25% quieter than the other strings. I guess if I had a pickup with adjustable pole pieces the problem might be solveable. I suppose I can try angling the pickups but I was wondering what others do...
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Buy a guitar ? I even took the G off of one of my basses a while ago as it is in guitar territory
 
#24
jzucker said:
it's already pretty low. About 2.5mm at the 12th fret. Don't want to go any lower. I'm not going to raise the action on the other strings. I do a lot of solo playing and the low E is about 3mm at the 12th fret. The rest of the strings graduate slightly lower toward the higher string. Tilting the pickup is going to have the adverse affect of raising the volume of the D G & C strings so that won't really work. The only thing that would work pickup-wise would be something with adjustable pole pieces...
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Or, just raise that one string. Instead of tilting the pickup. Itd feel weird, but honestly with the string being that light, you wouldn't even notice that you have to press further.
 
#25
IIRC, Ibanez BTB7s and BTB747s use a plain string for the high F. And it rings pretty intensely based on the BTB7 I owned for a while.

I'm currently in a fairly similar boat: thinking of converting a 6-string bass from BEADGC to EADGCF. For me, though, the extra paddles come in the form of: my bass is fretless. Idunno if a solid string vs a wound one would make a ton of difference, but either way, those strings are not common, given our scale lengths.
 
#27
JeezyMcNuggles said:
Or, just raise that one string. Instead of tilting the pickup. Itd feel weird, but honestly with the string being that light, you wouldn't even notice that you have to press further.
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It's noticeable, feel-wise and doesn't make a huge amount of difference which indicates to me that tilting the pickup won't help. As I said, I do a lot of solo playing and when the action is high it doesn't feel right.
 
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#28
HaphAsSard said:
Output is probably a complex function of contrasting factors: a higher magnetically-active mass (likely to be unequal between core and winding material, just to complicate things) should increase it, but it translates to decreased motion inside the magnetic field; conversely, less mass should on paper present to the pickup less to work with, but its resulting lower tension lets it move more (string attack being equal). I'm not sure which trumps which. Even the data you've gathered is inconclusive, regarding whether mass matters more than width of motion: the two plains shouldn't be *both* 25% louder the C, but if they are, the two factors (more meat less swing, and vice versa) appear to compensate each other; the wound 022 should have about the same mass as the 020p, and be more flexible than the latter, but its winding apparently performs less well than the inherently all-steel plain.
You could try a single GHS .022", either a Progressive or a White Bronze:
Singles - Progressives
Singles - White Bronze
The winding for both is in Alloy 52 and should be louder than the NPS in the D'Addario XL. The White Bronzes also come in 020.
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I tried the Progressive .022 and it wasn't as loud as the .DYB 20X or the d'addario nickel round wound .020. So I'm back to the plain .020. It's slightly louder than the other strings but I'd rather have it be louder than 25% quieter. The Progressive .022 was the quietest of the bunch.
 
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#32
jzucker said:
I tried the Progressive .022 and it wasn't as loud as the .DYB 20X or the d'addario nickel round wound .020. So I'm back to the plain .020. It's slightly louder than the other strings but I'd rather have it be louder than 25% quieter. The Progressive .022 was the quietest of the bunch.
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Thanks for reporting back. Ah, seems like I overestimated Alloy 52. Or maybe that Progressive .022 is somehow stiffer, less free to move than the XL?
 
#33
HaphAsSard said:
Thanks for reporting back. Ah, seems like I overestimated Alloy 52. Or maybe that Progressive .022 is somehow stiffer, less free to move than the XL?
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That's what I'm thinking. The daddario nickel felt the most loose of any of the wounds so that may explain it. At this point, i'm going to stick with a plain string because I'm typically using the high string as a melody string and it's easier to play lighter than to play harder on a wound string. But also, feel-wise, the wound high string has too much tension IMO...
 
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#34
Well, I have another update. After a months of using the Progressive Alloy-52 .28w string for the high F (actually high E in my case), I have concluded that it does *NOT* work. Apparently, my first assessment was correct which is that it's got so much tension that it just doesn't balance well with the other strings. This is especially apparent when soloing. When I am playing on the top 3 strings and particularly above the 7th fret, the .28w just doesn't have enough volume. I have talked to nordstrand about custom making a pickup with adjustable poles or cutting a bar magnet that had a raised section for the top 2 strings but they are not interested. Therefore, I just put a plain .022p string on the bass and for solos, it sounds much better. Obviously, it's a tad twangy compared to the rounds but it makes a HUGE difference (in a positive way) for solos and playing solo arrangements. I'll probably try a .024p there but for now, it's an improvement.
 

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