I've owned 34" and 35" Lulls. To me, the 34" B sounds much more resonant and piano-like. I also use a tapered B string which seems to help with a more pronounced tone, even up the neck.
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I have found that the 37" Dingwalls are the most in-tune and playable B-strings playing further up the neck.
My Lull is a 34" 5-string and it definitely gets beefy going past the 5the fret. Sometimes that's good. Sometimes that's bad.
No one's B string sounds good at the 12th fret.
I own Mike Lull basses and as good as the B string is, there's no point in trying to get anything useful above the 5th or 6th fret and that's pushing the envelope. That applies to all 5-string basses with a low B.
Overwaters will have as good a B string as can be had, based on what I know and have heard from Overwater owners.
But forget about the B string that high up the neck.
That's interesting. Mind if I take an opposing view? I always talk about playing a 5-string like a short scale. If I'm in the key of E, I typically start on the 5th fret of the B string and hang out around frets 5-9. I love the thick tone of the B up there (as well as the economy of movement & lack of stretch... I'm lazy like that). Granted, I play .120 gauge on the B, so that may be helping. But yeah, I kind of live up there and I really like the way it sounds/feels.
I've owned 2 Overwaters fivers. They were very well made and they had piano-like tones. The John East pre doesn't hurt in that regard. Definitely not a bad option. The only other B stringed basses I've owned that come close to Lull are the Stingray 5 & MTD 535-24. I've heard the F-Bass BN-5 is thunderous too. Maybe someday...
Oh, please do!
The idea is to get other's experiences to come up with a solution to the OP's situation.
Yours certainly gives the OP a more positive idea to try.
I do use the B sting up higher, but not by itself. Sometimes, I'll slide the A string up to the G on the 10th fret in a dynamic moment (a classical upright bassist taught m that term....
), then reach over and grab the octave lower on the B string for effect. I hit it lightly. I like the feeling of that low note "blooming" in the subs on a nice-size PA. I'm playing .135 B strings, mostly because of my neanderthal touch (with apologies to neanderthals everywhere....
). I've tried, good Gosh, I've tried to play lighter. But once again, I've given up and just play what I play in accordance with what I'm hired to play...
I find these kinds of questions (the B string on one type of bass vs the B string on another) interesting but difficult to answer in any conclusive way (other than saying than it's unlikely any B string will sound very good above the 12th fret 
). With relatively few exceptions, most of us TB contributors have quite small sample sizes from which to draw our conclusions. Yet we tend to be quick to generalize, even after only trying one or two of a specific type of bass. Of the five string basses I've owned, the ones with the best sounding B strings have probably been my main Lull M5V (I haven't spent enough time with my new Lull to be able to say for sure - but so far so good), which is 35" and my Sadowsky Modern, which is 34". I suspect that the main reason the Sadowsky sounds as good as it does is because of the pickup placement (which makes for a tighter, more focused sound all around). It also shares the same type of string (DR Hi-Beams 40-120) as my Lull, so that probably makes a difference. Having said that, none of the Sadowsky Jazzes I've owned or played (all NYC) had B strings which sounded as good as the B on my Lull or Modern. Only one of those basses was strung with DR Hi-Beams, and all had a heavier gauge (45 -130). The MTD 535s I've owned have all had decent Bs - but not as good as the Lull or Modern's Bs. Again, however, the string make and gauge were different (hex core, 45-135). The B on my 34" MTD Saratoga is just as good as the B on the 535s. The B's on my Rob Allen, Status and Modulus have also been good (though I still think my Lull has the edge over those basses).
All of the above might also depend on how my amp is EQ'd and the room I'm in. Lots of variables. My new M5V sounds very different from my other M5V and, preamp aside (assuming a relatively neutral sound is being produced in passive mode), the only spec difference is the fretboard wood and any possible difference in the pickups (despite them being labelled the same: custom wound SD singles). If I was going to order a five string Lull with the aim of getting the most useable B string possible, I'd go with the theory and order a 35" (there's a reason the shop recommends 35" for their fivers) but it could very well be that the best B to ever come out of the Lull shop was a 34". Something that I don't think has been discussed here yet is top loading vs through-body stringing of the B and whether or not people have found that makes a difference to the sound of the B (I have never experimented where that's concerned).
). With relatively few exceptions, most of us TB contributors have quite small sample sizes from which to draw our conclusions. Yet we tend to be quick to generalize, even after only trying one or two of a specific type of bass. Of the five string basses I've owned, the ones with the best sounding B strings have probably been my main Lull M5V (I haven't spent enough time with my new Lull to be able to say for sure - but so far so good), which is 35" and my Sadowsky Modern, which is 34". I suspect that the main reason the Sadowsky sounds as good as it does is because of the pickup placement (which makes for a tighter, more focused sound all around). It also shares the same type of string (DR Hi-Beams 40-120) as my Lull, so that probably makes a difference. Having said that, none of the Sadowsky Jazzes I've owned or played (all NYC) had B strings which sounded as good as the B on my Lull or Modern. Only one of those basses was strung with DR Hi-Beams, and all had a heavier gauge (45 -130). The MTD 535s I've owned have all had decent Bs - but not as good as the Lull or Modern's Bs. Again, however, the string make and gauge were different (hex core, 45-135). The B on my 34" MTD Saratoga is just as good as the B on the 535s. The B's on my Rob Allen, Status and Modulus have also been good (though I still think my Lull has the edge over those basses). All of the above might also depend on how my amp is EQ'd and the room I'm in. Lots of variables. My new M5V sounds very different from my other M5V and, preamp aside (assuming a relatively neutral sound is being produced in passive mode), the only spec difference is the fretboard wood and any possible difference in the pickups (despite them being labelled the same: custom wound SD singles). If I was going to order a five string Lull with the aim of getting the most useable B string possible, I'd go with the theory and order a 35" (there's a reason the shop recommends 35" for their fivers) but it could very well be that the best B to ever come out of the Lull shop was a 34". Something that I don't think has been discussed here yet is top loading vs through-body stringing of the B and whether or not people have found that makes a difference to the sound of the B (I have never experimented where that's concerned).
So is there a magic number of basses we must have experienced before we are qualified to respond?I find these kinds of questions (the B string on one type of bass vs the B string on another) interesting but difficult to answer in any conclusive way (other than saying than it's unlikely any B string will sound very good above the 12th fret
All of the above might also depend on how my amp is EQ'd and the room I'm in. Lots of variables. My new M5V sounds very different from my other M5V and, preamp aside (assuming a relatively neutral sound is being produced in passive mode), the only spec difference is the fretboard wood and any possible difference in the pickups (despite them being labelled the same: custom wound SD singles). If I was going to order a five string Lull with the aim of getting the most useable B string possible, I'd go with the theory and order a 35" (there's a reason the shop recommends 35" for their fivers) but it could very well be that the best B to ever come out of the Lull shop was a 34". Something that I don't think has been discussed here yet is top loading vs through-body stringing of the B and whether or not people have found that makes a difference to the sound of the B (I have never experimented where that's concerned).
As I mentioned I am not that good but I am able to devote more time. As I started doing two and three octave scales and arpeggios I really noticed the tone on the E and B strings on the 15th-17th frets. I appreciate the info. I have someone else working on intonation than normally use here in LA and will see how it comes back. I love beautiful basses though and I am thinking about a Mike Lull!Oh, please do!
The idea is to get other's experiences to come up with a solution to the OP's situation.
Yours certainly gives the OP a more positive idea to try.
I do use the B sting up higher, but not by itself. Sometimes, I'll slide the A string up to the G on the 10th fret in a dynamic moment (a classical upright bassist taught m that term....
I'm playing .135 B strings, mostly because of my neanderthal touch (with apologies to neanderthals everywhere....
No, all responses are valuable in their own right - just saying that most of us are operating with very small sample sizes (something which sometimes fails to be acknowledged).
You can try different strings, and/or adjust your technique, like try playing closer to the bridge for a snappier tone.
If you watch Jaco play, you will see he alters right hand position for certain notes. Also look at your muting technique (right hand or left hand). Sounds crazy at first, but a little bit of practice and you may find yourself doing it second nature.
That said, you also have to play to the strengths of the bass (and the amp) to cop the sound you want. This may mean playing that 12th fret B note (on the B string) as 7th fret on the E (?) if it sounds better there, play it there if you can, play it on the 12th if you have to.
Most basses sound their absolute best 5th fret - 12th fret.
If you can't get there with technique, strings, amp, pedals maybe look at a new bass… you may want to play a bunch though, as some have thunderous B strings others don't.
35" scale helps but it's only part of it.
Also - bass set up matters!
And it's also entirely possible you have a bad B string! In my experience they can be never quite right and/or bad from the beginning, which may have something to do with how they were installed. There are some good threads here on properly installing strings.
All that said I don't think I ever play above the 12th fret on the B. Certainly not 15-17th. Even on the E, I rarely go above the 13th fret (F)
Exactly! That's why I don't care how the B sounds after the 12th fret. Because they all sound like steel drums, with some weird overtones. Some more than others.
There's more than one! (?)
NBD…
M4V—Alder/Ebony, ML J's, Bart pre…
M4V—Alder/Ebony, ML J's, Bart pre…
So there I was, minding my own business, when I saw a Lull J5 that caught my eye.
It was built in 2005, which is the same year as my P5. Upon further inspection, I noticed that the serial numbers are one digit apart. I'm not sure what value that adds, but my P5 is killer, and I would imagine that the Jazz would be too.
Does anyone have an early 2000's Lull jazz bass who can offer any insight?
It was built in 2005, which is the same year as my P5. Upon further inspection, I noticed that the serial numbers are one digit apart. I'm not sure what value that adds, but my P5 is killer, and I would imagine that the Jazz would be too.
Does anyone have an early 2000's Lull jazz bass who can offer any insight?
Several of my favorite Lulls were made in 2004-2005. Does your P5 have a chunky or slim neck? Some of the earliest P5s had a slightly thicker neck up near the nut, but pretty quickly the P5 and J5 had the same neck profile.
