What 5'er has the punchiest, tightest B string?

[bassplayershane]

I have a Lakland 5501 with Nordy Fat Stacks in it. Absolutely love it but the B isnt as tight and punchy as I'd like. Its really fluffy compared to the rest. Any ideas on how to fix this problem? I use 45-135 gauge strings.

Cheers!

 

[woody357]

I'd say try changing your strings to somethime more stiffer. I mean it's a Lakland.

 

[Double Agent]

I would say a Dingwall has the punchiest, tightest B string in the business. The runners-up would be Spector and Lakland IME.

Since you have a Lakland, which should have a VERY good low B, I would say to look at your choice of strings. You are already using a 135, you don't want to get too much thicker than that. Maybe you should look at the type of string. Hex-core strings typically have more tension than round-core ones do. DR Lo-Riders have a hex core and fantastic tone, plus they feel very tight. I have never had to use a gauge heavier than .130 on my 5ers, even the 34" scale models I've had.

But, if that doesn't satisfy you in the end, I would start saving for a Dingwall. They have a more affordable model (called the Combustion) scheduled to start arriving on stores in early '09. They really are fantastic basses!

 

[Webtroll]

Modulus comes to mind for thumpy tones.

 

[Modern Growl]

All B's are floppy! 4 Strings are where its at!

 

[3toes]

I have a Lakland 5501 with Nordy Fat Stacks in it. Absolutely love it but the B isnt as tight and punchy as I'd like. Its really fluffy compared to the rest. Any ideas on how to fix this problem? I use 45-135 gauge strings.

Cheers!

If you're using the Bartolini pickups, it's going to be rather smooth.

edit: haha nevermind, i can't read. it's early...

 

[spade2you]

I can't really imagine a 35" scale bass with a .135 sounding fluffy. Maybe take it to someone to make sure your setup is ok.

 

[kirkm24]

When I had a Bongo 5, I thought it was incredibly tight and punchy on the low B. I've never played them but I have heard the Stingray 5 has a tight and punchy low b as well. I'm sure your Lakland is fine but you might want to try different strings as suggested earlier. I've heard the Sadowsky's with the tapered B are very nice and tight. DR Hi Beams are not tapered but I've heard they have a great low B string as well.

 

[stflbn]

Personally I've found that much of the time people are attacking a low B string with the same aggression as they might a D or G string and wondering why the string feels floppy. It's larger, tuned lower and IS floppier by physics. Yes, some are better than others, but easing up a tad on the low B can go a long way to more articulate tone out of it.

Be gentler the lower you go... The sound is there if you don't over work the string.

 

[Munjibunga]

Change your strings. The tension in a string is related to the scale of the bass and the construction of the string. It has nothing to do with any other aspect of the bass.

 

[mokkat]

The only bass I ever tried with a truely floppy B-string, was a Cort Curbow with thin strings.

Anything from G&L 2500 tribute, to Squier V Deluxe rox my socks

 

[awakefie]

Be gentler the lower you go... The sound is there if you don't over work the string.

I had a Schecter 5er neck through and the same held true for it. I've got a 5er (Hamer Velocity) and a 6 (cheap Rogue) and the above statement holds true with both for me. If I bang em they flop, if I pluck them gently the B holds its volume and is fairly crisp.

 

[SPYD3R #9]

IMHO Dingwall has the best thundering Low-B

 

[Exospaciac]

Every Warwick 5 and 6 string I've ever played (yes even the newer ones) has had an amazing low B string.
Spector and Ernie Ball also have beefy B's.

 

[flipper_gv]

Every Warwick 5 and 6 string I've ever played (yes even the newer ones) has had an amazing low B string.
Spector and Ernie Ball also have beefy B's.

yup, even if they are 34'', the B string on the thumb bass is awesome.

 

[KsPiNeSh]

The Human Base BaseX.oc5 had the cleanest, tightest B-string I have ever heard. Ever. Granted, I've never heard a Roscoe B-string, but this thing beat out Lakland and my Warwick (barely). With the Glockenklang onboard pre bass frequency set at 40 Hz... that bass had some serious smash to it.

 

[K-Funk]

+1 for both the Thumb BO and NT. Best B-string ever.

 

[ricknote]

About 10 years ago I was at a session here in Nashville watching a friend
of mine demo his songs with some other co-writers.
David Hungate was the bassist on the session. He was playing an early
Yamaha TRB 5. You know... the one with the PJ setup.
Anyway, after one of the tunes where he used the B string a lot I was blown away by how focused and clear the low B was. Amazing!
Between takes I asked him if I could check out his bass and play it little.
He said sure, and I was confident I had uncovered the secret of a great B string. I figured I'd check it out and then ask him what strings he used.

Well, I'm sure you more experienced players know where I'm going with
this story.
I played his bass for about 5 minutes while they were listening to the next song to be recorded and you know what.
The B sounded like "ass".

Yep, it was me. That was 10 years ago and I'm still working on that one.
The B strings on all my basses are sounding better and better all the time.

I'll never come close to playing as well as David but I learned a valuable
lesson and I'm fine with the instruments I have.
I've still got a lot of work to do on my touch.
Especially on that pesky Low B.

Good luck,
Rick

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

Modulus comes to mind for thumpy tones.

+1 on the Modulus Q5, Wow!

And a few more:
Lakland 55-94
Lull M5V
StingRay5

 

[Lesfunk]

Modulus Q5