Which tapered B(or non tapered?)

[Ggaa]

Using Fat Beams on a Wick RB Streamer 5. The low B sounds unlike the other 4, kind of a thud(same strings on my cherry wood GPS Streamer sound great). Looking for a better B. Which tapered B would work best here? If a non tapered something would work, I'm open to that too.

 

[michael_t]

What's the distance from the ball end to the saddle on the low B on your bass? Just trying to get an idea for the proper length of the tapered part.

 

[Ggaa]

It's 1 1/2" from ball to center of the saddle.

 

[michael_t]

It's 1 1/2" from ball to center of the saddle.

Most tapered B strings have 2" of taper, so that should work fine on your bass. Just wanted to make sure.

I once tried a tapered B on my son's Ibanez SR1205E and it didn't work too well as the tapered portion turned out to be too long due to the design of the monorail bridge on that particular bass.

If you want to stick with stainless steel roundwound for the low B, D'Addario ProSteel 125T or 130T may be a good place to start as they're readily available as singles.

 

[fig]

Using Fat Beams on a Wick RB Streamer 5. The low B sounds unlike the other 4, kind of a thud(same strings on my cherry wood GPS Streamer sound great). Looking for a better B.

Had to look online about that Warwick. It's 34 inch scale, correct?

34 inch basses, most of the time, don't like 125's or larger because you'll get that thud, those indistinct notes, the higher up you play on the B. On my bass, larger strings start losing it about the 7th or 8th fret.

I took a chance, on recommendations from the forum, on a lighter gauge B, .118 from the La Bella Low Tension Flats, and it stays in tune, no thud, up to the 24th fret. No loss of bassiness with the smaller gauge B, so no worries there.

For roundwounds, the .120 gauge B from a Fender set gets me the same in-tune goodness.

Which tapered B would work best here?

I tried two different tapered B's awhile back, but my bass hates them. I've read in here some basses are fine with 'em, some aren't. Mine isn't LOL. But, maybe a tapered B will give you good, in-tune notes all way up the neck. I wouldn't know, 'cause my bass rejects them LOL.

Anyway, something to consider (smaller B) if you want an in-tune B up to at least the 12th fret octave.

 

[Ggaa]

Found a LaBella super step B .128 I forgot I had, and have a .125 D'Addario Prosteel tapered on order. Usually I don't go above F# on the B. Open to a lighter string....

 

[Ggaa]

Still haven't put on the Prosteel tapered (probably wait till I change whole set), but I tried a HPF for the first time the other night. Did clean up the B some, hpf happened to sound best set around 80hz. Looking forward to using it with the tapered string ..

 

[GTHintz]

Corvette player here. I've been through lots of strings on my Warwick and I found that 125 or 128 seem to be the way to go. Even 120 could work but I kinda like the middle of the road between punch and all thud. I want a little meat but still tight and focused. I found that hex core seems to work well. High Beams seem to be fine too. The difference between those and fat beams is that the core is a bit thinner which makes for more flex and more bounce in the notes. Thinner hex core seems to really make my b string notes sound full but tight and focused. I'd say try Ken Smith Rockmasters which are hex core stainless and and pretty nice all around strings. Another string that sounded good with our mec pickups are Dean Markley Blue Steel. So far those 2 are my favorite strings on my Warwick. I usually use either 45-125 or something close. Ken Smith has a balanced set that's a little different. Like 44-64-80-102-125 or something like that. Off gauge so the tension is where he wanted it for his basses. Anyway good luck and hope that was helpful.