B-string diameter recommendations for a 34" scale length bass.

[jazzyvee]

It's coming up to the time to change the strings on my series I Europa. Apart from the alembic strings that were on it when I bought the bass  which were probably 45 -128. i've always used 130 on the B-string and probably would not go any thicker. But I have toyed with the idea of going a bit lighter. So is going down to .125 or .128 strings on the B going to give me anything different in sound and feel?

[jos]

Hi! With bass guitars the thing is that all basses are different because they are made of wood. Even the bass builders do not know exactly how it?s going to turn out in the end. This does not mean that some instruments do not work at all; they are just simply all different.  
On my Alembic 6 Series II I can use 120, 125 or 130 for B string and they all work. I use the 125 and it feels and sounds good. But on my Alembic Series I 5 string the 125 is too week it does not sound right so I use 130 for the B string and then its fine! You really need to try out different strings and find out what works the best for your bass. Alembic basses have in general a good B string. Many manufacturers make nowadays 35\scale basses and some 36 with this it?s a much better chance to get a good B string. Especially Bolt-On basses are quite sensitive for the low B and fails many times. Sometimes they put hot pickups and electronic to compensate the problem on Bolt-On basses but this is not a solution.  
I prefer 34\scale basses because of playability and therefore spend more time to find the right instruments for me; a bass with a good B string and so on ?..
Also remember that different strings sounds different some has more bottom end some less. Also? Nickel strings sound maybe a bit fatter. I like the stainless for recordings but nickel for live. I did not try all the brands out there but GHS Boomers, Elixir, Daddario XL, R.Cocco and Alembic strings definitively works.

[StephenR]

Agree with Jos about needing to find strings that work well for each individual instrument. I find this even more crucial with guitars than basses.
 
I have used Markley Blue Steel strings, medium light gauge with a 128 B-string, on my five-strings for many years. But... they never worked for my Series I, probably a combination of the narrow neck and 32 scale (all my other five-strings are 35). I put a set of TI Jazz Rounds with a 118 B-string on the Series bass and they really sat on the bass well, huge improvement. The entire set is much lighter than I normally would use. I wish that the low tension of the TI strings didn't drive me nuts because they sounded excellent and the windings are incredibly smooth feeling.  
 
I took the TI strings off the Series bass and replaced them with light gauge Markley Blue Steel strings but the ones made of nickle, they have a 125 B-string. As they have broken in I am really liking both the sound and feel of the strings. The B-string sounds the best of any B I have put on that particular bass.
 
Must admit, though, that I don't experiment with bass strings very often due to the cost. I have tried a few sets in the past that I had to quickly remove and toss and adopted a policy of leaving well enough alone. Out of all my basses the Series bass has been the hardest to settle on strings for. For now I will stick with the Markley light nickle strings but I sure wish the TI strings were available with a tighter core tension and a lower price point.

[bigredbass]

I'm in one of my 'bigger strings!' moods, so right now the Elan is wearing a 50-135 set.  
 
Inside the same brand/model, the feel is not so different: say, a Roto SwingBass 128 isn't going to feel a lot different than an RSB 135.
 
But . . . . start changing brands and models and it can vary quite a bit.  Strings are a black art encompassing round/hex cores, how many windings, metallurgy, and so forth.  So how 'tight' they may feel and the tone can vary a lot.  And all of that R&D money is spent just so they can all sound alike once they go dead in a day or two.
 
And it's all subjective:  What I don't notice could certainly drive someone else quite mad.  Tone is up to you.  Generally, nickel is a little warmer than stainless.
 
There used to be (and still is in some quarters) quite a discussion trying to sort out the best guage for that big B, trying to get it to feel like the other 4 strings.  Good Luck.  It never was an issue for me (in the words of Tony Soprano, 'hey, whaddya gonna do?), but others who've really sweated this out will probably have a better answer than me.
 
Joey

[stout71]

My 5-string Signature has a low-B that doesn't quite sound like the others.  Normally, it's kind of dead in comparison.
 
However, moving from a 130 to a 118 made a noticeable improvement.  It's flimsier and more floppy, but that was pretty easy to get used to.  (I can play closer to the bridge to correct for that when on that string.)  It's way more resonant and I'm glad I figured it out.  As others have mentioned, there are just too many variables to provide a right answer, but that's my experience.

[ed_zeppelin]

You can buy single strings in the UK  from stringsdirect.
 
In the USA, you can get them from Juststrings.com  
 
Since strings are so easy to change on Alembics, thanks to the nifty slotted tailpiece (standing ovation, yay team Wickersham!), we should start some kind of string bank to help defray the cost of comparing and discussing different brands and gauges of strings. (?) that way if a 130 hex-core coated stainless flatwound doesn't work for you, maybe you could swap with somebody else or offer it to club members for half price or something. The best part would be discussing the merits of the same string(s) with people.
 
Look how much we upright bass players pay for single strings, before complaining too hard.
 
I regret dragging something into this discussion that I'm too damn dumb to understand, but maybe somebody way smarter than me (perhaps someone whose surname begins with W or J?) can explain how Young's Modulus works, since that's what any discussion of strings is about anyway. This one in particular.
 
I'll just throw this out there, because I know my approach is different than most: I rely on a drummer to find my sound. I can't tell you how many thousands of hours I wasted trying to dial in the sound, only to have to change it once the drums fired up anyway, usually during the actual gig when all you can do is stare at a knob and wait for a gap in the music to dive for that sucker ... Etc. not very professional, I'm afraid.
 
Sometime in the disco era it occurred to me to ask the drummer to bash away while I twiddled knobs. That worked like magic the very first time I tried it and I've done it ever since, when possible. I feel the same way about soundmen: let 'em do their job. Compliment them. Feed them. Bribe them.
 
Your low B may sound fantastic in your bedroom, but might be utterly lost against a bass drum. You don't want to let something like that sneak up on you during a gig. Best of all, if anything goes wrong, you can always blame it on the drummer.
 
Holy cow, that was sure a lot of words for not offering anything of value to the discussion, huh? Oh well, here's a joke so it won't be a total waste:
 

[mike1762]

I use a 120 B (DR Hi Beams) on all of my 5-strings (MM SR-5, Fender Dimension-5, Lakland 55-02).  It took a fair amount of tinkering around with the set-ups to get the action where I wanted it, but it was worth the effort to be able to stick with light gauge strings.

[rustyg61]

I usr Kalium (Circle K) strings on the Blue Orca & use a .125 for the B & it sounds great! It has the resonance of the E & A  but still doesn't buzz or flop like some brands.

[zortation]

Definitely check out R. Cocco.

[jazzyvee]

I have in the past tried Dr Strings but they didn't keep their brightness long enough for me. R-Cocco are a great sounding strings when new.  I had those on my Elan 4 and my Europa 5 for a while but they are the most abrasive feeling string I've ever tried and stayed that way for ages. Again didn't stay bright for very long and started to give me this dull p-bass type sound as the brightness faded which I didn't like at all.

[edwin]

Don't judge all DR strings by one model. I have used Sunbeams forever (120-30 for my 6's) and they sound great and last a very good long time. I recall being asked if my strings were new when they were 3 months old and played daily.

Each different type of DR string really is quite different.

Of course, YMMV, etc.

I'm am tempted to try Pyramid flats on my Modulus Q6....

[videns]

Hi all,


I have been using DR Hi-beams for more than 20 years now. I find that they stay bright longer than any other type I have used, and, most importantly, the first string doesn't break when slapping hard, in fact, I don't think I have broken one at all in all that time... As for the low B, I really mostly only use it for the notes below the E string, and the 130s work just fine for that. No difference in tone to the others.
As with so many things around music and instruments, it's a matter of personal preference. In my case, I only play a 5 string because of those few additional 5 notes that I love on the B string. Otherwise, I rarely play the string at higher registers...


(I play a 5 string Essence with 34" scale)

[jazzyvee]

Joey, when you went for a heavier gauge 50 - 135 did you have to open up the nut and saddles for the strings to fit or did they fit ok. I'm thinking of trying some heavier strings and flats on the bass I use for reggae but don't really want to start messing with the bridge and nut to get them to fit. 

[pauldo]

Forest;
". . . all you can do is stare at a knob and wait for a gap in the music to dive for that sucker ..."

Ain't that the truth. Been there done that! 

[bigredbass]

JazzE, I did nothing to the saddle/nut slots.  My fussy technical side says there must be some mismatch;  in real life, I have no sense that they are grabbing or catching or doing anything other than tuning up as normal.  I find that cutting nut or saddle slots is an inexact science.  Maybe Alembic has it down to exactly cut sizes, but most wind up leaving them just a little big in the course of doing it, and what-the-hey, 135 and 50 are just not a lot bigger than 45 and 128.

As always, your results may differ.  However, 4 out of 5 doctors agree that since I'm not making a living with that beast, 'close is good enough'.

Incidentally, I get the 'big string itch' every so often over the years, and I always find out . . . . . . . it's just not much different than the regular sizes.  I have not, however, ever fallen for the 'geez I can't bend them big strings' palsy and EVER bought smaller strings.  The only time I've ever sensed a big difference was when I tried Thomastiks (back before they got so expensive they need to be sold at Whole Foods . . . . ), in all those seeming zany sizes they spec, which actually worked fine.  Over the years, I've tried lots and lots of brands, and I probably admire Jimmy J more for having the sense to play the same axe with the same strings all these years, an approach more common with orchestral players than most of us:  He's totally removed any 'disturbances in the Force' by never changing axes or the feel of his strings.  While not a strategy for everyone, it's brilliant in removing two big variables.

Joey