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33 Inch Scale and 5 Strings - Overwater


andyh
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I while ago I bought a nice Overwater Scott Devine 5 String - Strung E - C. Its on a 33 Inch neck and was wondering if anyone had restrung one of these on B- G. May have to look at the nut I guess and be careful about string gauge, but any comments before I touch it?

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[quote name='andyh' timestamp='1378119395' post='2195863']
I while ago I bought a nice Overwater Scott Devine 5 String - Strung E - C. Its on a 33 Inch neck and was wondering if anyone had restrung one of these on B- G. May have to look at the nut I guess and be careful about string gauge, but any comments before I touch it?
[/quote]
Funnily enough I toyed with buying a used Overwater SD and doing the exact same thing. The high C is absolutely pointless for me! It should work in theory, however I would say that the nut will either have to be re-cut or replaced.

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I've played nothing but 33" basses for several years now, 4, 5 and 6 strings and I've not had any problems using regular bass strings, just avoid ones designed for extended scale lengths and you'll be just fine.
I went up a gauge, from 40/60/80/100 to 45/65/85/105, but there's very little change in feel if I'm honest.

Eude

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It depends on the bridge/tailpiece geometry. For example, if the bass were Fender P or J style with traditional top load bridge and E tuner next to the nut, even a standard long scale string might be too long and wrap speaking length of the string around the tuner post. But if the string anchor is back away from the bridge saddle even a centimeter or so, then that takes up the slack and the strings will fit.

Next issue: tension varies as the [i]square[/i] of the scale length. So a string that has "X" tension on a standard scale will have 33^2/34^2 tension, or about 94% of the tension of the longer scale. This can be a great thing for flats players, because most flats, even the .132 D'Addario Chrome B string, can stand the lower tension without losing tone, but the feel can be so much better.

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  • 5 years later...

Zombie thread alert, but bears reviving. Ibanez now has a 33-inch scale 6-string bass, the BTB846V, B-C, which has good reviews and good sound clips on YouTube: good tone and intonation, only the slightest bit of flab which may be the bass or the strings or the amp/mike/camera setup. The stock B string is a D'Addario XL130. A person might want to consider a taper 135. I tune the B string up to C, so the 130 will be fine and it will not be an issue for me. The companion 5-string bass is the BTB845V bass, which is actually set up for E-C as a "solo" bass, and is an update from the BTB33 from a few years ago. It has essentially the same nut and neck profile as other Ibby basses, like the SR series, although a little wider at the 24th fret. I have a BTB845V coming that I am going to have my luthier re-set-up as a conventional 5-string B-G to go on stage with my 2011 Ibby SRA305, as I don't solo. The bass has a zero fret, so all it will need is to polish the zero fret and cut a conventional nut. Give me a month to update. Thanks.

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  • 1 year later...

Sorry about the delay in the update. My Ibanez BTB845V, converted from "solo" E-C to "standard" B-G bass is my primary gigging bass for my 10-piece party band. The 33-inch scale poses no problem for a B string, either a 135 tuned to B or a 130 tuned up to C, which I prefer. I upgraded the pickups to USA Bart CBC's and an EMG preamp, and my sound man is very pleased, indeed. To get more growl, I change from the D'Addario XL170BT's + 130 to Ernie Ball cobalt rounds, which won't wear the stainless steel frets, as the cobalts would on conventional frets. My fretting hand is comfortable now; my tone supports the band; and all is good.

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  • 2 months later...

Just saw this thread. I got a custom build from Overwater a couple of years ago, 33 inch scale with the express intention of a low B and as much attack as possible. 

Bloomin' great is what it is! After much discussion with Chris and Martin I ended up with Ash for the neck, ebony board (did I mention it's unlined fretless?) and through body stringing, and I supplied the EMG pickups and eq and the Roland gk-3b.

So not actually a SD, but similar, and the low B is fine!

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On 28/04/2020 at 10:36, eude said:

I've had several 33" basses with a low B and there's not once been an issue.
I now actually play 31.5" basses with a low B and again, no issues if the bass is designed and built cleverly.

Eude

Agree completely here. I’ve played 33” scale only for the last five years or so and I’ve had good ones and not so good ones. The bit about being designed and built cleverly is important for any bass of course but absolutely essential on a bass with a low B.

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On 28/04/2020 at 10:36, eude said:

I've had several 33" basses with a low B and there's not once been an issue.
I now actually play 31.5" basses with a low B and again, no issues if the bass is designed and built cleverly.

Eude

Right come on guys... We get it... I'm playing a 10" bass! and the open 'B' sounds great! 

But the notes from the 13th fret are unusable flubbers right? No consistency with the other strings in higher positions?

Edited by visog
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1 hour ago, visog said:

Right come on guys... We get it... I'm playing a 10" bass! and the open 'B' sounds great! 

But the notes from the 13th fret are unusable flubbers right? No consistency with the other strings in higher positions?

I'm hoping to do some recording soon, so you can hear for yourself, I'll share a link on here when I'm done.

On a personal experience note, I've not played any basses that have been great on the B string above the 12th fret, it could well be my technique of course 😉

Eude

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21 minutes ago, eude said:

I'm hoping to do some recording soon, so you can hear for yourself, I'll share a link on here when I'm done.

On a personal experience note, I've not played any basses that have been great on the B string above the 12th fret, it could well be my technique of course 😉

Eude

It does not matter. You should not be up there anyway.

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