Flat wound B strings

[bassist_lewis]

So I have 2 basses with B string: a Letts fretless 6 and a Lakland Darryl Jones, both currently strung with LaBella flats. Having gigged both through the same rig (though only once in the same venue) and consistently the Lakland's B string is weak sounding - it's muffled and, if plucked once, it quickly drops in volume - while the Letts' B is clear, audible, and with good sustain. Even more annoyingly, Lakland's B makes the amp clip, something the Letts does not do.

I'm playing GB Streamliner into a BF midget and hassled Alex about it, he explained it can just be the nature of low Bs and can be helped by plucking differently, using back PU.

But the Letts is fine!

What the hell is going on?!

[SpaceChick]

I had La Belle flats when I had my 5 string (since sold it as I wasn't using it enough) and the low B never had much oomph or volume to it. My bass was an Ibanez.

I blamed the strings at th time, but maybe not!

Hope you get to the bottom of it!

[RhysP]

Could just be a duff string, it does happen.

[NJE]

Out of Interest is the Letts 35" scale as well? I have never got on with Laklands, my best friend has a 55-02 Deluxe and I think the B string is awful. Having been through 34.5" 35" and 36" scale 5 string basses (all high quality Overwater) I have to say the best B strings I have played are all 34".

I think they ring out better and have more attack and sustain but that could just be the few 34" 5ers I have owned. It could just be the way your Letts is built, higher quality woods, more attention to detail, better construction etc.

[Dingus]

Different basses respond in different ways to the same set of strings . To put it another way , to get the best performance out of your Lakland , you might want to try a different set of strings . The low B on some 5 string basses really benefits from being taperwound over the bridge saddle , with a noticable improvement in eveness , definition and clarity , so maybe that is something to consider . The fact that you are using flats complicates things slightly - the piano-like ring of roundwounds probably lends itself more easily to getting a more defined sound from the low B , on the whole - but it may well be another brand of flats with a slightly different design will improve things somewhat . Bear in mind that the 5 string bass in general is an invention of the post-roundwound era of bass sounds , and was primarily developed with those kind of strings strings in mind Those Lakland 5 strings are not known for having weak or floppy sounding B strings , so it may well just be a matter of setup , adjustment and string choice .

[Beer of the Bass]

I'm using D'Addario tapewounds rather than flats, but I've got into using a roundwound B with them (in my case a DR Black Beauty so that it doesn't look too odd). It seems like a daft idea, but double bassists mix and match sets all the time so I thought it might be worth a shot on bass guitar and it sounds much better matched than I expected.

[bassist_lewis]

The Letts has a 34" scale so that's not it (kind if confirmed what believed before that scale length is only one of many factors)

When I've used tapercores before I've hated the weird upper overtone stuff that happens.

I've tweaked the set-up quite a bit (apart from the truss rod) particularly the B string bridge saddle. I'll probably end up throwing rounds on it and seeng if that brings the B back

[Dingus]

[quote name='NJE' timestamp='1379867099' post='2217549']
Out of Interest is the Letts 35" scale as well? I have never got on with Laklands, my best friend has a 55-02 Deluxe and I think the B string is awful. Having been through 34.5" 35" and 36" scale 5 string basses (all high quality Overwater) I have to say the best B strings I have played are all 34".

I think they ring out better and have more attack and sustain but that could just be the few 34" 5ers I have owned. It could just be the way your Letts is built, higher quality woods, more attention to detail, better construction etc.
[/quote]

I am exclusively a four string player myself , and don't like 35 inch scale on any bass because I dislike the extra tension and longer proportions that result from it , but the reason why Lakland (and many other manufacturers) use a 35 inch scale as standard on their 5 strings is because they think it is the best way to get a consistantly good-sounding low B string . According to Dan Lakin , when Lakland were developing thir prototypes , they started out with a 34 inch scale , but found that some basses had low B's that sounded great , whereas others were dissappointing by comparison . When they tried 35 inch scale , the results were uniformly good , so they stuck with that as standard . Some designs sound fine with 34 ( or even 33) inch scale , wheras some others may well benefit from 35 inches , or even 36 in some exteme examples . I am totally with you in favouring 34 inch scale if I were to buy a five ( may well do for Xmas) , but some folks like the longer scale and taughter low B that 35 inches gives you .

Edited September 22, 2013 by Dingus

[Dingus]

[quote name='bassist_lewis' timestamp='1379867619' post='2217560']
The Letts has a 34" scale so that's not it (kind if confirmed what believed before that scale length is only one of many factors)

When I've used tapercores before I've hated the weird upper overtone stuff that happens.

I've tweaked the set-up quite a bit (apart from the truss rod) particularly the B string bridge saddle. I'll probably end up throwing rounds on it and seeng if that brings the B back
[/quote]

Have you checked the pickup heights on the DJ are at the factory spec ? If the pickup is too near to or too far from the string , it can adversely affect the amplified tone in all kinds of ways . Worth a quick check , probably .

[bassist_lewis]

It was the first thing I tweaked. I got it to the point just before the magnets start causing that ring modulation sound. The other 4 strings sound fine. Could it be the pick-ups? I think they're stock lakland ones

[Dingus]

[quote name='bassist_lewis' timestamp='1379868454' post='2217574']
It was the first thing I tweaked. I got it to the point just before the magnets start causing that ring modulation sound. The other 4 strings sound fine. Could it be the pick-ups? I think they're stock lakland ones
[/quote]

I don't know , to be honest with you , but is the B sounding dodgy on on both pickups ? If so , that would have to be because of a bad batch of pickups where just the low B pole pieces were effected . That isn't impossible , but it is probably quite unlikely . I would try a set of roundwounds on the bass and then assess things from there . If you still don't get any improvement , you could try emailing Lakland and ask for advice . In my experience , they are a fantastic company to deal with , and are usually exceptionally helpful wherever they can be . If you want to know about the pickups specifically , try emailing Bo Pirrucello at Hanson ( Lakland ) Pickups . He is a smashing bloke and will probably be only too glad to give advice on anything to do with checking and adjusting your pickups if you think they are giving you problems .

[BassTractor]

Just a noob idea, but: headstock angle and how the string rests in the nut?
Not meaning any disrespect, but have you looked at the nut from the side? With a low compliance string like this one, I imagine there may be something wrong that I've seen a few times: the string making an ugly bend over the nut - seriously hindering free vibration. Some changes there, and it worked again.

[bassist_lewis]

The angle isn't drastic, Lakland's have a small metal bar just behind the nut that the strings go under before reaching the pegs.

Interestingly, Tim Cloonan who builds CallowHill basses purposefully makes a sharp angle at the nut and bridge of the OBS series (30" scale 5s and 6s). He claims it improves the B string significantly.

[Lozz196]

I got chatting to Dave Swift at The South East Bass Bash yesterday as noticed on his 5-string he had a roundwound low B, with the rest of the strings being flats. He said it works best for him that way, the difference between the type of string not being noticed in the mix, but the presence of the round being much better.

[Matt P]

i haven't got round to trying flats on it yet but it was commented that the low b on my Letts was fantastic, maybe Jon just knows how to get a 34" scale low B to work! (i'm currently using DR Fatbeams)

Matt

[chris_b]

How is the Lakland set up? Do you dig in? Is this the only set of strings that have shown this problem? Pickups can be uneven and you can get a duff string right out of the packet.

It's an intriguing idea, to put a wound B string on. I'd also try a set of Lakland flats. Also emil the guys at Lakland. Their customer service is supposed to be pretty good.

I've got flats on the Lull and it sounds great. I've put a lot of round wound sets on my Lakland in the last 10 years and none of them has sounded thin, weak or anything other than just right. Both basses are 35" scale.

[Fat Rich]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1379884182' post='2217920']
I got chatting to Dave Swift at The South East Bass Bash yesterday as noticed on his 5-string he had a roundwound low B, with the rest of the strings being flats. He said it works best for him that way, the difference between the type of string not being noticed in the mix, but the presence of the round being much better.
[/quote]

I think he described the sound of flatwound low B strings as "like a golf ball hitting a sheep".

I've had similar problems with ground wound low Bs, even the ones that sound OK when they first go on the bass go dead pretty quickly while the other strings still have some tone to them.