Fender Jazz 5 string - floppy B?

[obi 2 kenobi]

Thinking about getting a 2nd hand Fender Jazz 5 string (Mex or USA). But wary of potential floppy B string issues. 
Does anyone have one, if so how do you find the B string?

Note, already have SR5 and Ken Smith 5. But curious to try 19mm 5 string

[synthaside]

I used to have one of the 2000's era Squire P5's that they did for a while calling it a P bass  for the body shape .. when its got J pickups i found the  Low B pretty flubby , 

https://reverb.com/uk/item/83693497-2000-squier-5-string-precision-bass-special-sherwood-green-w-jazz-bass-style-soapbar-pickups?page=1&filter=all

 

[Bassman68]

Had a Mexican Fender Jazz (The one with 5 in a line headstock) for a couple of years around 2000.

The neck felt ok(ish) but the B string wasn’t the best? It lacked a lot of definition, only really working with a tapered B string but could never get a low enough action, even when I got a Badass bridge.
I was using it for mostly Pub-work to give my Warwick Thumb 5 a rest…Was night/day comparing the two..

Ended up trading it in for a Stingray 5, which is now my ‘workhorse’ 5 string.

[Owen]

I have a US one (which I am selling, but it is a bit niche). I have no problems at all with the B. I am fully aware that I WOULD say that given the circumstances, but hope that I have been around long enough for my word to at least mean something. It is strung with Newtone round core nickels, and the B speaks with the same sound and tension as the rest. 

[HeadlessBassist]

I had one of the 'Midnight Wine' MIM fives in the late 2000s. It was a great bass. B string sounded great. Never had any worries over it, anyway.

 

Might I ask, what kind of music are you playing?

[Huge Hands]

I have 2 of the very P5s that @synthaside mentions, both mine are/were Sherwood Green too!   

 

I am in the middle of modding one for the 2nd time (with a different colour), so the measurements are fairly fresh in my head.   

 

It has one of the widest necks and nuts out there, so not sure if all Fender 5s are guaranteed 19mm?  Although not a Fender/Squier product, the Sire 5 string V7 I have is 18mm and won't appear to fit wider spacing on the neck.

 

I think string choice could also factor your experience - I have found different strings give different results, I have always assumed due to tension?  

 

In summary though, I have played some more high end basses and the B string does feel tighter and less flubby and loose on them than my Squiers - but I mainly want mine to rumble the floorboards when I hit the lowest notes, so it doesn't bother me too much.   

 

I just love the cricket bat necks!  Not enough to buy another one at that price in the link though!

 

[chris_b]

Unless you are stuck on a Fender, I'd suggest checking out a good used Lakland Skyline. The 55-02's are a lot of bass for the money and have legendary B strings.

[Terry M.]

2 hours ago, obi 2 kenobi said:

Thinking about getting a 2nd hand Fender Jazz 5 string (Mex or USA). But wary of potential floppy B string issues. 
Does anyone have one, if so how do you find the B string?

Note, already have SR5 and Ken Smith 5. But curious to try 19mm 5 string

Does it have to be a Fender? Their 5 strings are generally nothing great and don't offer the full 19mm bridge string spacing you're after. I happen to own a variation that offers that spacing however,the Player Plus Jazz V. I would think about Laklands as suggested by @chris_b but you're after a Jazz so that would mean a Darryl Jones 5 or a 55-60. Fenders are hit and miss so try before buying is the best option if you're able to. This is all in my experience. 

[fretmeister]

Floppy B is usually a string choice problem rather than a bass problem.

Crap sounding B is often a mix of both.

 

I've always been confused with gauge choices in sets. The makers seem to be obsessed with tension and gauge tradition rather than considering the feel. So many sets have really tight feeling D and G strings but the BEA can feel very floppy. Tension and flexibility are not the same thing.

 

When I was playing 5 strings a lot I would always get a 4 string set and then pick the right B for that bass. I often found the D'addario Prosteel 130 or 135 to be the best option irrespective of what the other strings were. Sometimes a tapered string and sometimes a normal one. Then the flexibility / playing feel of the B was a lot closer to the rest.

 

I think I mostly had 40-60-80-100-130 and 40-60-80-105-135 depending on the bass.

 

String maker tradition of going up 0.020 out of habit makes no sense at all. End up with a .125 B just because the E was .105 and the B flaps around like the Inflatable Tube Man!

[Lozz196]

If getting a US Fender 5 string then a Fender Stealth String Retainer on the B tightens it up a bit. Easy to fit, requires no permanent changes, just undo the nut on the tuning peg, take off the washer, put on the retainer, put the nut back on. 

[Terry M.]

15 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

If getting a US Fender 5 string then a Fender Stealth String Retainer on the B tightens it up a bit. Easy to fit, requires no permanent changes, just undo the nut on the tuning peg, take off the washer, put on the retainer, put the nut back on. 

Hate to say but I've done this and noticed no real difference if any.

[Terry M.]

48 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

Floppy B is usually a string choice problem rather than a bass problem.

 

String maker tradition of going up 0.020 out of habit makes no sense at all. End up with a .125 B just because the E was .105 and the B flaps around like the Inflatable Tube Man!

In my experience it's a bass issue rather than a string choice one. I exclusively use a 120 B string with no issues whatsoever. 

[Mrbigstuff]

I had a 2000 US DLX Jazz and it was fine with the string thru bridge, but no better than my current Sire. I thought it was 18mm though.

[itu]

9 minutes ago, Terry M. said:

In my experience it's a bass issue rather than a string choice one. I exclusively use a 120 B string with no issues whatsoever. 

If you haven't tried different strings, it's really hard to judge the instrument's abilities, and performance. Some strings are a match with the bass, some don't. 

 

I like 120, too. It (GHS SS RW, exposed core) was the best sounding B string in a Quantum 5 SPi. 

[Lozz196]

37 minutes ago, Terry M. said:

Hate to say but I've done this and noticed no real difference if any.

Ah, in my one and only foray into the World Of Five I had a US Precision, did this and it did seems to tighten the B up a bit - did it cos I always use them on the A to stop pesky rattle and that always seems a tad tighter afterwards too.