Lakland 55-02 - B string Woes

[Lamar E Ben]

I have had several 5-string basses over the years and have found 35" scale basses to have better B strings than shorter scale instruments.  I purchased a Lakland 55-02 Skyline online, mainly because I have heard of the legendary tone and I'm on a bit of a budget.  I have to say that I love most every aspect of the bass.  However, it seems to have a dead spot on the B string around the 4th and 5th (Eb and E) frets.  In this range, notes sound tinny and do not have the robust growl the the bass does have below that.  The open B is exhilarating.  Has anyone else observed this on their bass?   Is there a fix?  Or do I need to pony up for the USA model?

[jonno1981]

Worth trying a new B string?