Lighter touch

[King Beagle]

Does anyone find they have to play the B string a slightly lighter touch on the SR5, compared to the other strings?

 

[Baddog]

A little bit, that string gives a little buzz if I play it too hard

 

[King Beagle]

...yes, the tension is a little looser and requires a different attack to the other strings....any ideas round it?

 

[Disquieter]

raise your B's action and/or use a higher gauge..



joel

 

[King Beagle]

..but I like a low action and light gauge....any other ideas?

 

[bassmonkeee]

..but I like a low action and light gauge....any other ideas?

I have TI Powerbass strings on my 5 string Bongo, and it only has a .119 low B and I don't have a lot of problem with buzz.

Everything is set up with medium-medium low action.

If you are wanting to use low action and light gauge with a low B, the only suggestion I can make is to play closer to the bridge when you are playing the low strings. The tension is higher back by the bridge, so you should be able to dig in a bit more without having too much extraneous string excursion. The B string needs a certain amount of room to vibrate, and there are only so many ways around it, though.

 

[midopa]

1. Get a four pack of your favorite strings.
2. Get a Rotosound B string.
Then you'll find the tension that you desire. x50

 

[spectorbassguy]

I have TI Powerbass strings on my 5 string Bongo, and it only has a .119 low B and I don't have a lot of problem with buzz.

Hey Monkeee - I'm going to try the TI Powerbass strings you recommend on my Bongo 5. My EB Reg. Slinkies low B is .130 and I did have to raise the action pretty high on the low B to stop buzz. Thanx for the tip - I'll let you know how I like 'em.

 

[King Beagle]

..so it seems the only way to deal with it is to higher the action and put heavier strings on? Thats doesnt seems ideal

 

[midopa]

Well, try out a string that has higher tension than normal. I'm not to sure about this, but I believe some strings, even with average gauges, have greater tension. Also, the more tension, the lower the action you can have. So higher action and thicker strings are not necessarily the only option you have.

I've heard that Rotosounds have very high tension. That's why I jokingly suggested it.

 

[King Beagle]

Thanks for the tip - I believe string through the body bridges create the same affect also. Maybe thats another option?

Thanks again

 

[midopa]

If I remember correctly, someone put little nuts on the B string and strung it up with good results. You can try that out - it's a lot more economical than buying a string.

 

[King Beagle]

Interesting tip? Any more info on that one?

I dont want to use heavier gauge strings and higher action if I can help it.

Cheers

 

[midopa]

I ran a search on these here boards and came up with this:
http://www.ernieball.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2042

Basserama made his B string a string thru, but I'm sure you can get similar effects by simply adding some nuts and then winding it up normally.

Here's another link:
http://www.ernieball.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2037

Maybe Basserama and Lowstrung can help you out on the particulars on this one.

 

[King Beagle]

Cool

Thanks Midopa.....cool advice......will check it out!

Take care

King Beagle

 

[King Beagle]

Hi Midopa

I found another link related to the tip you gave me:

http://www.talkbass.com/newsletter/december/december.html

Have tried this out and really seems to improve things a lot. I gained a lot more tension on the B at lower action and with a lighter gauge. Feels a lot more tighter for slapping too.

Thanks again

 

[CW Zing]

..but I like a low action and light gauge....any other ideas?

Spacers! 1/4" metal cylinder fits between ball end and end of bridge. Nice, taut B. Hobby shops or electronic shops sell them. Expect strange looks.

 

[King Beagle]

Indeed so....

Yes, I find it really works, in fact looking at Fodera's site, I noticed this (see attached)


Vinnie Fodera says this about it:

"...the new special "Extended B" peghead design._ The B string is exceptionally tighter and more responsive on this model."

I found the same, by lengthening the B. Thanks again to Midopa for directing me to the information.

 

[Basserama]

Beagles in Laboratory Tests

Actually, the original blurb was written by me, based on a tip from Lowstrung (all hail the man himself). Glad to see it works for someone else also.

I went further with my investigations and took the the B through the body with excellent results, plus you dont have the hassle of the spacers sticking out the back of the bridge.

Regards

Tony Blair's Waggly Tail

 

[lowstrung]

You really should check out the mod Basserama did on his 5. That’s the way to go. Did it myself and it worked great. It worked so well that a buddy of mine who plays bass in a jazz band talked me out of it for what I paid for it. It’s ok though because I’m happy playing my 4 banger. It’s funny that this came up because Basseramma took a lot of heat from the bass god wanna be’s. Even Jons should have gone and pulled a stock bass off the shelf and done the mod just to see what’s going on. Maybe EB could learn something. I tell you this “TI flats isn’t going to solve this problem”. Who knows maybe because I have not played the bass for 30 years I don’t have the dynamics to compensate for the floppy B. Something’s up though because this comes up far too often and this mod seems to do the trick. So why doesn’t EB get to the bottom of it.


Regards
Mike