A better low B

[Last in Line]

Fender Jazz basses in my experience don't have good low B strings. I want to fix mine so it sounds good. What are the parts of the bass that have the most factor in how good the low B sounds on a 34" scale bass?

[Bass8987]

I've never played Fender 5-string bass with a good low B.

[Kindness]

 

Fender Jazz basses in my experience don't have good low B strings. I want to fix mine so it sounds good. What are the parts of the bass that have the most factor in how good the low B sounds on a 34" scale bass?

 

 

The neck joint (or lack thereof on a neck through bass) is the absolute most important. Next are the setup, the strings, the scale length and the pickups. Of course everything else plays a role so further down the list are the nut, the bridge, the body wood, the neck wood, etc.

[fingeringam]

The neck joint (or lack thereof on a neck through bass) is the absolute most important. Next are the setup, the strings, the scale length and the pickups. Of course everything else plays a role so further down the list are the nut, the bridge, the body wood, the neck wood, etc.

 

how does the neck joint play a role in it?

[Kindness]

how does the neck joint play a role in it?

 

It has the greatest potential for energy loss.

[L-1329]

 

Fender Jazz basses in my experience don't have good low B strings. I want to fix mine so it sounds good. What are the parts of the bass that have the most factor in how good the low B sounds on a 34" scale bass?

 

 

What exactly is it you want to improve? What is it about the tone of the B that you don't like?

 

I just went through this process with a Warmoth bass of mine. It's low B had very strong overtones, and a rather thin fundamental tone. It just sounded thinner than the other strings, not as full or meaty. I wasn't happy. It's a 34" scale with a Fender 4 bolt neck pocket. I changed the bridge to a better suited bridge, changed the pickups to get a better, deeper tone, and also had two more screws drilled to make it a six bolt neck, to get a more solid neck joint. The results? It still has that same tone quality I was trying to eliminate, but it's not as noticible because of the sound of the new pickups. I am convinced that once a bass is built, you can't alter it's natural characteristics. They are inherent to the woods and that is set in stone. You might be able to massage the tone a little bit, but you won't ever drasticly change it. I'm not saying that it won't sound different with pickup changes, but the characteristics of the strings will remain. My bass still has strong overtones and weak fundamentals on the low B, but it's not as pronounced as before because the new pickups are bassier, and tend to make the weakness harder to pick out. It's still there though.

[georgestrings]

 

I've never played Fender 5-string bass with a good low B.

 

 

 

 

Neither have I, and I'm a big fan of their 4 strings...

 

 

 

- georgestrings

[Jazz Ad]

Neck assembly is the most important factor without a doubt. It has to be a tight fit with no flexibility. Fenders have just the opposite of that.

The Roscoe Beck model has a very nice low B. Surprise surprise, the pocket is very deep and the neck has 6 bolts instead of 4.

[Last in Line]

When I play higher than the 5th fret on the B string, it sounds like multiple pitches are ringing--I guess that is the overtones, and that disgusts me. Well, I guess I can't get everything I want. Thanks for all the answers, these are all really helpful.

[bluedogaudio]

There's not much you can do about the construction of the instrument, but you could try a different bridge, pickups, and/or strings. Mix and match.

[catphish]

I noticed a much more defined tone when I started using taper core B strings.

[mrcrow]

how could one tighten up the neck joint...

my ray 5 has 6 bolts...would that be possible in the small area on the jazz pocket..?

[Kindness]

 

how could one tighten up the neck joint... my ray 5 has 6 bolts...would that be possible in the small area on the jazz pocket..?

 

 

You can have a fantastically tight neck joint with only 3 bolts. I think the majority of problems with Fender B strings we hear about are due to the setup and the strings.

[georgestrings]

 

You can have a fantastically tight neck joint with only 3 bolts. I think the majority of problems with Fender B strings we hear about are due to the setup and the strings.

 

 

 

Don't you think that scale length has something to do with it as well???

 

 

 

- georgestrings

[mrcrow]

You can have a fantastically tight neck joint with only 3 bolts. I think the majority of problems with Fender B strings we hear about are due to the setup and the strings.

 

i hear you and listen

 

i guess its the mating faces and the contact area which can transmit the vibration cleanly without introducing roque frequencies...

 

would conversion to set neck be an option

 

as for the setup...that could be remedied simply..and for strings i find TI jazz rounds excellent vibrators...

 

that leaves for me the obvious bridge question and whether a metal nut is a good option

 

[bassist31588]

Fender 5 string jazz basses are useless if you want a good B string. Put a high C string on top and tune it EADGC. It'll be great then.

[Kindness]

 

Don't you think that scale length has something to do with it as well??? - georgestrings

 

 

Scale length is what it is. For a given pitch, scale length, string gauge and tension are the three main variables. You will enable yourself to use a different gauge string or a different tension by moving to a longer scale, but the inherent difference in tone between 34" and 35" holding all other variables constant is probably not as big as many believe - if you hold all other variables constant, I'd expect it to be close to unnoticeable.

[Kindness]

i hear you and listen i guess its the mating faces and the contact area which can transmit the vibration cleanly without introducing roque frequencies... would conversion to set neck be an option as for the setup...that could be remedied simply..and for strings i find TI jazz rounds excellent vibrators... that leaves for me the obvious bridge question and whether a metal nut is a good option

 

If the neck is already fastened solidly there isn't much, if anything, to be gained. If it can't be fastened solidly with bolts, then a set neck conversion is an option, but I've never seen a need. I'm not even sure the glues used would be more solid then a proper bolt pattern.

 

You need a stable bridge and a stable nut. The design goals are strength and rigidity on both ends.

 

I am of the opinion that the materials used on a Fender 5 are not inferior, but the strings and setup can be better.

[georgestrings]

 

Scale length is what it is. For a given pitch, scale length, string gauge and tension are the three main variables. You will enable yourself to use a different gauge string or a different tension by moving to a longer scale, but the inherent difference in tone between 34" and 35" holding all other variables constant is probably not as big as many believe - if you hold all other variables constant, I'd expect it to be close to unnoticeable.

 

 

 

 

I don't know the principles behind it, but I've played/heard very few 34" scale B strings that were all that good - but maybe that was a symptom of the instrument itself not being very high quality...

 

 

 

- georgestrings

[mrcrow]

my stingray 5 gives out good fretted B string notes but my 'gear' which is laughable cant handle the really clear frequency responses...

 

so there is a factor of what you play it through...as well

[Kindness]

 

I don't know the principles behind it, but I've played/heard very few 34" scale B strings that were all that good - but maybe that was a symptom of the instrument itself not being very high quality... - georgestrings

 

 

Have you tried a Music Man Stingray 5? How about a Sadowsky 5? I have a threesome of Hamer Cruise Bass 5s here that are 34" as well.

 

I understand your experience and I think your experience is very typical, but not supportive of blaming the scale length.

[L-1329]

 

I am of the opinion that the materials used on a Fender 5 are not inferior, but the strings and setup can be better.

 

 

I'm of the opinioin that there's something to the shape/dimensions of the standard Fender neck pocket design that cause most of the problems. I've played some basses (even most of mine) that had horribly off setups and ancient grubby strings, that still did not give that phasing/harmonic overtone quality that the OP is describing.

[Kindness]

I'm of the opinioin that there's something to the shape/dimensions of the standard Fender neck pocket design that cause most of the problems. I've played some basses (even most of mine) that had horribly off setups and ancient grubby strings, that still did not give that phasing/harmonic overtone quality that the OP is describing.

 

If you people would buy some 5 string Fenders for me to work on then I'd have something more informed to say. As it is, I have had bad experiences with Fender 5s, but I'm sticking with my original assumptions until I can prove them right or wrong.

 

As to the OP's issues, it could be a bum string, the pickup height, or any number of other issues. Hard to tell from my couch.

[L-1329]

If you people would buy some 5 string Fenders for me to work on then I'd have something more informed to say. As it is, I have had bad experiences with Fender 5s, but I'm sticking with my original assumptions until I can prove them right or wrong.

 

You played mine, which are Fender spec deluxe five pockets. I think it's safe to say that the B's aren't exactly the most impressive...

[JacieFB]

As to the Fender B, the B that I have on that 4-string Jazz that you helped me with, Kindness, still isn't very useable. Lots of the "overtone" thing above the 5th fret that an earlier poster was talking about. I actually had to "worsen" the setup to make it not clicky-clacky beyond belief. It would have worked for me for that tryout that I never had for that metal band that isn't even playing anymore, but it isn't at all preferred in my world.