Perennial Unwanted B-String Overtones

[Octonion_Furey]

On 10/01/2022 at 02:43, SumOne said:

I've got the same sort of issue that 5 string Basses tend to feel like the E-G are all part of the same family and the B is a bit of an odd-one out. I've tried solving that adjusting a lot of variables:

 

• Scale actually doesn't seem to make a whole lot of difference, I've owned quite a few different scale Basses and the B still always feels like the odd one out:
  • 34" Fender Jazz and Sandberg TM5
  • 35" Lakland 55-02
  • 35.5" Ibanez SRMS 805
  • 37" Dingwall Combustion 

• Strings: Roundwound, Flatwound, Tapewound and various tapered and steel/nickel options don't make a huge amount of difference - it's more a differene in tone/brightness. 

• Setup: Getting the correct neck tension and intonation can help, so can string height and pickup height. 

• Playing style: Rolling my fingers over the B string rather than plucking and playing further towards the neck seems to work best. 

 

All those things make a bit of difference but the B still feels the odd one out so I was starting to come to the conclusion that it's just the way B strings are but then I played an Xotic XP5 (34" P Bass style) with roundwounds the other day and it was the most even sounding Bass across all strings I've ever played (I did only play it in a shop for about 10 minutes though) so I now think certain Basses nail it while others need work-around and compromise. The main issue is that XP5 is about £2,500 new - so considerably more expensive than any Bass I've owned, perhaps that quality is the answer? Or perhaps it's the P Bass style pickup/sound whereas most of my Basses are more J style, possibly that J style always just gives more of a 'overtone/growl' to the B string?

 

A good work-around I've found (other than adjusting playing style) is using pedals: Adding some mild overdrive and preamp tone (One Control Crimson Red reduced  treble and adds Bass with some mild overdrive that evens out tones across all strings - but it's only good if you want stuff sounding dark and dubby) and some compression and focussed EQ can subtly make all the strings sound more even and mask some B string differences.

 

Also, playing loud through a Bass Cab and with a band rather than through headphones or monitor speakers at home makes everything sound more even as it's harded to hear the subtle differences. I'm torn at the moment if it's worth spending a  lot more money on a Bass or just learning to live with the compromise knowing it's only really me that's likely to notice the difference.

 

 

 

A low B note on a bass guitar is 30.9Hz. I have a cabinet that is rated for -3db @ ~33 Hz and I feel it helps, but I've never had my hands on a 37" scale to compare what would seem to be the best of both worlds.

A normal Ampeg 8x10 cabinet is only ~58 Hz @ -3db. Have you tried your Dingwall through a cabinet that is rated low enough to reproduce the fundamental?

 

Thanks,

Scott

 

Reference link for note to frequency chart -> https://pages.mtu.edu/~suits/notefreqs.html

[Bolo]

10 hours ago, Octonion_Furey said:

A low B note on a bass guitar is 30.9Hz. I have a cabinet that is rated for -3db @ ~33 Hz and I feel it helps, but I've never had my hands on a 37" scale to compare what would seem to be the best of both worlds.

A normal Ampeg 8x10 cabinet is only ~58 Hz @ -3db. Have you tried your Dingwall through a cabinet that is rated low enough to reproduce the fundamental?

 

Thanks,

Scott

 

Reference link for note to frequency chart -> https://pages.mtu.edu/~suits/notefreqs.html

The fundamental isn't the driving factor in bass guitar amplification:

The timbre of the second harmonic in relation to the fundamental and the higher harmonics is what we commonly refer to as 'tone'. With the dominant harmonic at 61,.. Hz even the ampeg fridge will produce a pleasant sounding low B.

[SumOne]

19 hours ago, Octonion_Furey said:

A low B note on a bass guitar is 30.9Hz. I have a cabinet that is rated for -3db @ ~33 Hz and I feel it helps, but I've never had my hands on a 37" scale to compare what would seem to be the best of both worlds.

A normal Ampeg 8x10 cabinet is only ~58 Hz @ -3db. Have you tried your Dingwall through a cabinet that is rated low enough to reproduce the fundamental?

 

Thanks,

Scott

 

Reference link for note to frequency chart -> https://pages.mtu.edu/~suits/notefreqs.html

 

Thanks, I've since got an Ibanez EHB 1005 MS (so has a 35" B , down to a 33" G) >  Boss GT 1000 Core (EQ, comporession etc) > Ashdown RM 500 > TecAmp 212.

 

I don't know if it is the equipment, strings,  playng technique, or a change in expectations, but I'm now happy with the sound and balanced tone across strings. I think it has a lot to do with expectations (I now kind of expect each string to have a different tone for the same note - that's part of the charm of playing a Bass instead of a Keyboard mimicking a Bass), and it helps to play at volume with a Band to stop me obsessing over small tone differences.