Deluxe 5 Jazz — what's the B-string like?

[finetuned]

Hi,

I'm very carefully picking out my next bass guitar, and decided that building my own trough Warmoth might be a good idea.
I know I want a 5 string, and I know I want a J-model. Not sure about the pickups yet, and still deciding between a maple or rosewood fretboard.

Now, my question is: is the B-string on a 34" neck 'tight' enough? Or is it really different than the other four strings like you hear very often? Any experience anyone would like to share?

Thanks!

 

[SkuttleFunk]

a lot of the answer to your question will be determined by the strings you choose and exactly how you adjust your pickups.

all the best,

R

 

[tfcreative]

While my Warmoth Deluxe 5 is primarily a tenor with a high C, I did originally set it up and find the B to be on the good side of average. 35" B-strings are just so much tighter, but it feels at least as good as my Tobias Classic, which is a 34" that I wouldn't sneeze at.

If you're really worried about it, I would think about a gecko with jazz pickups (or Nordstrand Big Splits if you really want an ultimate J), but I wouldn't worry about it being super-sloppy.

 

[Wyliee]

Now, my question is: is the B-string on a 34" neck 'tight' enough? Or is it really different than the other four strings like you hear very often? Any experience anyone would like to share?

Thanks!

'tight enough' is very subjective.  I would agree with SkuttleFunk and add that the quality of the assembly will also contribute to the sound and feel.

 

[Graffiti62]

I haven't puttered around with basses a whole heckuva lot, but one of the last ones I tried was a 5-string Fender Precision bass at the music store. To me, the high b string felt tight enough, but anything feels taut on a 34" scale bass. The only real bass riff that I know how to play by heart is the opening to "One of these nights" by the Eagles. After that, I wound up feeling that fifth string and started treating it like a guitar and broke out into a little Motorhead. To me, it felt fine--if you build it at the longer scale, you shouldn't have any slack issues.

You had mentioned that you were deciding on pickups. A friend of mine used those Passive Phase II NYC soapbars on his five-string Jazz and absolutely adores them. He has them wired in series as a default, and then he has push\pull pots to take them into series, and he had a mini-toggle next to each volume pot to cut the coils. Also, he had the tone pot set up to pull the two pickups out of series when the pot was pulled. He honestly was able to yank any sound he needed out of it. He had the stock Jazz Bass sound, he could get almost a Sting Ray sound when it was put to the bridge pickup, as well as so many other sounds. He went from switching between three basses for a gig down to just the Fender Jazz. The only thing he missed was that he would switch to his MM Sterling midway through a gig because it was a little lighter than his Jazz. However, he said having only one bass to lug around makes up for any shortcomings.
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http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/basslines/progressive-1/passive_phase_i/

Also, one thing that he fell in love with that I could also recommend are the Schaller M4-2000 sealed bass tuners--precise as hell and they have a funky look to them.

http://bass-machine-heads.com/hp135099/M4-2000.htm

 

[finetuned]

Thanks guys, really appreciate the replies. About the string gauge, I am a little worried because I prefer the 095-045 gauge on my 4 string.
I checked out a few Fender 5 string basses and the B string was all right but not great.

Will try some more basses and maybe a few Lakland models they have in store with a 35" scale to compare. 

Thanks also for the suggestions on the pickups and tuners - they do look cool, Graffity62

If anyone else would like to chime in, it's greatly appreciated!

 

[SkuttleFunk]

bass pickups?

Nordstrand or Delano ... everything else is simply settling for somthing else

all the best,

R

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I found that I was annoyed at a 0.125 B string on the 34" fretless I have.  I had a lot of trouble with the sting making clacking noises on the board.  It bugged the dickens out of me.  I was able to get a single .130 and all of my problems went away, well with the funny noises.  If you like a certain set of strings for your four string, get them and buy singles for the B if it is not tight enough.  That is what I ended up doing and it works just fine.

As far as pickups are concerned, if you know what style you like, then I would get a good passive/set of passives like the Nordstrand's mentioned in the earlier post.  Then you can look into preamps as well.  I am not to good at preamps, I tend to be an idiot with things that require batteries, so I stick with passive pick ups and power supplies for pedals...
Patrick