It is typical that many 5-string basses have a flappy low B string. Why is this? That’s what we’ll attempt to answer here.<\/p>\n
Before we get into that, here’s a quick tip. On a 4-string bass, you can get away with tuning to B-E-A-D, but the strings may be too loose for your liking. In that instance, put on a set of Deep Talkin’ flatwounds<\/a> which by nature are much tighter compared to roundwounds. If you like it, you will have to adjust your string saddles and truss rod to compensate for the different tension, but it’s nothing a 4-string electric bass can’t handle as long as you don’t bounce between E-A-D-G to B-E-A-D too often. Ordinarily, the best solution here is to have a separate “dedicated 4-string B-E-A-D bass”.<\/p>\n The reason the above is mentioned is to give you a basic idea of what causes the flappy B on a 5-string in the first place. String tension issues.<\/p>\n There are several ways to attack this problem, but we’ll concentrate on two.<\/p>\n D’Addario does make 5-string mostly-balanced sets<\/a> like the EXL170-5. It’s labeled “mostly” because the D has greater pull compared to the rest, but that’s the easy way to get a mostly-balanced set for a 5-string bass.<\/p>\n The other way is to buy single bass strings and customize your own preferred set to achieve the desired progressive tension.<\/p>\n “Progressive tension?”<\/strong><\/p>\n With a progressive tension string set, the thickest string gets the most tension, next thickest gets less tension, next thickest gets less than the the one preceding it, and so on on down to the thinnest string that gets the least tension. Many bass players consider this to promote optimal comfort when playing.<\/p>\n To craft your own custom string set based on pounds-of-pull-per-string, use the D’Addario string tension chart<\/a> (that’s a PDF document, by the way.) The electric bass guitar section starts on page 10. This is D’Addario’s guide on how to use the chart<\/a>.<\/p>\n Or… try this handy dandy guitar string size calculator<\/a>, as that may work better for you compared to going through a tension chart.<\/p>\n While a more expensive solution, this is an option.<\/p>\n Longer scale instruments will put greater tension on the strings when tuned to the pitch you are used to.<\/p>\n The bass guitar above, a Schecter Stiletto Studio-5 bass, has a 35-inch<\/strong> scale length instead of 34-inch, and that 1-inch difference in scale length may be just the thing you’re looking for to cure that flappy B issue – especially if you don’t feel like messing around with crafting a custom tension string set.<\/p>\n Yes and no.<\/p>\n A properly crafted bass with a progressive tension string set on it will play and sound like a dream, even with a 34-inch scale length. When care is put into the crafting of the instrument and proper strings are selected for it, you will feel and hear the difference.<\/p>\n A cheap 5-string bargain bass without a progressive tension string set will have its B string flap all over the place.<\/p>\n If your 5-string suffers from low B flap, try a flatwound set first as the tension is greater.<\/p>\n If flats do not suit you, try a progressive tension set of roundwounds next. It will take experimentation and you probably will have to buy a few single strings before you find the right combination that works for you, but it’s worth it.<\/p>\n If trying different strings doesn’t cure the low B flap issue, consider trying a bass with a longer scale length to it like the Schecter mentioned above – but only as a last option<\/em>. It’s probably true you really like the 5-string you have and don’t want to give it up. That’s OK. Getting the right strings with the correct progressive tension ordinarily will cure low B flap issues. And as a bonus, it usually makes your bass more comfortable to play.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It is typical that many 5-string basses have a flappy low B string. Why is this? That’s what we’ll attempt to answer here. Before we get into that, here’s a quick tip. On a 4-string bass, you can get away with tuning to B-E-A-D, but the strings may be too loose for your liking. In … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":7088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7089"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Solution 1: Use a balanced tension string set – even if you have to customize it yourself<\/h3>\n
Solution 2: Use a bass guitar with a longer scale length<\/h3>\n
Is the reason so many 5-string basses have flappy B strings because of 34-inch scale length?<\/h3>\n