Bass string!

[NicholasDWolfwood]

34"

How do you deal with rattle on the 130? EQ it out? Play lighter/fingerstyle (the latter isnt really an option for me; it'd take me a while to get my finger picked bass technique up to the level that it can keep up with my picking on guitar), pick near the bridge? Does it even give you any rattle? Do you like it? How are your action and relief?

I'd like to not use a 160, but thats whats working for me; less its either the string bounces off the frets too much or the actions too high.

I generally play fingerstyle, but sometimes I play with a pick. Keep in mind I'm a player who likes the clanking of the strings hitting the fingerboard (on fretted or fretless.) The rattle/clank of the low A isn't unpleasant to me at all.

I do happen to play closer to the bridge than the neck, just as a general technique thing. I really don't know how to measure my action or relief as I've never gotten it "professionally" setup, just changed the action to what felt good for me to play on (and what sounded good to me as well.)

I'd say the action is about medium. It's high enough that I get the clank of the string, but low enough that it's not impossible for me to play fast.

I'll record a clip of it later.

A .160 on a 34" scale is definitely unnecessary though. I'd say the highest you should have to go on a 34" is .145, and even that's pushing it depending on some necks.

 

[7string]

On my 34" 5-str i always have problems with a big difference in the timbre between the E and B strings even only at B or Bb. It works for some things and you can hear it bad on others.

This one set of Carvin strings i had the .130 tapered down to like .080 at the bridge saddle. This seemed to help, but out of habit i keep buying boomers or rotos.

 

[Zozobra]

Well, I ordered some blue steel 45 to 125 5 string (4 string bass but wtf) to experiment with.

cant say I hold high hopes, but we'll see what happens.

 

[NicholasDWolfwood]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1186608/Nile Bass Ampeg.mp3

thats a clip of my 34" scale in drop A, playing parts of "Annihilation of the Wicked" by Nile (which I never finished learning for the cover we were going to do, my bad guys.) all with a pick cos I cant play any of that fast enough with my fingers haha. strings are pretty dead though, they're like 2 years old or something. dont really even hear much clank in this clip.

going through ampegsvx (svt4-pro) -> kefir (using an eden 4x10 impulse and an swr 1x15 impulse blended)

 

[Zozobra]

Thanks mate. Youre right, it sounds fine, very little rattle. Quite looking forward to the 125 now (like I said I dont *like* the 160, doubly so that its even higher tension than normal for the thicker core).

PS Nile ftw!

 

[Zozobra]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1186608/Nile Bass Ampeg.mp3

thats a clip of my 34" scale in drop A, playing parts of "Annihilation of the Wicked" by Nile (which I never finished learning for the cover we were going to do, my bad guys.) all with a pick cos I cant play any of that fast enough with my fingers haha. strings are pretty dead though, they're like 2 years old or something. dont really even hear much clank in this clip.

going through ampegsvx (svt4-pro) -> kefir (using an eden 4x10 impulse and an swr 1x15 impulse blended)

Well I got the 125 (to 60) on and its a huge improvement in the playability and clarity of the A sharp. The rattle is greater, but on the other hand notes are ringing truer and with more LF energy in them and without the hollowness. And if the rattle bugs me I can eq it and out.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Metaltastic]

Generally on-topic, I tried the D'addario Prosteels EPS230 set in C-standard on my Jazz Bass (55-75-90-110, still currently on there), and while the top two were slightly too tight, the bottom 110 was way too loose (though I'm not sure whether the .90 will be ok once the other strings around it are more balanced) - so for my next set I'm gonna order individuals of 50, 70, 90, and 120, which hopefully should do the trick! (I want to err on the side of thinness, both because I'm a guitarist primarily, and also so I don't have to loosen the truss rod too much and screw up the intonation)

 

[egan.]

120 for C should be great. I'm 130 in Bb on a 35".