Is there a way to improve B string on Fender Jazz?

#102
I don't 100% understand the physics behind it, but I believe there's a lot of mojo that goes into making a good sounding 5 string. I bought a used American Deluxe Jazz V (one of the ones with 22 frets) and the B-string was the worst B I've ever heard. Basically like you said, non-existent compared to the other strings. I chalked it up to being an issue with 34" scale basses and sought out to get one with a 35" scale, but eventually ended up with a Warwick Corvette $$ with a 34" scale and it has one of the best sounding B-strings I've ever heard(aside from a Roscoe) even when unplugged. So there's definitely something more going on there besides just scale length. YMMV.
 
#103
Zooberwerx said:
That pretty much sums it up and is not Fender-specific. I've seen any number of suggestions from new string types to new hardware (e.g bridges) which complement the instrument as a whole. The pitfall is that this stuff costs money and, subject to trial & error, one cannot forecast outcomes. On a more constructive note, here's a few tips I've gleaned over the years which may help you squeeze the best out of your bass...and it's free:

*Coupling: Slightly loosen the neck bolts while tuned to pitch. This will allow the neck to butt-up firmly within the pocket. This is an old G&L trick and it actually works. Don't forget to re-tighten!

*Nut & Bridge: Nut slots should be cut / contoured correctly. Bridge saddles should be parallel with the base plate, do not tilt.

*String Install: No twists, adequate wraps & break angles, set your witness points. Here's a tutorial for those who need to brush-up...the contributors are much wiser than I (am):

Stringing, Tuning, Intonation and Witnesses

Feel free to add as you see fit.

Riis
Click to expand...

I just tried your coupling trick, and it did make a noticeable difference on my Squier Jazz V. Thanks!
 
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#106
Gwardar said:
Hi Everyone,

I bought a second-hand MIA 5-sting Jazz. I think it's the "standard" model (came with passive electronics). Love the look and playability, but:

The GDAE strings sound great, bright and punchy, just they way I thought they would be. The B string - poop. So bad that the tuner had troubles picking up any notes. If the tuner can't hear it then neither can I.

I read somewhere (probably on TB) that for the standard series Fender just added an extra string and didn't update the electronics. So I went on a quest and fitted it with Lindy Fralin pickups and John East preamp, which as you expect wasn't a cheapo fix.

It helped a lot I must say. The B string now exists and has some bottom, but still bleak and wimpy sounding compared to the other 4. No sustain either. I have other 5 string basses and, as you'd expect, the B string varies between them, but none of them is as bad as the Fender.

Is my bass faulty or is this how 5 string Jazz basses are? If it's faulty - what should I look into? Changed pickups, put a preamp in, changed strings a few times, did the setup a few times. Tightened all the bolts. Didn't seem to fix it. Could the body and/or neck be defective?

TIA
Click to expand...


Have you tried a heavier gauge string?
 
#108
Jeff Haislip said:
I will add that I have played a Fender 5 string and wasn't impressed. This happened to be a $2,000 active 5 string Jazz about three years ago. I also thought it left much to be desired. I have a late 90s G&L L2500 and I think the B string is pretty good, however when I bought my Lull MV5, wow!!!
Click to expand...

NOW we’re getting somewhere...:D
 
#109
Gwardar said:
Hi Everyone,

I bought a second-hand MIA 5-sting Jazz. I think it's the "standard" model (came with passive electronics). Love the look and playability, but:

The GDAE strings sound great, bright and punchy, just they way I thought they would be. The B string - poop. So bad that the tuner had troubles picking up any notes. If the tuner can't hear it then neither can I.

I read somewhere (probably on TB) that for the standard series Fender just added an extra string and didn't update the electronics. So I went on a quest and fitted it with Lindy Fralin pickups and John East preamp, which as you expect wasn't a cheapo fix.

It helped a lot I must say. The B string now exists and has some bottom, but still bleak and wimpy sounding compared to the other 4. No sustain either. I have other 5 string basses and, as you'd expect, the B string varies between them, but none of them is as bad as the Fender.

Is my bass faulty or is this how 5 string Jazz basses are? If it's faulty - what should I look into? Changed pickups, put a preamp in, changed strings a few times, did the setup a few times. Tightened all the bolts. Didn't seem to fix it. Could the body and/or neck be defective?

TIA
Click to expand...
I have a fender jazz 5 as a backup. I can see how people might not like the low B especially in stock form. It’s definitely not as good as for example my Dingwall 5er or the Musicman stringray 5 or the warwicks I’ve owned. No mods are gonna make jazz sound like a Fodera but yeah little mods can for sure help. Pickup swaps. Series wiring. From my experience Pot swaps/deletes make a big difference fenders with low B strings.

in particular

want a fatter sound? try series wiring.

not happy with the top end/bite? Try different value pots or even pot deletes where you don’t use a tone pot at all. Hell you really don’t even have to use the volume pots either. The the most aggressive/open sounding way you can wire a jazz bass is pickups in series straight to the output jack (of course if you do this it’s ideal to have a volume pedal or a tuner pedal to be able to mute the signal when desired.

If you’ve never heard anyone talk about this Type of stuff. Changing a bass to series wiring can help eliminate phasing which weakens low end. It sorta makes the pickups work together instead of against each other. And with pots the pot value determines how much of the signal is bled to the ground this most noticeably changes the brightness/aggressiveness Of your attack
 
#111
Good low B's are perfectly achievable at 34". I've had several and it's all in the setup. The B string has to have higher action than the other strings. Not that its saddle needs to be higher than the others, but there needs to be more space between that string and the fretboard than on the others. That gives it the room it needs to speak. You also have to experiment with very subtle adjustments of the truss rod and pickup height. It can be a matter of way less than a millimeter to lock it in. Just adjust things in really tiny increments and keep playing it each time and I bet you'll feel it come to life. I turn the truss rod the least amount humanly possible each time. There should be no need for high pass filters or any other gear. That stuff can only modify what's going into it, so what you need to do is get the string speaking.

In my experience changing stuff on the other side of the bridge or nut doesn't do much. So, I wouldn't worry about stringing through the body or changing the break angle at the nut or anything like that. Not a game changer in my experience. Adding mass to the headstock absolutely affects resonance, but that's more of a subtle thing to tune out dead spots, not get a whole string to sound properly.

String gauge can make a difference. I've always liked .125 for mine. I think it feels and works well at 34". And as a matter of fact I use Fender stock nickel strings on every bass I own. I've tried everything and to me they feel and sound the best. 45-65-85-105-125 has worked well on all my 5 strings. So I don't see any reason you shouldn't be able to get a serviceable B string out of a good bass like that. Even with my Pedulla, if I throw the B string out of adjustment it'll sound terrible. So, there's no magic to it and I wouldn't worry about the bass being flawed in some intangible way where the B string will just never work. I'm betting you can get it there with time and patience.
 
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#112
IronLung1986 said:
Good low B's are perfectly achievable at 34". I've had several and it's all in the setup. The B string has to have higher action than the other strings. Not that its saddle needs to be higher than the others, but there needs to be more space between that string and the fretboard than on the others. That gives it the room it needs to speak. You also have to experiment with very subtle adjustments of the truss rod and pickup height. It can be a matter of way less than a millimeter to lock it in. Just adjust things in really tiny increments and keep playing it each time and I bet you'll feel it come to life. I turn the truss rod the least amount humanly possible each time. There should be no need for high pass filters or any other gear. That stuff can only modify what's going into it, so what you need to do is get the string speaking.

In my experience changing stuff on the other side of the bridge or nut doesn't do much. So, I wouldn't worry about stringing through the body or changing the break angle at the nut or anything like that. Not a game changer in my experience. Adding mass to the headstock absolutely affects resonance, but that's more of a subtle thing to tune out dead spots, not get a whole string to sound properly.

String gauge can make a difference. I've always liked .125 for mine. I think it feels and works well at 34". And as a matter of fact I use Fender stock nickel strings on every bass I own. I've tried everything and to me they feel and sound the best. 45-65-85-105-125 has worked well on all my 5 strings. So I don't see any reason you shouldn't be able to get a serviceable B string out of a good bass like that. Even with my Pedulla, if I throw the B string out of adjustment it'll sound terrible. So, there's no magic to it and I wouldn't worry about the bass being flawed in some intangible way where the B string will just never work. I'm betting you can get it there with time and patience.
Click to expand...
I agree that these very small incremental adjustments can make a big difference on the B string and are worth the time / effort to experiment with.
 
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#113
Maynjo said:
I chalked it up to being an issue with 34" scale basses and sought out to get one with a 35" scale, but eventually ended up with a Warwick Corvette $$ with a 34" scale and it has one of the best sounding B-strings I've ever heard(aside from a Roscoe) even when unplugged.
Click to expand...

One of the things Warwick has done is create an incredibly tight neck pocket in the body. There was a YT video a while back where Marcus (their master builder) showcased this. He put the neck into the body (with a bit of work, mind you) and then, without screwing the neck into the body, picked up the bass by the neck and allowing the body to hang by the neck joint alone.

The pocket is tight enough that the body didn't move. That tight joint results in a solid transfer of vibrations from the neck to the body, which gives better clarity, resonance, yadda yadda... to all the strings, especially the B.

Try doing this with a Fender.
 
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#115
Jon Moody said:
One of the things Warwick has done is create an incredibly tight neck pocket in the body. There was a YT video a while back where Marcus (their master builder) showcased this. He put the neck into the body (with a bit of work, mind you) and then, without screwing the neck into the body, picked up the bass by the neck and allowing the body to hang by the neck joint alone.

The pocket is tight enough that the body didn't move. That tight joint results in a solid transfer of vibrations from the neck to the body, which gives better clarity, resonance, yadda yadda... to all the strings, especially the B.

Try doing this with a Fender.
Click to expand...

That makes a lot of sense because I had to remove the neck on a Roscoe one time, and I had to fight that thing off of that body. I suppose a tight neck joint might have a lot to do with the sound of a solid B then. I also know on a lot of Fender's you can visibly see the gap in the neck joint.
 
#116
ric4682 said:
I’ve never had an issue with a B string not being full or bassy enough. Every 5 I play the B is TOO full and thick with not much clarity, poor sustain, and even worse as you go up the neck.
I’ve found that a thinner B string and lighter touch brings it much closer to the tone of the other strings. A thicker string usually has more fundamental and less upper harmonic content, which I find is the exact opposite of what I need out of a B string.
This is all just in my experience of course.
Click to expand...
I agree, I use .125s on my B strings.
Heavier strings tend to be too boomy, muddy.
 
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#119
TrevorG said:
I have no idea what that is!!?
Click to expand...
It’s a piece of metal that clamps to the headstock that supposedly helps with dead spots my adding mass to the end of the instrument. It can by moved around so the user can find the spot on the headstock that helps the most.
If you read the reviews, about 50% say it helps (a little) and 50% say it doesn’t do anything, so you be the judge.
I tend to think it’s mostly hoooey
 
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#120
Maynjo said:
That makes a lot of sense because I had to remove the neck on a Roscoe one time, and I had to fight that thing off of that body. I suppose a tight neck joint might have a lot to do with the sound of a solid B then. I also know on a lot of Fender's you can visibly see the gap in the neck joint.
Click to expand...

A bit of a gap is desirable as it accommodates the normal expansion & shrinkage associated with ambient changes. On the lower end, we frequently see diagonal body finish cracks adjacent to the pocket. In more severe cases, I've seen whole chunks of wood chip-off especially on the treble side where the wood tapers to its thinnest. I guess you need some amount of gap on the Fender re-issues: to adjust the truss rod, you have to remove the bolts and tilt the neck backwards.

Riis
 
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