Bottom B feels too loose when dropped to A on my 34”. Is this common?

[causeunknown]

I’m using a Yamaha TRBX505 34” scale bass. I’m trying to drop the low B to A, but I feel like it’s too loose and doesn’t sound good or pick up well on my interface. I must admit I’m a guitar player first and foremost and I do all my own bass parts, so I’m not super knowledgeable about Basses. I read great reviews about the TRBX and picked it up before I learned about the difference scale length makes on lower tuning.

I guess my question is is this common? I took it to be setup and told the luthier my intent to drop the low B and picked up a thicker gauge of B string, but even after I find it too be a little too loose. I guess this is subjective, but am I imagining that this is severely impacting the tone and sound of the bass?

 

[LordCashew]

Sounds totally normal to me.

How thick did you go on the low A string? I don’t tune to A much at 34” but for B I like .135. For A I’d go at least .145, probably heavier.

 

[Hollowway]

Totally normal. You can’t drop those fatty strings a full step the way you can drop an E to D on a guitar. The tension drops way faster.

 

[Winspear]

Very normal. As is common in general, the string sets are imbalanced and when adding strings manufacturers always go thinner on the bottom for some reason. The 130 (or sometimes even 125) paired with 100-45 sets is significantly looser than the rest of the set already in B, let alone A.
I recommend D'addarios balanced 107 set paired with their single tapered version 145 even for B standard to bring the whole set in line with the tension of a regular 80 A. For drop A, that 145 should go up to 160 (yup! 160 and 80 A's are equal tension an octave apart) to match the regular tension of the others. D'addario do sell a 160. It's likely that most people will be happy with the 145 though and it allows you to tune it up to B still without unreasonably tight tension.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Yeah that's one of the cons of trying to actually play bass. You can't change tunings willy nilly. The feel can change significantly from different tunings. Even simple drop tunings. As said above this is even more apparently the lower and thicker you go. You can probably get away with tuning an E to D, but tuning a B to A suuucks. You'll have to probably get a thicker gauge and have it feel right for the A, but tight in B. But that can also probably effect the playing since I've had times where a simple drop tune can mess with the relief of a neckm

 

[causeunknown]

Thanks for all the responses! I couldn’t remember initially what string gauge I added to my bass, but it’s .135 up from the factory .130. Lots of good information here. I think I’ll try going a little thicker just to see how it feels. I’d like to try .145. Hopefully it doesn’t require any other alterations to get it to sit correctly. I guess I’ll have to ask my luthier what he’d recommend. Also I guess whenever I decide to replace or upgrade I should probably go for a 35” scale just to make things easier

 

[ixlramp]

As mentioned, typical Bs are already loose compared to higher strings, so do not work well detuned.
A .135 A is similar tension to a .090 E.
I suggest trying a .145, this is good for switching between A and B.

You can’t drop those fatty strings a full step the way you can drop an E to D on a guitar. The tension drops way faster.

Tension does not drop faster =) The relation of tension to pitch is identical for all pitches according to science, see the tension equation (D'Addario and GHS tension pdfs).

Yeah that's one of the cons of trying to actually play bass. You can't change tunings willy nilly. The feel can change significantly from different tunings. Even simple drop tunings. As said above this is even more apparently the lower and thicker you go.

It might be more problematic because thicker strings are more prone to flop due to their high mass, and other reasons, but in terms of tension (the scientific definition, not 'feel') it is identical to retuning a guitar.

 

[TheBloodstained]

I think personal preference, playing style and sound is a huge factor here?

Earlier this year I bought an Ibanez SR675 (34"), and I still have the factory strings on it, which means the B would be a .130, and I really like how it feels in standard tuning.
Recently my band wanted to try some drop A stuff, and I think it handled that fine too - mind you, it wasn't the most tremolo-picky stuff we played that day, but it felt comfortable enough despite the .130

I do plan on putting some slightly thicker strings on it at some point though...

 

[Thorshammer1980]

I'm a guitar player that also plays bass. I own a Schecter Hellraiser 5 35" scale and do all my own bass parts.

I'm using an Ernie Ball Long Scale .130 set and I play 99% of the time in B standard on bass and on my guitars.

I honestly don't like the the way my bass feels or sounds in Drop A. The .130 doesn't feel overly floppy but I'm not keen on the way it sounds. I have a heavy attack when I pick the strings, so Standard B just feels better to me.

Possibly, I might enjoy a higher gauge string set myself?

 

[ixlramp]

For drop A, just replace the .130 with a .145, it will be similar tension to .130 B and can be switched between B and A.
Do not increase the other gauges because then the EADG become too tight. Buy a 4 string set and a single taperwound .145.

 

[Winspear]

^Yup daddario xlb145t

 

[Thorshammer1980]

For drop A, just replace the .130 with a .145, it will be similar tension to .130 B and can be switched between B and A.
Do not increase the other gauges because then the EADG become too tight. Buy a 4 string set and a single taperwound .145.

Ahh! So, I can go with a D'Addario single .145 as my B/A and still use the 105-45 gauges from my EB super-long scale set.....ok then. I'll give that a try then!

 

[Winspear]

Yep the D'addario 107-45 balanced set is also real good match for the 145

 

[ixlramp]

Thorshammer1980,
Yes, assuming you mean AEADG by 'drop A'.
Ideally all strings would be from the same string product line, maybe EB does a single taperwound .145?
I suggest changing string product line to one that sells single taperwound .145s. I used to use the D'Addario ProSteel taperwound .145s for A on 35", they were surprisingly flexible and intonated really well.

 

[Thorshammer1980]

Yes, if I drop to A, its AEADG. I've always been an Ernie Ball player and I have several EB .130-.45 Super Long Scale sets lying around.

I see EB has a .135 -.50 Power set, but nothing in a .145

I suppose I'll have to give D'Addario a try and order the single .145 and a Pro-Steel .105-.45 set t go along with it.

 

[Winspear]

Any particular reason for the ProSteels? I'd recommend the balanced tension 107-45 (EXL170BT) with the XB145T single

 

[Thorshammer1980]

Any particular reason for the ProSteels? I'd recommend the balanced tension 107-45 (EXL170BT) with the XB145T single

You're recommendation didn't go unnoticed. I apologize if I seemed rude.

I figured since it was suggested that I use only one brand even if mis-matching packs.....the .145 is a ProSteels; it was logical to me to use ProSteels for the .105-.45 as well.

Though, I didn't post my full intention, I do plan on ordering a set of .107-.45 (EXL170BT). I added a pack to my cart along with the ProSteels before I posted the previous post.

 

[Winspear]

Oh ok! I agree it's best to match them - the 145 comes in XL as well as Prosteels PSB145T for the tapered prosteel, XB145T for the tapered XL

 

[ixlramp]

Yeah, i did not mean to imply D'Addario .145s are only available as ProSteels, they come as nickelplated steel too.
Although i would always recommend steel over nickelplated steel to avoid the risk of developing an allergy, and for more brightness which helps with large gauge strings.

 

[Thorshammer1980]

I have the .145 and .107-.45 set in hand. But, the set of .130-.45 are still too fresh to just pull them off just yet. Going to get my money's worth out of them first.

I was watching and finger-style technique video the other day. I was a guitarist first, so I naturally play bass better with a pick. I really really have to practice when it comes to playing fingers....any way....

I discovered that my attack while picking was too heavy-handed. I was playing too hard. For years actually. I've eased up on how hard I pick the strings and a lot of my complaint with the .130 tuned to (A) went away.

Still going to switch up to the .145 later when the time comes. But I'm glad I've been able to fix a bad habit in the mean time.