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Where to get Low B strings?

I built a 36" scale prototype one stringer and discovered that the distance from the tail piece, over the bridge, and to the nut is about 41 inches. Long scale bass strings don't really fit. On top of that, I'd like to put a low B string on there (.100 -.130 gauge), and I'd like it either flat wound or better yet nylon tape wound. Little did I know such a string would be so hard to find.

I'd even go so far as to buy a whole 5 string set if it came with the 1 string I needed, and share the rest with my 4 stringer bass buddies, but I can't even find whole sets that are extra long scale and nylon coated.

Looking for ideas at this point before I abandon the idea and shorten the scale.

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Permalink Reply by Will King on August 3, 2014 at 4:05am

Since the bass is fretless, just shorten the neck down to a length that you can get a string for. Do it from which ever end is the easiest, head or tail.

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on August 3, 2014 at 6:23pm

You can look @ just strings, they sell single strings. I know for a fact they have .130-.135 for 5 string Bass
BTW I would shorten up your string length a few inches so you can use regular strings, your only alternative is upright strings which are very pricey

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on August 4, 2014 at 4:10am

Weed whacker line and a piezo?

Orrrrr...thin braided steel cable from Lowes or Home Depot

Orrrr...picture hanging wire.

Improvise.

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Permalink Reply by Bluesheart on August 4, 2014 at 9:58am

Yep, I'm with Oily, weed wacker. I have some .120 and will send you a piece if you want. Wont work with the mag pickup of course but will sing low and sweet with a piezo!

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Permalink Reply by ReturnToSender on August 5, 2014 at 12:24am

You know its a great community when a guy offers to send you a piece of string. Thanks Bluesheart, but I'm all set.

I have not had much luck with piezos, though I desperately want to use them, simply for their size and simplicity. If I don't insulate it, I hear my pulse when I touch the guitar, and when I do insulate it, I have to turn the amp way up to get any kind of volume out of it and it's not sensitive enough, not to mention feedback woes. That's ok I suppose as it's prompted me to start winding my own pickups which has been kind of fun.

As an update, I found a place on the interwebs that is sending me an actual low B bass string that has a 42" winding length. It's .135 gauge so it's gonna be like a garden hose, but we'll see how it goes before I start improvising.

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Permalink Reply by JL on August 5, 2014 at 1:15am

could you include a picture of the headstock while strung with from the previous picture? I'm curious about how "it doesn't really fit" looks since some CGBasses are in my future.

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Permalink Reply by ReturnToSender on August 5, 2014 at 2:27am

This is the only pic I have at the moment. It's an old .100 E string as that is all I had on hand, but what you can't see is that it starts to taper a few inches before the nut. That, and it's round wound, so it's way to noisy for me with a slide.

So I went to the local brick and mortar and asked the old swami there for a really long tape wound low B. He looked at me all cross eyed first but we actually found a few in his stash, flat and nylon, but none of them were even close to 41 inches. We even looked at his wife's cello strings and they were only about 38.

From what I gather, long scale bass strings typically cover up to 36 1/4 scales. There are Extra Long and Super Long strings, no idea length, but they are apparently quite rare in flat or tape wound.

This whole thing started because I wanted to see if I could put a stick on a box and produce a deep, bowel shaking double bass tone around 30Hz or so. It wouldn't be very practical, but it would be fun as I don't currently have an instrument that will do that.