Members doc oc Posted December 30, 2009 Members Share Posted December 30, 2009 Hi everyone,I'm buying a jazz bass and wanted to set it up with some new strings. Unfortunately, I don't know a whole lot about bass strings and there seem to be SO many choices that affect feel and sound even more so than on guitar.Any recommendations?What is the standard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Prages Posted December 30, 2009 Members Share Posted December 30, 2009 Most come standard with round wounds. Probably a 45-100 or 50-105 gauge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Surfdude Posted December 30, 2009 Members Share Posted December 30, 2009 What he said but I prefer the flatwounds in the same guages. I give up a little in the sound department but gain so much with the playability for sure. Surfy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Prages Posted December 30, 2009 Members Share Posted December 30, 2009 What he said but I prefer the flatwounds in the same guages. I give up a little in the sound department but gain so much with the playability for sure.Surfy Yeah, lots of people do prefer flatwounds, but not too many basses come stock with flatwounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members louloomis Posted December 31, 2009 Members Share Posted December 31, 2009 I've been playing bass (and guitar) for nearly 30 years. I've tried the rest, but always have come back to Rotosound Swing Bass roundwound bass strings. Check out who else uses them and you'll be convinced. LouLoomis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rex Machete Posted December 31, 2009 Members Share Posted December 31, 2009 I found Rotosounds to be very comfortable, but very twangy and severely lacking any bottom end. Right now I have some ghs groundwound strings on my P-J bass. Groundwounds are a compromise- bassier than roundwounds but brighter than flatwounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members doc oc Posted December 31, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 31, 2009 I found Rotosounds to be very comfortable, but very twangy and severely lacking any bottom end. Right now I have some ghs groundwound strings on my P-J bass. Groundwounds are a compromise- bassier than roundwounds but brighter than flatwounds. Do they feel more like flats or rounds?I feel like I get more grip on the roundwounds for bending and such, but less finger noise and more speed on the flats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members whataracket Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 If you decide to go with flatwounds, TI Jazz Flats are excellent. Depending on the tone you are going for, you don't "give up" anything with flats. It's just a more traditional sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sk8centilli Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 GHS for the win. Fairly cheap, great sounding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaveAronow Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 You are right about bass strings affecting the tone of the instument WAY more than they do on guitar. Perhaps the biggest factor of all though beyond even brand, is simply the newness of the strings. New bass strings sound radically different than old bass strings, and another huge contributer to bass tone is whether you primarily use your fingers or whether you primarily use a pic. This is another big factor contributing to the difference in the way the same bass will sound under different conditions. I dont see how ANYONE can reccomend ANY particular type or brand of bass strings to you without asking you one mandatory question, but yet everybody still seems to want to help.... What sound are you going for? No way to tell you what strings to get without knowing what particular bass tones you like. Post specific examples of bass tones you would like to emulate and we can then give you string reccomendations. Without knowing that there is no way to know that you do or do not like the sound of a bass that uses rubber bands for strings or if you can even tell the difference between a bass guitar or a tuba. If you cant, then the brand and type certainly doesnt matter at least as far as tone is concerned. My favorite string has always been GHS bass boomers, not because of an endorsement, but for even 20 years before that. They nail the particular tone I go for, they keep their newness brightness as well as any string out there, they feel good on the fingers, many different wind types out there to choose from, and metal/alloy compositions that alter feel, and the price is reasonable too. But these are used for a specific range of particular tones I regul,arly go for, and I use other models for other tones. No way to tell you until we know what you like as far as tone and feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members doc oc Posted January 1, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 I really like the jaco sound even though the fretless thing probably has a lot to do with that. When he slaps it sounds "bouncy" though which is what I'm after. I also like marcus miller's tone too although not so much his music. For clean fingerstyle I like the sly and the family stone type of sound and most of what I hear flea do on peppers albums. I'm not much of a pick player. I like to do hammer ons and pull offs on bass a good bit. I don't mind sacrificing high register tone for great 3rd to 5th fret sound because I seldom play bass lines up there. Currently plugging a passive jazz bass into a fender bassman 20. Also have an EHX tube Eq I like using as a preamp. Not a big fan of bass overdrive. Is any of this the sort of information that could help me identify what strings I want? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cymro#1 Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 Such a personal thing....I like Elixirs mediums. They sound really full and velvety. That's the sound I like on my Jazz. Again as previous poster said, what kind of tone do you like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members doc oc Posted January 1, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 I really like the jaco sound even though the fretless thing probably has a lot to do with that. When he slaps it sounds "bouncy" though which is what I'm after. I also like marcus miller's tone too although not so much his music.For clean fingerstyle I like the sly and the family stone type of sound and most of what I hear flea do on peppers albums. I'm not much of a pick player. I like to do hammer ons and pull offs on bass a good bit. I don't mind sacrificing high register tone for great 3rd to 5th fret sound because I seldom play bass lines up there.Currently plugging a passive jazz bass into a fender bassman 20. Also have an EHX tube Eq I like using as a preamp. Not a big fan of bass overdrive.Is any of this the sort of information that could help me identify what strings I want? None of this expresses what tone I like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super Bass Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 I really like the jaco sound even though the fretless thing probably has a lot to do with that. When he slaps it sounds "bouncy" though which is what I'm after. I also like marcus miller's tone too although not so much his music. For clean fingerstyle I like the sly and the family stone type of sound and most of what I hear flea do on peppers albums. I'm not much of a pick player. I like to do hammer ons and pull offs on bass a good bit. I don't mind sacrificing high register tone for great 3rd to 5th fret sound because I seldom play bass lines up there. Currently plugging a passive jazz bass into a fender bassman 20. Also have an EHX tube Eq I like using as a preamp. Not a big fan of bass overdrive. Is any of this the sort of information that could help me identify what strings I want? Get a set of roundwounds and play fingerstyle with the bridge pickup favoured in the tone. I think the bouncyness is due to the feel of the songs. He didn't really slap an awful lot. A set of Rotosounds should be fine, or maybe some Ernie Balls. They work well for me and I play a bit of Jaco stuff. Oh btw, the "standard" set is usually 45-105. Come on over to the bass forum if you have any more specific questions. Save for a few knowledgeable people (like Dave A. above ) you're going to get a lot of generalisations here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ancient Mariner Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 In to try to learn something. Super Bass - the bass forum is an odd place - I lurked for a bit, but it didn't seem noob friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super Bass Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 In to try to learn something.Super Bass - the bass forum is an odd place - I lurked for a bit, but it didn't seem noob friendly. The thing is, unlike the guitar forum we don't have an awful lot of on topic stuff to talk about. So because of that there's a lot of OT stuff. But... if you have an on topic question you're almost guaranteed to get a clear answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ancient Mariner Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 OK - thanks for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jjpistols Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 flatwounds will probably be way easier on your fingers I think they're better all around in a band setting, as well I like webstrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cymro#1 Posted January 2, 2010 Members Share Posted January 2, 2010 In to try to learn something.Super Bass - the bass forum is an odd place - I lurked for a bit, but it didn't seem noob friendly. +1 Had bad experiences there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members doc oc Posted January 2, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 2, 2010 +1 Had bad experiences there too. Agreed. So do the same rules apply to setting up and intonating a bass as a guitar? Ideally, do I want my action as low as it will go with no buzz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mike Fiasco Posted January 2, 2010 Members Share Posted January 2, 2010 I had no idea what you guys were talking about until I hit up google.One of my failings as a human is finger noise on the strings. Sometimes I sound like a damned folkie. I suppose flatwounds wouldn't be as sensitive to my slop, but I think I should just work on my fingers more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super Bass Posted January 2, 2010 Members Share Posted January 2, 2010 Agreed.So do the same rules apply to setting up and intonating a bass as a guitar?Ideally, do I want my action as low as it will go with no buzz? Yes, intonation is the same. It depends on your attack and how you will be playing. I favour low action with minimal buzz however I usually have a pretty light touch. If you're playing with a pick you might want to raise the action a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cymro#1 Posted January 2, 2010 Members Share Posted January 2, 2010 I had my 91 USA Jazz set up professionally a few years back now by a guy who fixes guitars and basses. The same principles apply. It's a great feeling playing a bass with a nice low action and medium heavy strings. Personally I feel that you can get away with lower action on a bass than a guitar because of string thickness. Any buzzing is limited to acoustic/unplugged. IMHO nothing worse than amplified bass buzz!The board seems to take a lower clearance than guitars....but go to a professional to get it done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted January 2, 2010 Members Share Posted January 2, 2010 I've been playing bass (and guitar) for nearly 30 years. I've tried the rest, but always have come back to Rotosound Swing Bass roundwound bass strings. Check out who else uses them and you'll be convinced.LouLoomis I agree. I use them on my bass. My brother does as well. Good strings. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.