Anyone try Fender Nylons?

[bigwillystrangs]

I love the way they look, but most shops don't put them on. I've played some wierd white&red nylons on uprights in mexico and they seem pretty fun and don't sound bad at all. But i Really want to know how they sound on electrics.

[arbarnhart]

Will they work with magnetic pickups? Is there a ferrous core to these nylon strings?

[Philbiker]

Have 'em on two of my basses. Love 'em! Even better than the LaBella nylons which I also love. Wish they made 6 string sets. They work fine, they are roundwound strings with nylon tape on the outside.

[Sammy Camden]

If you're talking about the Fender 7120 Nylon Filament Roundwound strings, yes I've used them. I've had them on my fretless basses for a long time now. They work wonderfully. The sound is fairly bright, but with a pretty quick decay. If you play around with the EQ, you can get a real decent imitation of an URB. If you run a mute at the bridge, you can get really close to an URB. They feel very nice, quiet, smooth (they're actually a ground-round), and will last quite a while.

I highly recommend them for fretless basses. I've never used them on a fretted so I can't comment there.

[SBassman]

Hmmm.

Coupla questions:

1. Are LaBellas warmer than Fender tapewounds?

2. Most people here say that max mwah on a fretless comes with Roundwounds. What about with tapewounds?

[Philbiker]

Originally Posted by SBassman

Hmmm.

Coupla questions:

1. Are LaBellas warmer than Fender tapewounds?

2. Most people here say that max mwah on a fretless comes with Roundwounds. What about with tapewounds?

Tapes on my fretless basses give more of a "plunk" type sound, not much "mwah". Just how I like it! As far as "warmth" they're about the same. The Fenders are a tiny bit brighter and decay faster on my basses in my hands, that's what I like about them.

[SBassman]

Originally Posted by Philbiker

Tapes on my fretless basses give more of a "plunk" type sound, not much "mwah". Just how I like it! As far as "warmth" they're about the same. The Fenders are a tiny bit brighter and decay faster on my basses in my hands, that's what I like about them.

Thanks.

I like the *plunk*, fast-decay type tones, too. It's interesting how the different tones are really at odds with each other. Sometimes we want sustain for days, other times we want that note to decay out as fast as possible.

Maybe I'll try a set on the fretless and set it up as a plunker, not a mwaher.

[SBassman]

Originally Posted by Sammy Camden

If you run a mute at the bridge, you can get really close to an URB.

If the person who started this thread doesn't mind, I'd like to ask a quick question about bridge muting. I know there are many other threads that have discussed bridge muting in the past, but you guys actually know what you are talking about.

Have any of you noticed the intonation hits that occur after shoving some foam under the bridge? Even with foam not having much up pressure against the strings, it seems to non-trivially affect intonation.

I actually never tried foam on a fretless, only fretted, and the intonation hit bugged me. I guess on a fretless I'll just adjust.

But, again, have any of you seen this, too?

[Sammy Camden]

All of my past fretless basses were Fenders, P and J. I used a Fender P-Bass bridge cover on them with a small piece of foam placed on top of the strings/saddles and held down with the bridge cover (ala' the original mute found on Fender Ps). The only time I ever had any intonation problems was when I used a piece of foam that was really too thick. It also just about killed the sound, so it was a non-issue.

If you play around a little with the foam, take your time and get it to the right thickness and placed correctly over the strings/saddles, the result is quite satisfying. And, NO intonation isssues.

My favorite foam is the stuff used in soft-drink/beer can coolers. You know, the individual ones that you can put a can in while you're drinking it. Cut it to shape and fine tune it.

Good luck!

[7flat5]

I guess I will participate in the hijack. If the mute is tight enough or inflexible enough, it will act like another bridge, and the string will vibrate from it rather than from the bridge. So, the string is functionally shorter, throwing the intonation out the window. From my little experience, it does take a little adjusting to get a mute to act just the way you want it to.

[Winky B.]

They sound good on a Force 4 Washburn. I would like to use them on my fives but don`t think they make a five string set.
Wink

[Philbiker]

Originally Posted by Winky B.

They sound good on a Force 4 Washburn. I would like to use them on my fives but don`t think they make a five string set.

I don't think they do either. The LaBella black nylon tapes are close, that's what I use on my 6 string fretless.