Flats for a vintage Guild Starfire

[Etingi]

I bought a '67 Starfire and I was planning on putting TI Jazz flats on it. I searched around some though and found that some people think [medium gauge] LaBellas go great with the wooden bridge saddles. Also, TIs are available in 32" while the Starfire's scale length is 30.5", and it could be a pain to scrape 1.5" of silk off the strings. So the first question is, TIs or LaBellas?

Here's what I'm more interested in though -- I read how Jack Casady and Phil Lesh put Pyramids on their Starfires (and supposedly McCartney on his Hofner too) and, as the quote goes, it sounded huge. I also found forum posts by people who have put the Pyramids on their Starfires and from what I gather, they're meant for each other. They do cost $89 though.

So are Pyramids that much better than TIs or LaBellas on this particular type of bass? And since better is always subjective, how are the tones different? The Pyramids are intriguing, but $89 is kind of steep, especially if I end up favoring something else.

[JimmyM]

I won't try Pyramids for the price alone. And TI's sound more like rounds to me. I hated them except for the low tension. I'm trying a set of D'addario Chromes on one of my Fenders that I like a lot after half an evening. Always liked Labellas, though. Stiff but great fat tones for hollowbodies. I might go for them, or maybe the Chromes if you need lighter gauges and short or medium scale.

[Lokire]

I can't comment on any of the other strings, but the TIs. If you want flatwounds and like the low tension, then the TI flats are the way to go. Their tone mellows out, but it takes a lot of time for them to break in.

I use TI Jazz Rounds on my Guild Starfire. The standard 34" set fits just fine, and didn't leave any silk on the fretboard. I'm guessing it would be the same with the Jazz flats.

[JimmyM]

BTW, it's worth mentioning that if your bass has a 2 piece bridge/tailpiece, you're going to have an extra inch or two of string length between the bridge and tailpiece, so it's better to get the next size up string length...i.e., if it's a 30" scale, get medium scale strings, if it's a 32" scale, get long scale strings...etc.

[Etingi]

I'm leaning towards TIs. I have LaBellas on another bass and I think the looser tension would be nice.
I'm still mainly curious the Pyramids though.

[edwinhurwitz]

I had pyramids on my Starfire and liked them pretty well. They seem inconsistent, though, and I broke my D string pretty quickly.

I also like the DR flats (disclosure: I am a endorser of DR, so take that for what it's worth. I really do like 'em, though!). They are somewhere in between the TIs and stiffer, more classic flats. I would give those a try.

Edwin

[Etingi]

I'm looking at the 32" and standard scale TI Jazz flats on juststrings. The 32" set has a .106 low E and the long scale has a .100 E.
Lokire, you say that the long scale should fit, and JimmyM says the 32" scale would be the correct fit. Assuming that either would work, would the larger E on the 32" set be louder and out of balance with the rest of the set? Or is the larger E compensated correctly for the shorter scale and the long scale strings would actually lack bottom end?
Thanks for the help.

[Lokire]

Either set should fit with no problem. The TIs are a very low-tension string to start with, and putting them on a shorter scale bass will give you even less tension, so the short-scale (32") set has a larger gauge E to compensate for that a bit. I don't know how big the difference would be though. I tend to like my string extra light and floppy, so I've only used the regular long-scale TI sets.

You can get single TI strings from juststrings, so you could try both gauge E strings without having to buy a whole 2nd set

http://www.juststrings.com/flatwound...lestrings.html

[Etingi]

I'll probably go with the 32" set since I want to be able to dig in some.
Do you think the .106" low E might have intonation problems? I had a .110 LaBella E on a 34" bass that always intonated sharp no matter how far back I moved the saddle.

[Lokire]

I don't have any noticeable intonation issues with my Starfire. Were the LaBella strings tapered at the bridge? I've heard that can cause issues sometimes.

[mellowgerman]

Originally Posted by Etingi

I bought a '67 Starfire and I was planning on putting TI Jazz flats on it. I searched around some though and found that some people think [medium gauge] LaBellas go great with the wooden bridge saddles. Also, TIs are available in 32" while the Starfire's scale length is 30.5", and it could be a pain to scrape 1.5" of silk off the strings. So the first question is, TIs or LaBellas?

Here's what I'm more interested in though -- I read how Jack Casady and Phil Lesh put Pyramids on their Starfires (and supposedly McCartney on his Hofner too) and, as the quote goes, it sounded huge. I also found forum posts by people who have put the Pyramids on their Starfires and from what I gather, they're meant for each other. They do cost $89 though.

So are Pyramids that much better than TIs or LaBellas on this particular type of bass? And since better is always subjective, how are the tones different? The Pyramids are intriguing, but $89 is kind of steep, especially if I end up favoring something else.

if you shop around, i think you should be able to find pyramids for 60 or 65 bucks... if i find where i saw them for that i'll post a link for ya

[Etingi]

Thanks for the help, but I already ordered a set of 32" TIs, so it's cool.

[mellowgerman]

alright groovy. got any pictures of that starfire?

[Etingi]

Here's one from the previous owner that's pretty accurate. It's always hard to get red looking right in pictures.