fretless ebony board

tim1002 · #1 10-05-2006, 11:31 AM

ok so i've given up the search for the illusive black flat wounds.
anyway i've got an all parts ash j body with ebony neck project bass coming up. pickups will be reverend neck and early 80s fender bridge.

my question is what strings should i go to get a nice warm (slightly bright but not too bright) tone. not too dead like tape wounds but something with balance that i can switch around when i want to get the growl going on the bridge or get the warm groove when i go neck. not asking for the perfect non existant super flatwounds but just one which does both with relative ease. so far i'm considering labella james jamerson set, ti flat jazz and maybe the new drs if i can find some reviews of them. i'm looking towards flats but rounds are welcome if the ebony board can take it.

do you guys think an ebony board can take roundwounds without getting the groove marks on them? i've seen someone put stainless steel to a rosewood fretless before and it was not a pretty sight at all. don't want groovemarks on my fingerboard.

THANKS!

BobWestbrook · #2 10-05-2006, 11:54 AM

I recently discovered Fender 9120 black tapewounds, which have a GREAT tone and feel. Have you tried them?

On another bass, I have Labella black tapewounds, which are more subdued in tone, but also terrific!

kingmacaw · #3 10-05-2006, 04:38 PM

try roundwound nickel-easier on the fretboard than ss. flats or tapes? have you used flats or tapes before & liked them-if so try them-if not be sure that's the sound you want. ebony boards are supposedly harder than rosewood. i'm concerned about getting the best sound i can & i am a roundwounder converted from years of using nothing but flats. i'm not claiming to be an authority but IMO your sound is addictive to inspired playing.

also rember most tapewounds are a very havy guage .110 or .115 for your e in a 4 string set. what guage strings have you used in the past? i usually use .100 strings so .105is about as high as i'm willing to go.

bongomania · #4 10-05-2006, 04:48 PM

I have an ebony board, and I like the sound of D'Addario Chromes flats on it. Not dead-sounding at all, nice and bright. I am considering trying some rounds on it, and I was planning on using nickel.

tim1002 · #5 10-06-2006, 03:31 AM

would anyone happen to have soundclips or descriptions of different flats?

yeah i've tried flats on fretless basses and i prefer them to rounds for fretless anyway.

how would you guys compare the sounds between d'addario chromes, ti jazz flats and labella james jamerson and labella tape wounds. these are the ones i've narrowed it down to. i remember trying out rotosound jazz flats and finding them too stiff so something less stiff and semi bright will be almost perfect to what i want. if those strings exist.

Thanks again for all the great opinions!

zombywoof5050 · #6 10-06-2006, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tim1002

how would you guys compare the sounds between d'addario chromes, ti jazz flats and labella james jamerson and labella tape wounds. these are the ones i've narrowed it down to. i remember trying out rotosound jazz flats and finding them too stiff so something less stiff and semi bright will be almost perfect to what i want. if those strings exist.

You do know that LaBella makes other sets of flats beside the Jamerson set, don't you? The Jamerson set is their thickest stiffest gauge, but they offer four other gauged sets. If you want something not too stiff, I highly recommend the LaBella 760FL set, they are my favorite strings. TI Flats are great too (I played them for 4 years), but finally decided that their tension is just a bit too low for me. I found Chromes to be too tight for me, even the 45-100 set. The LaBella 760FL set's tension is in between TI's and Chromes, and the sound is fantastic.

MrLenny · #7 10-06-2006, 08:38 AM

Check out D'Adarrio Half-round wound. Flat on the outside
and round on the inside. Less noise and wear than rounds
but the inner round adds more brightness than flats.

WovenGraphite · #8 10-06-2006, 09:56 AM

I have a F bass BNF-5 with ebony fingerboard. George mounts custom roundwounds from La Bella (with taper core).
These are great strings, both mwa and round sound depending on the preamp setup and which pickup is dominant.
I started to see marks on the fingerboard and asked George (in person) if using rounds would kill it.
His answer was that ebony will not need to be sanded for another 10 years. What I saw are marks in the finish. He recommended to use steel wool to lightly clean the board each time I was changing strings (which has not happened yet in 9 months of owning that bass)
George's strings are only available through him and can also be bought in bulk to save a bit.

I love those strings so much that I have setup a Marcu Miller 5 with them and it sounds amazing now. I clearly think the taper core does a lot to the B.

Anyays, hope this helps.

BobWestbrook · #9 10-06-2006, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tim1002

i remember trying out rotosound jazz flats and finding them too stiff so something less stiff and semi bright will be almost perfect to what i want. if those strings exist.

I use both Chromes and Rotosound 77 Jazz. The Chromes are brighter, but also stiffer, so if you thought the Rotosounds were too stiff, you will not like the Chromes.

tim1002 · #10 10-08-2006, 04:42 AM

ok from the feedback, i've narrowed it down to ti and labellas but due to ease of getting strings(i live in tiny island singapore), i'll try the ti flats first. we've got a guy who brings them in.

thanks for all the great advice! will update on the sound once i get the bass put together. should be a great.