Light Gauged 6-string Nickel Rounds

[AmazingGracePlayer]

Hello everyone,

I'm thinking of getting new strings for my fretless 6 string 34" bass. I'm currently using D'Addario XL .032 - .135 and the top C string is very very high above the fretboard and it's very very hard to press down. The G string is also somewhat hard to press down. I was thinking of getting light gauged strings 0.028 - 0.120 and hopefully that'll do the job.

The light gauge I'm thinking of getting is the Fodera Diamond Series Nickel Rounds .028-.120 (http://www.juststrings.com/fod-28120n.html)
I'm curious if it can be strung on a 34" bass... Anyone have any experience with those strings?
If not, can anyone suggest some light gauged strings (with 0.028 as the C string, preferably)?

Thanks!

[Bryan R. Tyler]

If you order them from the Fodera site, you can choose if you want them in Regular or Xtra-Long scale. Excellent strings.

[snowdan]

d'addario xl are great but the sets have very uneven tension, as you have noticed.

but the strings are available as singles an you can easily put together a custom set.

i had great results with the following gauges:

28-40-55-75-100-130

i promise that this set feels quite even and sounds good.

[AmazingGracePlayer]

Originally Posted by snowdan

d'addario xl are great but the sets have very uneven tension, as you have noticed.

but the strings are available as singles an you can easily put together a custom set.

i had great results with the following gauges:

28-40-55-75-100-130

i promise that this set feels quite even and sounds good.

Where do you get strings in singles? I looked at MusicansFriend and they didn't have 28 40 55 75 or 100 singles...

[snowdan]

well i am in germany so where i get won't help you...

but i suspect juststrings.com have them.

[AmazingGracePlayer]

Originally Posted by snowdan

well i am in germany so where i get won't help you...

but i suspect juststrings.com have them.

I don't think I've seen singles on juststrings, but I'll check agian.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

JustStrings does have D'Addario singles, but not in all of the gauges you mentioned:
http://www.juststrings.com/daddariob...lestrings.html

[snowdan]

well i can get any gauge here in old europe, so there will be a source in the US too. in case ask d'addario.

it's worth the effort. the set I assembled sounded and felt very good.

[AmazingGracePlayer]

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

JustStrings does have D'Addario singles, but not in all of the gauges you mentioned:
http://www.juststrings.com/daddariob...lestrings.html

yeah the XL's only go as low as 40

[AmazingGracePlayer]

Is the Carvin medium nickel rounds any good?

[chucko58]

The Carvins are made by La Bella, I think. I've used them, they sound good when new. They go dead quickly for me though. I prefer the medium heavies myself, but on a 36" scale the mediums should be fine.

It also sounds like you have a setup issue. Have you adjusted the bridge correctly? Is the neck almost straight or is there a visible forward bow? The strings should be almost touching the fingerboard at the nut. Take care of these issues and you should be good to go.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

By the way, you're not talking about your Steve Bailey fretless 6, are you? That bass is a 34" scale.

[AmazingGracePlayer]

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

By the way, you're not talking about your Steve Bailey fretless 6, are you? That bass is a 34" scale.

I am... I used a tape measurer, and measured from the end of the bridge to the nut... 36 inches...
I trust you over myself, thanks for clarifying that.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

The end of the bridge isn't where you measure from- that's past where the string breaks along the saddles, and doesn't add into the scale length. Be happy- you have a 34" bass, so finding strings that fit is much easier

[WJGreer]

I've tried 'em all, and I swear by Carvin nickels. They are nice light tension strings that should address your issue. I agree with the previous poster that they are supplied by LaBella, but my experience has been much better with their endurance. They last forever for me, and when they do go dead they respond well to a bath in denatured alcohol. Frankly I think a lot of this has to do with factors aside from the string that vary from player to player.

And they are cheap! Less than $20. If you get the light gauge set, they go 29-40-60-80-100-128.

I assume you have adjusted your bridge and truss rod, by the way, to address your action problem?

[AmazingGracePlayer]

Originally Posted by WJGreer

I assume you have adjusted your bridge and truss rod, by the way, to address your action problem?

Hehe, nope... I'm afraid the bass wouldn't turn out better after I mess with the double trust rod.
I was thinking of getting a new bridge, because the one on there is kind of old, and it's those through-the-hole kind of bridges, and it gets annoying when I'm changing strings... I'm curious if Brian R. Tyler knows my string spacings and what other bridges fit my bass

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

The end of the bridge isn't where you measure from- that's past where the string breaks along the saddles, and doesn't add into the scale length. Be happy- you have a 34" bass, so finding strings that fit is much easier

So where should I measure to determine the bass's scale?

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Best way is to measure from the nut to the 12th fret, then double that length.

[AmazingGracePlayer]

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

Best way is to measure from the nut to the 12th fret, then double that length.

Brian I expected more out of you... it's a fretless bass, there are no frets!

Ok let me go try that...

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Your comment would have cut me like a knife....had you actually spelled my name correctly

[AmazingGracePlayer]

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

Your comment would have cut me like a knife....had you actually spelled my name correctly

Yeaup, from nut to "12th fret" is 17 inches. So it must be 34 in. scale then... Any idea on the bridge, BrYan?