Piano Wire?

[Rtdmn92]

Would it be unwise to try using piano wire for bass strings? I've heard that Kurt Cobain did that but I really have no idea. It sounds like it could possibly be a good idea though. Maybe?

[darkstorm]

No, piano wire isnt suitable for bass guitar. Doesnt have ball ends nor tapered end for tuning pegs. Piano wire also isnt designed for use with pickups, its designed as acoustic strings being hit with little hammers. Interaction with pups will in most cases be as bad as trying to use acoustic guitar strings, wont work well if at all.

[88ric2030]

It has been done though; I don't know how they get around having no ball end. There is a band here in Baltimore called The Motor Morons, kind of industrial you could say. They use tools mostly for all their sounds. The only musical notes come from a 1 string P-bass; the string is supposedly a piano string. I also heard about McCartney using piano strings on his Hofner guitar before he actually owned a real bass.

[janmaat]

dangerous game! you can of course try, - as for the ball end, you'll need pliers and make sort of a knot... maybe around a nut of some type. now the real problem is that you won't be sure what's the thickness of the string - so what's the tension you'll apply to your instrument when tuning it to a specific pitch. so be careful not to destroy your instrument, and - if you have a whole piano string set - start with the thinnest you've got. Anything vibrating metal over your pickup will produce sound. - now as for piano wire, there are many wire manufacturers, such as german company roeslau; they basically manufacture pure wire in all sorts of materials (steel you want) and you'd buy it by the roll... now some of this wire gets packed in individual sets and sold as instrument strings, use on cellos, sitars, pianos, and - hey, maybe a bass??? - but each wire requires a certain tension to achieve a specific pitch - that tension depending on the elasticity of the material (through thickness that is), and the length. I've tried a good deal of wires on my wash tub bass, anything from clutch wire to washing line... all good fun but just be careful you may bend your instrument to bits!!!

[fourstringburn]

try using copper strings like the ones made by d'addario. these are called XL reds and are made from copper just like the bass strings on a piano and they do seem to have a piano like timbre to them. i have used them in the past and like them a lot but the down side is they dirty your fingers from the copper oxidation.(your finger turn green)