Strings for ABG?

[RiseOfTheWooten]

hi, I'm thinking of getting flatwounds for my ABG but am not sure what kind to get for it. Do they have a specific ABG strings? I'm assuming the ABG neck isn't as strong as a regular bass guitar. Also, the ABG only has 20 frets. Do I just get regular short scale (32") flatwound strings?

[paulodumb]

i just got one of those cheapo dean playmate ABGs. out of the box it sounded like a big, squeeky-stringed guitar, but i anticipated that and bought new strings for it.
two words: nylon tapewound. i bought the fender brand 'cause it's all they had. i'm in love with the sound of these strings. they don't squeek when you move your hands and have a nice deep tone, almost like an URB to my ears. the strings are basically roundwounds wrapped with nylon tape. they feel like soft flat wounds.
the only strings i've seen made specifically for acoustic bass are roundwounds, and i don't like how they sound on my bro's ABG.
buying strings that are too long shouldn't be a problem. that's what wire cutters are for (though i'm lazy and my instruments tend to have a bunch of mean eye-poking strings coming off the headstock, ready to hurt you.)

[paulodumb]

one more thing...i generally have flatwounds on all my basses. this is my first time with the tapewounds. i read that their sound falls between flatwounds and roundwounds, so i bought them hoping for the familiar feel and tone of flats, but with a little more definition since i mostly bought the ABG for unplugged practice. in other words, i was worried that my normal flatwounds would sound just too dead on an unplugged rock machine. the strings definately met my needs, but i'd like to hear what other people think about normal flats on an ABG.

[TL5]

I'd like to hear more on this subject as well.

I have MArtin ABG strings on mine right now. They are brass, roundwounds. I'm not particularly happy with them. The tapewounds sound like something I'd like to explore.

[Philbiker]

I've also got nylon tapewounds on my ABG. I have LaBella Deep Talkin' Bass strings that I got from www.carvin.com . They're great. I have the Fender tapewounds on my new fretless and I think I might like them better than the LaBellas, but I like Fender strings in general anyway.

[wps]

+1 for the tapewounds. I primarily play upright bass, but I have a Dean ABG with LaBella tapewounds for portability. To me it sounds & feels more like an amplified classical guitar than an electric bass. The tapewounds sound more acoustic than metal-wound strings, and why else have an ABG?

[Richard Lindsey]

I have some T-I Jazz Flats on my ABG right now, and they have some great things about them. I've been able to get some nice sounds. I'm thinking of trying some tapewounds just for fun. I already know that for what I'm going for, standard roundwounds don't work, with bronze roundwounds being even worse (for me). D'A halfrounds were OK, except I thought the low B was awful.

[cb56]

Originally Posted by paulodumb

two words: nylon tapewound. i bought the fender brand 'cause it's all they had. ....buying strings that are too long shouldn't be a problem. that's what wire cutters are for ....

I bought some nylon tape wound strings that were too long for my ABG. When I cut the string to shorten it, the tape totally unwound itself from the string making it useless. So that might not be the best idea.

[RiseOfTheWooten]

Thanks guys, I'll look into some tapewounds. It's bloody hard enough to find flatwounds here though. I couldn't believe how difficult it was to track some down for my fretless.

Originally Posted by cb56

I bought some nylon tape wound strings that were too long for my ABG. When I cut the string to shorten it, the tape totally unwound itself from the string making it useless. So that might not be the best idea.

So what did you end up doing? Did you get some short scales?