Strings for an Aria AMB-50 fretless

[derrenleepoole]

I'm after a set of strings for the Aria AMB-50 fretless acoustic bass. Obviously flatwounds of some sort, but I want a really dark mellow tone that's smooth to play. My normal gauge is 45 - 105's. But maybe a change is necessary to get the dark tone I require? Any suggestions?

[Jake-leg]

I have an AMB-50 fretless, and I like the LaBella tapewounds on it. Dark and mellow, a bit of mwah, but mostly thump. For even more thump, the Rotosound 88s I tried were good. For a little less thump, the Fender 9120s are another option. Not everyone likes tapes, of course, but I find them perfectly suited to that bass.

The LaBellas are available from Carvin at a good price, if you decide to go that way. The Rotos and LaBellas both have a 115 E, so you might have to do a little filing. The first set I tried cracked the plastic nut.

Incidentally, I've never seen another AMB-50 fretless, in person or on the web. I was starting to think I had the only one made.

[derrenleepoole]

Cheers Glenos...

This is exactly what I had in mind, but couldn't place a name to what I exactly wanted. The Aria is a lovely bass for the price, but I've never been able to get the right tone, so as a result I don't play it as much as I should, which is just plain criminal really. Hopefully this will change all that. The heavier guage should be interesting

[derrenleepoole]

Here you go, now there's a picture of the AMB on the web

[Jake-leg]

Looks good! Funny, right after I saw your photos, I saw this on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d..._BIN_Stores_IT

Mine is black, as pictured in the auction. Made in Korea, where I live, but I bought mine online from a US company. Body material is similar to that of an Ovation, but the Aria's shape is much more comfortable than the Ovation's rounded back.

Good luck with those strings!