Which strings for a fretless Precision bass?

[Ryan Mohr]

I am ordering this bass very shortly: http://www.rondomusic.com/spb62fretls3ts.html It is an '60s style alder/RW fretless P bass. The stock SX strings are awful IME and IMO. Needless to see, I will be replacing the strings immediately.

I have two J basses, one with SS rounds, and one with nickel rounds. So, for this bass I want a warmer, mellower, darker, fatter, thicker, rounder, richer, more old-school tone. The bass will hopefully have warmth and thickness in spades because it is an alder/RW P bass, as well as a rich, complex midrange mwah because it is fretless. I want the midrange, and especially the low mids, to be accentuated. This way, I can have the old-school tone and mwah that I want. I don't need super deep bass, or sizzly upper treble for this tone, but I would like articulation in the high mids to hear each note clearly.

I am considering nickel roundwounds, ground wounds, pressure wounds, nylon tapewounds, and flatwounds. Here are the specific strings I am considering:

Nickel Roundwound
DR Sunbeam
Dunlop Nickel Plated Steel
Fender Original Bass
Fender Super Bass
La Bella Slappers
Thomastik-Infeld Superalloy

Ground Wound
GHS Brite Flats
Ken Smith Slick Rounds

Pressure Wound
GHS Pressurewounds
Ken Smith Compressors

Nylon Tapewound
La Bella Black Nylon Tape Wound

Flatwound
La Bella Deep Talkin’ Flat Wound
Thomastik-Infield Jazz Flatwound

Thanks!

PS: I am leaning towards the tapewounds unless someone can convince me otherwise.

[REAPER52]

i have T I flats on my fretted jazz.But my fretless came with dr sunbeams - thought i wont like them because i love the T I's -but i was surprised they sound great . got my vote =sunbeams. do a search lots of info on fretless strings and lots of great players use sunbeams..

[Ryan Mohr]

Originally Posted by REAPER52

i have T I flats on my fretted jazz.But my fretless came with dr sunbeams - thought i wont like them because i love the T I's -but i was surprised they sound great . got my vote =sunbeams. do a search lots of info on fretless strings and lots of great players use sunbeams..

I was thinking about sunbeams, but I think I would like a little more thickness and fatness in the lows and low mids.

[wateroftyne]

I'm on a similar quest.. see Another fretless thread.. Sunbeams, TIs, Nylons....?.

[bassbrock]

The stock SX strings are all D'addario EXL roundwounds according to Kurt at Rondo.

[Nedmundo]

When I had a fretless P, I was very happy with D'Addario Chromes. But for pure warm, thick, vintage tone you should try GHS Precision Flats. I used them for a long time on my fretted P, and they are amazing. I have GHS Brite Flats on my fretted P now, and they provide more zing, but the D & G are so much brighter than the E & A that it sounds like I'm using two types of strings. But they're new, and I expect the tone to even out over time.

[Ryan Mohr]

Originally Posted by Nedmundo

When I had a fretless P, I was very happy with D'Addario Chromes. But for pure warm, thick, vintage tone you should try GHS Precision Flats. I used them for a long time on my fretted P, and they are amazing. I have GHS Brite Flats on my fretted P now, and they provide more zing, but the D & G are so much brighter than the E & A that it sounds like I'm using two types of strings. But they're new, and I expect the tone to even out over time.

Thanks, did you find the Chromes as bright as the Brite Flats?

[bassist4dalord]

Not on the list but I'm gonna throw D'Addario Chromes "into the mix", because that's where they like to sit And it seems like they fit the bill. Just my $.02

[bthiemann80]

GHS flats.


You're welcome

[fretlessguy]

I second GHS Precision flats. They have the exact sound you are describing.

[Ryan Mohr]

Originally Posted by bthiemann80

GHS flats.


You're welcome

Originally Posted by fretlessguy

I second GHS Precision flats. They have the exact sound you are describing.

Thanks guys, but I don't think I'm gonna use flats; if I do decide to use flats it will be the La Bella 760FLs, because I have tried the GHS flats and they are super thumpy. I'm not looking for thump on this bass.

[Ryan Mohr]

It's down to GHS Pressurewounds and La Bella Black Nylon Tape Wounds. Fight to the death!

PS: I'm finding that the mwah is a little overbearing with the Sadowsky blue label nickels (a very mid present string), so I would like to tame that and beef up the low mids and upper bass (120-200 Hz) for that vintage "thickness and fatness".

[Roadkill]

Just curious why you aren't considering Fender 9120 tapewounds?

[fish slapper]

Thomastik-Infield Jazz Flatwound, I have them on both fretted and un-fretted basses. Yum.

[Ryan Mohr]

Originally Posted by Roadkill

Just curious why you aren't considering Fender 9120 tapewounds?

I've heard that the La Bellas are much better.

Originally Posted by fish slapper

Thomastik-Infield Jazz Flatwound, I have them on both fretted and un-fretted basses. Yum.

I would consider these, but spending more than half of the cost of the bass ($55) seems a bit rediculous for me. On a more expensive bass, sure, but on a $100 SX I would like to limit myself to $30.

[crustychef]

I'm a big fan of DR Highbeam flats. Thick low end and singing highs. The middle is nice and mmwahy. I love the silky smoothness of them too. Slides feel so good now and don't eat my fingertips.

[billoetjen]

Chromes or DTB flats. If you want the full belly and fundamental, it's DTB; more presence, Chromes. IMO/E.

Forget how much it costs for good strings. It's where your sound originates.

[Mulebagger]

I've used the La Bellas and they were fantastic and delivered the tone you are describing. However, I've used DR Black Beauties on my fretless for 3 years now and they are amazing. Also each set has lasted me for the better part of a year. (serious practicing and gigging included).

I've used the Daddario chromes on a fretted bass and they are killer as well, just never used them on a fretless before. I tried about a dozen sets of strings before the Black Beauties. I don't think I'll ever use anything else.

[Gintaras]

Sunbeams... tone, growl, low tension and smooth for roundwounds. Sunbeams come up a lot in the strings section when searching for fretless strings.

[Ryan Mohr]

Originally Posted by crustychef

I'm a big fan of DR Highbeam flats. Thick low end and singing highs. The middle is nice and mmwahy. I love the silky smoothness of them too. Slides feel so good now and don't eat my fingertips.

Originally Posted by billoetjen

Chromes or DTB flats. If you want the full belly and fundamental, it's DTB; more presence, Chromes. IMO/E.

Forget how much it costs for good strings. It's where your sound originates.

Thanks for the recommendations, but I'm really not looking for flats on this bass. I prefer to have the thump on fretted instruments. On this bass, I'm not looking for a lot of thump.

Originally Posted by Mulebagger

I've used the La Bellas and they were fantastic and delivered the tone you are describing. However, I've used DR Black Beauties on my fretless for 3 years now and they are amazing. Also each set has lasted me for the better part of a year. (serious practicing and gigging included).

I've used the Daddario chromes on a fretted bass and they are killer as well, just never used them on a fretless before. I tried about a dozen sets of strings before the Black Beauties. I don't think I'll ever use anything else.

How would you compare the La Bella tapewounds to the Black Beauties?

Originally Posted by Gintaras

Sunbeams... tone, growl, low tension and smooth for roundwounds. Sunbeams come up a lot in the strings section when searching for fretless strings.

Thanks, but again, I'm not looking for rounds because I'm not looking for a lot of mwah. I want more of a woody upright sound with a little mwah.