i just bought FMI weedwacker pros and need some help.

[ClintUtz]

So I just bought some weedwacker pros because I thought they would be a bit better than originals.So i put them on and i like them and all but when I get to the E string its pretty much not there barely any sound comes out of it at all.I've played gut strings and really like them but cant afford them so Im wondering what I should do.

[hofner]

I use them on one bass, and imho, only the D and G are playable and sound quite good for WW strings. better than some "old" sets i already played.
E and A are too big, too flabby and have no interest, no sound.
Best match i found is E and A siverslaps and D and G fmi....

[ClintUtz]

What are Siverslaps?

[Francois Blais]

Originally Posted by ClintUtz

What are Siverslaps?

Innovation Silver Slaps.

[sevenyearsdown]

"E" string wackers are useless IMO.

[ClintUtz]

So I looked at the silver slaps and the phsycobilly strings. Does anyone know much about either of those. Cause the phsyco's seam good for all around playing because they say that they are good for being heard cause thats a problems for me to.

[sevenyearsdown]

Innovation makes good stuff. Get yourself over to www.rockabillybass.com for better info on the rockabilly strings, setups, etc.

[hofner]

Innovation silverslap (and probably pyscho) are very good stings, very close to gut sound, and nice both for rockab/slap and pizz, old school jazz, etc;..
They have low tension, nice warm tone...slap is easy, and pizz very nice..

[ClintUtz]

How do the E and A feel on the phsyco's or the silvers are they really floppy with no sound or are they nice and tight?

[hofner]

E and A silverslap are not floppy at all, but have low tension, just as gut... sound is defined and very round, due to their quite "large" diameter, and they have a very short sustain...

[ClintUtz]

Is it good that there's not much sustain or is the unavoidable with those kind of strings?

[moles]

If you're looking for any kind of sustain, wackers are *not* the way to go.

You can get a good sound out of them for slap, if that's your style. You haven't really said at this point what you want them for, but I'll assume if you're trying wackers you're looking for an old school, rockabilly, western swing, etc. sort of sound.

I've heard about FMI's "pro" grade of wackers before, but no information about exactly how they're higher tension...

Speaking about weedwackers in general, a couple of things to keep in mind:

Let's just assume you don't want to play (modern) jazz, or any arco on them. They'd be crap for that. Period.

Get the black ones. Black dye has a higher molecular weight, usually requires the string to be in the dye bath longer - and so results in a (marginally) tighter string.

They take a long time to stretch/break in. Much longer than gut strings even. Like any string that costs $5 in material costs and is made out of landscaping industry materials, you can't approach them as if they should be performing the way you want them to. You might need to spend some time finessing a sound out of them.

But, if you can be patient with them, and spend a few months slapping the crap out of them to break them in - you might find them okay.

Try working on your slap technique. Pull *just* hard enough to get a defined note - and play some stuff you'd normally play pizz on to work on that sound.

If you wind up not getting on with the E and A, something dark like an orchestral steel string (bumped over even) should work well.

[ricca]

I tried FMI pro.
They don'ti have higher tension, they are only bigger. (EandA are too big!)
They are expensive and the E is completely dead.
I replaced EeA with eurosonics, they play better every day.