Non-ferrous flatwound string for fretless slapping

M

mheintz

Nov 18, 2004

495

3

Nov 27, 2004

#1

• Nov 27, 2004

• #1

I am looking for a non-ferrous flatwound string, which has a decent slap tone. Any suggestions? Thomastik Acousticores probably don't have enough tension and are too light. If you've tried them, let me know how they work. Any others?

 

J

jefferson04

Mar 4, 2003

62

0

Baton Rouge, LA

Nov 27, 2004

#2

• Nov 27, 2004

• #2

I've never heard of a non ferrous flatwound before. Acousticores are roundwounds.

 

M

mheintz

Nov 18, 2004

495

3

Nov 27, 2004

#3

• Nov 27, 2004

• #3

jefferson04 said:

I've never heard of a non ferrous flatwound before. Acousticores are roundwounds.

Click to expand...

Yes, you are right. Any flatwound equivalents?

 

J

johnvice

Sep 7, 2004

848

9

Nov 27, 2004

#4

• Nov 27, 2004

• #4

I wouldn't slap on a fretless, you'll damage your fretboard.

 

M

mheintz

Nov 18, 2004

495

3

Nov 28, 2004

#5

• Nov 28, 2004

• #5

johnvice said:

I wouldn't slap on a fretless, you'll damage your fretboard.

Click to expand...

I'm not worried about fretboard damage. The sound is what I'm after. On that note, I may convert an old pair of Pirastro Obligatos and put them on my electric. Perhaps satisfying my craving for medium tension, non-ferrous flatwounds. Anyone ever convert upright strings? How much of the wrapping can one remove?

 

mikezimmerman

Supporting Member

Apr 29, 2001

7,859

3,453

Omaha, Nebraska

Nov 28, 2004

#6

• Nov 28, 2004

• #6

We're back to the question of what you mean by "non-ferrous". The TI Acousticores don't have a metal core, and so can't be used with magnetic pickups. Is that what you mean? Or do you mean a nylon-wrapped string like the black LaBellas, that's intended to mimick the upright tone but can also be used with magnetic pickups?

Mike

 

M

mheintz

Nov 18, 2004

495

3

Nov 28, 2004

#7

• Nov 28, 2004

• #7

mikezimmerman said:

We're back to the question of what you mean by "non-ferrous". The TI Acousticores don't have a metal core, and so can't be used with magnetic pickups. Is that what you mean?

Mike

Click to expand...

Yes, like the TI Acousticores, but flatwound. I have piezo and lightwave pickups, and I'm interested in experimenting. Bronze, aluminum, copper, gut, nylon etc... The Obligatos are synthetic. They have some metal but not enough to be used with a magnetic pickup. They are flexible and warm sounding like gut, but less tempermental. So any non-ferrous flatwounds for bass guitar?

 

S

slugworth

Inactive

Jun 12, 2003

2,512

10

So. Calif.

Nov 29, 2004

#8

• Nov 29, 2004

• #8

The only non-ferrous flatwounds I've ever seen were on a Bajo Sexto. They looked like nylon to me.

Slug

 

S

slugworth

Inactive

Jun 12, 2003

2,512

10

So. Calif.

Nov 29, 2004

#9

• Nov 29, 2004

• #9

The usual tapewound type bass strings sound and feel like there's no metal in them at all. Very upright bass sounding.

Slug

 

HawkBoyXVI

Hairbrained Schemer

Oct 25, 2004

29

0

40

Lawton, OK

Dec 22, 2004

#10

• Dec 22, 2004

• #10

I'm looking for a set of classical guitar-style nylon strings for an acoustic bass...Are these even made?

 

pierce

freethinker

May 25, 2000

649

9

San Francisco, Ca

www.myspace.com

Dec 23, 2004

#11

• Dec 23, 2004

• #11

well, unless im misunderstanding you, by non-ferrous do you mean not made of iron (ferrum). in which case would d'addario chromes work?. how about nickelwounds?

 

F

FireAarro

Aug 8, 2004

979

3

austr-

Dec 24, 2004

#12

• Dec 24, 2004

• #12

pierce said:

well, unless im misunderstanding you, by non-ferrous do you mean not made of iron (ferrum). in which case would d'addario chromes work?. how about nickelwounds?

Click to expand...

Yep you are, he means not containing iron.

 

nashvillebill

Oct 13, 2002

4,018

1,087

66

1700 miles west of Nashville TN

Dec 24, 2004

#13

• Dec 24, 2004

• #13

pierce said:

well, unless im misunderstanding you, by non-ferrous do you mean not made of iron (ferrum). in which case would d'addario chromes work?. how about nickelwounds?

Click to expand...

D'addario Chromes still are ferrous, they just have a high chrome content (hence the name), maybe 5 % chrome or so. If it were pure chrome it'd be brittle as well as non magnetic.

 

M

mheintz

Nov 18, 2004

495

3

Dec 27, 2004

#14

• Dec 27, 2004

• #14

I contacted Thomastik and they indicated that they could not create flatwound versions of the acousticores. Caroline Hudson at Big City Strings suggested that I contact "Bob" at LaBella (800-750-3034), but I have not yet done so. Incidentally, you can use John Pearse's string winder to add ball ends to non-bass strings. See http://www.jpstrings.com/braccess.htm. If one were so inclined, you could also modify double bass strings, e.g. pirastro obligatos or gut strings, so long as you cut only into the wrappings. Unfortunately, this is an expensive experiment, one which I haven't had the courage to do even though I have a spare set of obligatos. Another option is to modify nylon bass harp strings, which are much less expensive. However, I believe that the harp range only extends to the C above the bass low B, but you could just tune the lowest string down.