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Dogal Jaco Flat Carbon Steel Electric Bass 4-String JC106C 45-105, 34" (JC106C)
- Thread starter MattF007
- Start date
I’m curious why they modified their Carbon series round core to flat wounds and call the flat strings “Jaco”.
Help a dummy understand.
Help a dummy understand.
Never happened. They still have round-core Carbon Steel roundwounds.
However, they *also* have one carbon steel roundcore flatwound product line
(the other two are the Traditional System Flats - chrome steel on a copper underwinding and a round core - and the Hellborg Perfect Pitch Flats - a not-otherwise-identified "special alloy" on a steel rope core)
called "Jaco System Ultrapiatte" = "ultra - flat(tened)/smooth/even".
- Why "Jaco"? Apparently, he had a relationship with the company while alive. I can't seem to find the shadow of a source, so don't quote me on that, but I think it may have something to do with them supplying him with strings while on tour in Europe.
- Did they get clearance to use the name from the Pastorius estate, or originally from the man hisself? Again, I have zero proof, but believe I have read something to that effect, in addition to the above.
- Why name one of their flatwound lines, of all products, after Jaco? Now this escapes me.
That could be. When I raced on the US track team there was a brief period where a sponsor was a tire company we didn’t use and they shipped us Continental tires with Barum hot patches. It’s not inconceivable that Dogal would send Jaco Rotosound strings in their package. It may happen more than we know.
Aye.
Anything's possible, but this seems too far-fetched, besides being an unnecessary hypothesis in the context of the problem of why they use Jaco's name. Dogal has made strings since 1950 (incidentally, that's almost a decade before Rotosound) and I very much doubt they'd send him repackaged Rotos - or their own strings in Roto packages, for that matter. Again IF I remember what I've read correctly, and IF what I've read is true, it may just have been a matter of "we make bass guitar roundwound strings, try ours", with him finding them satisfactory for the time he was around these shores.
Oh, hey, lookie here - an interview to Jaco, then on tour with Biréli Lagrène, by music journalist Gabriel Amato for Chitarre magazine (trimonthly, issue no. 12, March 1987):
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Bottom left corner translates as follows:
Chitarre: What kind of strings do you use?
Pastorius: Here in Italy I've been using Dogals, which I like very much, not to mention that they cost a lot less than Rotosounds and have the same lifespan.
[Second page of the interview here:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]]
From
Amarcord - "Guitar Club" E "Chitarre" An
Complete transcription here:
Jaco Pastorius e la sfortuna di chiamarsi genio
If you have time, and curiosity for all things Jaco, run it through machine translation. The candour gets hilarious at times!
____
Aaanyway.
In short, months before leaving this planet, Jaco endorsed* Dogals, at least here in Italy.
* (in the proper sense of the word, aside from the formal aspects of his relationship with the company, which I have no clue about anyway)
Once more, he certainly didn't use Dogal *flats*, or he would have mentioned it.
[Plus, Dogal flats (all three types in current existence, in fact) are not cheap, and I feel confident in saying there's zero chance it wasn't the case back then, let alone that they would cost less than Roto Swing Bass 66...]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Bottom left corner translates as follows:
Chitarre: What kind of strings do you use?
Pastorius: Here in Italy I've been using Dogals, which I like very much, not to mention that they cost a lot less than Rotosounds and have the same lifespan.
[Second page of the interview here:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]]
From
Amarcord - "Guitar Club" E "Chitarre" An
Complete transcription here:
Jaco Pastorius e la sfortuna di chiamarsi genio
If you have time, and curiosity for all things Jaco, run it through machine translation. The candour gets hilarious at times!
____
Aaanyway.
In short, months before leaving this planet, Jaco endorsed* Dogals, at least here in Italy.
* (in the proper sense of the word, aside from the formal aspects of his relationship with the company, which I have no clue about anyway)
Once more, he certainly didn't use Dogal *flats*, or he would have mentioned it.
[Plus, Dogal flats (all three types in current existence, in fact) are not cheap, and I feel confident in saying there's zero chance it wasn't the case back then, let alone that they would cost less than Roto Swing Bass 66...]
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Thanks for this!
Funny like the title:
Jaco Pastorius and the misfortune of calling himself a genius
His amp choice:
As a preamp I use a Gallien&Kruger, with which I drive a Peavey, an old transistor Acoustic ..... I amplify it with the Peavey.
His Pedal choice:
I'm working a lot with Roland materials (he must mean Boss). I'm using the cheapest pedals, no rack effects or circuits made especially for me: they are pedals you can find in any shop... I use an octave-divider, a fuzz-tone, chorus and a small digital delay.
Strictly speaking, it would only work with a casual fan of Jaco's (one unaware of the fact he used roundwounds exclusively) with deep pockets and credit-card trigger-happiness. Hardly a shrewd marketing move on Dogal's part, in terms of product volume returns.
But the name does work as a quick initial attention-grabber (it's ultimately word of mouth - these are fairly well-regarded flats - that gets people to take the actual plunge) so yes, to sell a bit more of them? Sure.
Let's say the company had enough restraint not to use it for their rounds - the ones that Pastorius actually played at one time - but the commercial savviness to attach it to the name (not anywhere else in the blurb, it bears mentioning) of a niche product that could use some push. I can go with that.
^ Wow. Apologies to @MattF007 for the extended OT.
It could be a mark of respect, such as when I named my SR600E after my late girlfriend.
I have a set of these strings on my '73 Rick 4001, this very minute. Do I like them? Yes I do. Are they gonna stay on the Rick? I can pretty much guarantee it. So, as for your questions...
- The tension (ie, pounds of pull to pitch). Dogal's packaging says quite clearly that it takes only 5kg (11lbs.) of tension to pull one of these strings to pitch; which adds up to a total of 44 pounds for a 4 string set. As opposed to the TIJF's total of 143 lbs. So, assuming their numbers are true (and I've no reason to doubt them; they've been making orchestral strings for a long, long time, and I have no idea what's going on under the outer steel winding), then yes; the Jaco CarbonSteels are wicked low tension. However, tension is a different thing from "stiffness". And, much to my surprise, The Dogal's feel noticeably stiffer than the TIJF's on my Alembic Epic do. I have to make significant adjustments to my technique to play the TIJF's with a pick. Didn't have to adjust at all to play the Dogals. They aren't what I'd call "stiff" by any means; about the same as most light gauge flats, more or less.
So, if you want to try them? Well, they certainly aren't cheap flats, but not quite as expensive as a set of TI's. You might like them - or, you might not. They are on my 4001, only because it has an early-stage case of the neck problem that Rick's of that vintage are subject to. Left handed Rick basses this old are... scarce; and expensive when you do find them. I'm betting that these Dogal's really are very low tension, and so will keep my favorite bass playable for some time to come. But, if that wasn't the case - would I put them on one of my 25 other basses? TBH, I'm... not sure. They feel nice, and play really well; broke in pretty quickly, too. But their tone, to my ears, is not anything special; A lot like the Dogal R44 Traditional Flats on my Gibson T-Bird, actually. They're a good, versatile, pretty modern sounding flat, that works well for some of what I like to play - and not so well for some other stuff...
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