• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Advice on strings for fretless

#21
I do wonder how the EB Cobalt Flats sound on a fretless.. if they have as much buzz as rounds. I assumed some of the buzz/mwah is from the round wound windings compared to the flatter profile of flats. Or if it's just that flats have less high frequencies anyway and thats where a lot off the mwah buzz comes from. I assumed that, but I'm curious if a brighter flatwound would sound more similar to a stainless round that I'm used to playing.

I think all my fretless have High Beams on them.
 
#23
Jim Carr said:
If you are stringing EADGC on fretless or BEADGC, you can get a .029 C single. However, Juststrings stopped carrying the C lately. Don't know why.
Click to expand...

So I'm not crazy!

The Smith SlickWounds turned out to work really well on my EADGC fretless, and I was all set to make that my go-to string set for that bass. When they disappeared from the JustStrings site I thought maybe Smith had discontinued the .029.

I wonder if we could petition JustStrings to re-stock those? :)
 
#24
Bob_Ross said:
So I'm not crazy!

The Smith SlickWounds turned out to work really well on my EADGC fretless, and I was all set to make that my go-to string set for that bass. When they disappeared from the JustStrings site I thought maybe Smith had discontinued the .029.

I wonder if we could petition JustStrings to re-stock those? :)
Click to expand...

Perhaps! But maybe Smith dropped them? I don't know.
 
#26
Another fan of TI Jazz Flats on a fretless. I had D'Addario XLs on my Martin Keith Elfin 5 fretless since I got the bass in early 2010; I finally put a set of the TIs on the bass a few months ago and can't see going back to rounds for it. These strings were made for my Elfin! :bassist: Ziricote fingerboard on it, if that helps any.

Elfin-Front-1200_9122a.jpg

Photograph Copyright © Jeffrey P. Scott 2010 All rights reserved.

This photo is pre-TIs so pay no attention to the fact that there is no red silk on the strings, and that there are colored ball ends on them, too!
 
  • Like
Reactions: bholder
#28
Jeff Scott said:
Another fan of TI Jazz Flats on a fretless. I had D'Addario XLs on my Martin Keith Elfin 5 fretless since I got the bass in early 2010; I finally put a set of the TIs on the bass a few months ago and can't see going back to rounds for it. These strings were made for my Elfin! :bassist: Ziricote fingerboard on it, if that helps any.

View attachment 652738
Photograph Copyright © Jeffrey P. Scott 2010 All rights reserved.

This photo is pre-TIs so pay no attention to the fact that there is no red silk on the strings, and that there are colored ball ends on them, too!
Click to expand...
Wow, that is one good-looking bass!
 
#29
First off, nice freaking bass man. I used to play a MM fretless, but it had a pau ferro board. If you want good growl and mwah out of that thing I'd recommend nickel rounds in a light gauge. Sunbeams or the new Dunlop super bright nickels come to mind.

This is just IMO but, I think that many fretless players over think how much rounds will "hurt" their boards. Those musicman basses have pretty thick fingerboards, so you could have it plained several times without any issues. It would probably take you more time that you have to wear that thing out. I'd bet that if you put stainless steel rounds on it, and played an average of 3-4 hours on it a week, it would take 5 years before you'd even need to have it touched up by a good tech. Most of us would be lucky to chew through a fingerboard in our lifetimes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sharpbass and Bob_Ross
#30
davidjbass said:
View attachment 652604 Hi to all I am looking for some advice on what kind of strings I can use on my new fretless 5 string that will give me the growl I love from round wounds but won't chew my ebony fingerboard up. I am a huge Pino Paladino and Mark Egan sound fan. And I know Pino used Roto's. But I know Roto's love to eat fretboards. I want to try to use strings that will make my fretboard last a long time. I plan on playing this new bass a lot. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

D
Click to expand...

First..................that is one crazy gorgeous bass, I love everything that company makes, really.

Secondly, I like either flats or half rounds myself because for me, they give a fretless that stand up, double bass, jazzy sound which is what I'm going for whenever I play my fretless.

You've probably gotten tons of different suggestions by now but I just wanted to add my two cents.

Good luck on whatever you decide.
 
#35
davidjbass said:
View attachment 652604 Hi to all I am looking for some advice on what kind of strings I can use on my new fretless 5 string that will give me the growl I love from round wounds but won't chew my ebony fingerboard up. I am a huge Pino Paladino and Mark Egan sound fan. And I know Pino used Roto's. But I know Roto's love to eat fretboards. I want to try to use strings that will make my fretboard last a long time. I plan on playing this new bass a lot. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

D
Click to expand...

If you're considering strings that are so abrasive they would even chew up an ebony fingerboard, then just get the board epoxied.

MM
 
#36
Jeff Scott said:
Another fan of TI Jazz Flats on a fretless. I had D'Addario XLs on my Martin Keith Elfin 5 fretless since I got the bass in early 2010; I finally put a set of the TIs on the bass a few months ago and can't see going back to rounds for it. These strings were made for my Elfin! :bassist: Ziricote fingerboard on it, if that helps any.

View attachment 652738
Photograph Copyright © Jeffrey P. Scott 2010 All rights reserved.

This photo is pre-TIs so pay no attention to the fact that there is no red silk on the strings, and that there are colored ball ends on them, too!
Click to expand...


OMG that Bass made me shed tears of WOW <3 drooldrooldrooldrool
 
#37
BlushResponse said:
Cool guys like Pino use round wounds to get the sound we all love, and he replaces fretboards all the time too.
Click to expand...
Nothing personal, but what is the source of this piece of information? Pino replaces fingerboards all the time?!?

There are players who experience wear on FL fingerboards no matter what the board is made of and no matter what strings they use. It probably has more to do with their playing technique and the chemical makeup of their sweat than their string choice, IMO.

In 30 years of playing fretless more than half the time and owning many FL basses with fingerboards made of various woods, I have strung my basses with rounds, flats, ground-rounds and pressure-wounds. I have used nickel and stainless steel. I have never had to have a fingerboard dressed. The worst I have ever experienced is needing to sand out some very faint burnishing marks from the windings on rounds which I thought were unsightly. They did not affect playability at all. Five minutes with some 600 grit sandpaper had me back up and running.

That's my story, but not everybody's the same. There are some players who do have problems with fingerboard wear on FL. I believe they are in the minority, personally. Every time someone asks this question on TB (more often than once a month, by the way), we get the same flood of people warning that round wounds will "eat" their fingerboard, but it always seems like only one or two of them have actually experienced any wear firsthand. The rest are repeating what they've read here on TB: "Round wounds will demolish your beautiful fingerboard!" Sorry, I'm not buying it. Yes, fingerboard wear exists, but it's not the plague people keep making it out to be.

I am firmly with the camp that has already stated you should use the strings that give you the tone you like and not give it another thought.

Okay, sorry, rant over. That's a beautiful bass, BTW!
 
  • Like
Reactions: kkaarrll, grrg63, Bob_Ross and 2 others
#38
bholder said:
Wow, that is one good-looking bass!
Click to expand...

sonojono said:
OMG that Bass made me shed tears of WOW <3 drooldrooldrooldrool
Click to expand...
I lucked into that bass when I, by a chance meeting with Martin, I asked if he had any passive basses with him (he had shown me a couple of active basses) and out of the back corner of his booth (NAMM Show 2010) came this bass. After about 10 seconds of playing it I was hooked. :cool:

If you have the June 2010 issue of Bass Player this bass is reviewed in it along with another of Martin's basses. :hyper:
 
  • Like
Reactions: pnchad
#40
If you want the sound of rounds and the ability to go 'darker' on occasion use LaBella tape. They are rounds underneath but they can have a mellow softer sound too with the right techique
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back