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Advice on strings for piezo bridge, Spectorcore bass

#2
I've got D'Addario nickels (at the present) on one with the same bridge- they sound great on the mag pickups, the piezo, or blended.
I tried LaBella White (Copper) tapes out of curiosity (from another thread) and they don't work very well on this type piezo bridge (tho I really like them on a maple/maple 6 string, active mag pickups), as others have also found out: I think the saddles/piezos are not as sensitive as the piezo saddles on A/E basses, and the nylon wrapping damps them a little too much- just my opinion. When I pressed just a little harder on the saddles, or tuned up a bit (creating more pressure on the saddle) they worked better.
I'll try diff strings as I go along, but that's all I can help with at this point.
 
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#4
I really like the tonal balance and feel, including the flexibility on the maple/maple/rosewood fretted bass w/active pickups that they're now on,
but the for some reason they seemed to sound relatively 'dead' when they were on an alder/maple/rosewood (w/passive pickups) bass before that,
and that bass doesn't at all sound that way with nickel or s/s strings. I don't know why there was such a difference. No piezo's on either of those. It was another bass that has that same kind of piezo bridge that I tried out of curiosity. The piezo sounds great with nickel or s/s, tho.
No way to know in advance how any particular string set will sound on any particular bass 'til they are tried, IMO.
 
#6
Im not really familiar with the Spectorcore bass's...but on my FBASS as the piezos are in the bridge saddle I used FBASS strings...with the exposed cores..
I find the exposed cores, even on my other basses bring out the full tone...and true contact with the saddle...intonation is perfect
Good luck
 
#7
Re: "I have a Spectorcore 5 on the way and I was wondering about which strings to use as well considering it's a 35" scale. The strings I use are only available on long scale, not extra long scale. Anyone use standard length strings on 35" scale basses?"

Most 'long' string sets will work fine on 35" scale, as long as it's not strung thru-body. I've only found a couple strings that had the outer wrap end just before the nut.
If in doubt, measure the distance from your ball end anchor to the nut, then check first with Jason at BassStringsOnline as he knows what the string wrap lengths are for the strings he sells.
Also, mention that you're a TB member for a great VIP pricing on the strings as well.
 
#8
Hello. I removed the original set as I didn't like those round wound on the fretless, giving a lot of finger noise.
I love La Bella 760N, I placed those but tey are too thick so I had to file the nut grooves. Then I realised that tape wound don't work on this piezo bridge, because it need the electrical contact with the string. This is written on the Spector web page but...
So I removed a short part of tape wound just in correspondance with the saddles, then I protected the cut tape by heat shrink tube, and it worked. And the sound is great!
But honestly, next time I will place D'addario Chromes, and avoid all this trouble.
IMG_0681.JPG
 
#9
That is a great idea, but IMO, it's not so much the electrical contact as the nylon wrap dampens the vibration (if you had pressed on the string at the saddle, it would have 'sounded').
I have a set of La Bella tapes that I cannot use on a fretless because the B and E will not seat in the bridge- too large in diameter, and the silk is on the saddle (I see you cut the silk back on the B string, also).
I may try your idea of using heat-shrink tubing, then cutting back the silk.
 
#11
When I had a Spectorcore a few years back, the best string for me was the DR Legend Flats. This was after trying a few different ronds, including the DR Hellborg. The Legend Flats gave a very natural sound with the piezo, and were nice and full with the magnetic (EMG-HZ was replaced with an SGD Neo-3).
 

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