I'm still searching for a good replacement set of strings that my Ibanze fretless came with. The strings were not new, sounded ok, but I could see that the D'Addario ball ends were shedding their paint colors. They had to be old. And so I tried a set of Sandberg SS 40-128 strings, very similar to the gauge that the bass had when I purchased it. It was obvious from the start that they had a different, stiffer tension as I had to adjust the truss rod. I didn't have these strings on for a day except I left the G string on as the original 1st string just didn't have any oomph left. The replacement G blends well. But eventually I will have to change the strings.
With this particular bass a SR375F I seem to like lighter gauge (less tensioned) strings as it is effortless to play which I think helped with an almost immediate adaptation, having had no fretless experience before except for class cello 50 years ago.
I seem to be OK with rounds, but flats would be ok if they were the right ones. But Jaco used rounds, didn't he?
Well...
Honestly? I don't know what Jaco used. And, I really don't much care. I'm not Jaco; I'll never be able to play like Jaco; and, I don't much care for the music he played, anyway. But,
YES; he was an awesome player. I've just never really wanted to sound like anybody else. I have enough trouble sounding like a competent bass player, as it is... Anyhow...
I have 4 fretless basses. 2 of them came to me with flat wounds that I'm pretty satisfied with. One came with some lumpy, gnarly tape wounds that went into the trash as soon as the initial function check was done - and were eventually replaced with a set of tapes that I've used before - and like a lot. The other one came with a set of rounds that you'd expect it to come with - and, like those weird tape wounds, didn't last much past the initial function check.
I have no problem with rounds on a fretless bass - as long as it isn't
my fretless bass, Or, any of my basses. My fingers are badly frostbitten, and nerve damaged from other things, too. Round wounds, to me, feel like I'm running my fingers up and down a very aggressive wood rasp. So, all but one of my 27 basses wear tapes or flats. Even my guitars wear flats... The one bass that wears rounds, wears TI JR324 Jazz Rounds; which are about as much like flats as rounds get, IMO. So...
In my admittedly limited experience with fretless basses, which flats would be "right"? I'd have to say; lighter gauge flats; preferably round core; and as flexible as you can stand. Of my fretless basses that wear flats?
- Schecter Stiletto Studio 4FL. It same from the factory with EB Group IV Flats. Don't know if they're hex- or round-core, but they are light gauge; as flexible as I think is necessary to play a fretless like it should be played; and on this active bass? Man, do they sound good. Barring some unlikely revelation, these are what this bass will always wear.
-
Birdsong Fusion Lined Fretless. Unless you request something else? Birdsongs ship with D'Addario ECB
82 Chromes. The 34" scale only ones. Kinda weird, since Birdsong basses are 31" scale, but... whatever. I was... skeptical... about them, as I don't like - or use - D'Addario strings, as a rule. And. I'm not a fan of Chromes, in particular. But... I like these strings - on
this bass. According to Birdsong's owner, their basses - and their pickups in particular - are made to use these strings. I believe him, too. Other than being a little stiffer than I'd like the strings on a fretless bass to be? The bass plays - and sounds - marvelous... I can't really see myself replacing them with anything else...
- G&L Kiloton Lined Fretless. From their Custom shop, since it's fretless - and left handed. It came with the usual D'Addario Rounds; which, as usual, didn't last much past the initial function check. I replaced them with a set of La Bella LTF-4A Low Tension Flats. Honestly? I think these flats were
MADE for a fretless bass. Smooth as silk; as flexible as you could want flats on a fretless to be - but not an iota more; and... OMG. On this bass? The sound is to die for..
So... like I said; use rounds on your fretless - by all means. Lots of people do - and really like them. I
might like them, too; if they didn't kill my fingers. But, they do, so... I use flats, and tapes. My other fretless - a Canadian-made, '93 Fury Anthem lined fretless, wears tape wounds. It was built to wear them - and nothing else. When I replaced the weird, gnarly tapes it came to me with, with a set of TI Jazz Flats? I got ungodly, banshee noises out of it, that I pray to the Lord I NEVER hear again. A set of Roto TruBass 88 Tapes cured that... Now, it sounds like it was built to sound - as close to an upright bass as an electric bass guitar can get... The other 3, I can play pretty much like a fretted bass - if I want. But, the Fury Anthem? Uhh... no. It's not happy at all, unless you play it like a fretless bass. Play it like an upright fretless bass? That's what it was made for...
.
