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BEAD conversion and going back to E

HelpImaRock

HelpImaRock

Jul 1, 2013
5,595
11,146
Capital City
www.fakecanadianisaband.com
#1
I have a Guild Starfire on the way and my intent is to string it with Dunlop flats in BEAD. I'll put the 40 aside and it'll be 60-80-100-120. Obviously, the nut will need to be filed in order for the conversion to work.

But what about those instances when I want to go back to E? The first one that comes to mind is to use a capo. The second is to use a set of tapewounds, like the 60-115 medium scale set that LaBella offers. They'd fit well enough in the filed nut that I should be able to swap strings without it being a nut replacement operation.

My question is, from a tension perspective, Which tapes would most closely match the Dunlop flats? I know we're mostly talking about taped over rounds compared to flats, and the string construction is very different. This bass takes medium scale strings and my options are limited. So this forum's thoughts are greatly appreciated.

And if the answer is "play your Mustang in E", well that's a reasonable solution as well.
 
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#2
I cannot advise much but I have 2 basses before I decided to convert 1 of it to BEAD. After the conversion I have 1 in BEAD and another in EADG.

This would be practical I would say. As my band do switches guitars for different songs tuning so I switch my bass accordingly as well.
 
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#3
HelpImaRock said:
My question is, from a tension perspective, Which tapes would most closely match the Dunlop flats? I know we're mostly talking about taped over rounds compared to flats, and the string construction is very different. This bass takes medium scale strings and my options are limited...
Click to expand...

Tapes in general are lower in tension and more flexible than flats of similar gauges. So, if you want a set of tapes that are similar in tension as Dunlop Flats 60-120, you would probably have to go with something like 70-135 in tapes.
 
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#5
michael_t said:
Wait... Forget what I said above!

I just realized something... You're asking about a set of tapes in EADG that would be close to Dunlop Flats 60-120 in BEAD, correct? That changes the whole perspective.

Sure, I would try the 60-115 in tapes in EADG.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

Do you think the strings under the tape in a 60-115 set would be 45-105, or would they be thicker?
 
#8
HelpImaRock said:
Thanks. Hopefully there won't be that much of a tension difference between the tapes and the flats. We'll find out eventually!
Click to expand...

I do like your thinking in trying to match the tension of Dunlop flats 60-120 in BEAD with La Bella tapes 60-115 in EADG. Very little truss rod tweak and no issue with nut slots. I have a feeling it will work out quite well.
 
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#10
MCS4 said:
If you want to get really technical on this, some manufacturers list tension data for their strings at different tunings (GHS is good about this, for one), so you might be able to look up the actual numbers for the strings you mentioned or some alternative options.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, neither Dunlop or LaBella list their tensions. And as far as I can tell, Dunlop is the only manufacturer of a 5 string flatwound set for medium scale. I figure they should be in the same ballpark as my favored LaBella LTFs on my Mustang. Maybe a little tighter, especially due to the extra 3/4" in scale length on the Guild. But I'm just going on feels, which is why I ask.
 
#11
michael_t said:
I do like your thinking in trying to match the tension of Dunlop flats 60-120 in BEAD with La Bella tapes 60-115 in EADG. Very little truss rod tweak and no issue with nut slots. I have a feeling it will work out quite well.
Click to expand...

I think so too. I'm going to play the Guild with the stock rounds to get a good feel. If I absolutely hate them, which is typical for me with rounds, I have a spare LTF medium scale set I can use. But I know once I convert to BEAD there's no going back. So I need an alternative. Thanks for your thoughts on this. :)
 
#13
HelpImaRock said:
Unfortunately, neither Dunlop or LaBella list their tensions. And as far as I can tell, Dunlop is the only manufacturer of a 5 string flatwound set for medium scale. I figure they should be in the same ballpark as my favored LaBella LTFs on my Mustang. Maybe a little tighter, especially due to the extra 3/4" in scale length on the Guild. But I'm just going on feels, which is why I ask.
Click to expand...
As an aside, there is a handful of others.

Medium-scale flatwound 5-string bass string set options I'm aware of

- Dunlop flatwounds (DBFS40120M and DBFS45125M)

- the La Bella Deep Talkin' Bass flatwound medium scale 5-string set (760FS-B-M) was discontinued (the short-scale one, 760FS-B-S survives)

- medium-scale is a normal ordering option for a number of Galli sets including the Jazz Flat JF45130 from their website.

- the Pyramid Gold flatwound 640/5 may, or may not, be custom-ordered in medium-scale version, by using the ad-hoc online form on their website, or contacting them (auf Englisch is fine) via email. The lowest string could be tweaked, if need be: their largest gauge flatwounds come in 110, 115, 120, 124, 126.


Fin. (AFAIK.)
 
#15
JKos said:
If you’re thinking you need tape wounds only because you will be filing the nut for BEAD, that may not be the case at all. I have taken two basses from BEAD back to EADG and the nut was a non issue both times.
Click to expand...

MrLenny1 said:
I had a bass made for B-G tape wounds. The builder by mistake
made it E-C tapes. Both sets fit well without nut adjustment.
I changed my mind about tapes and now B-G med-light RW fit well also.
Wait & see if it might work.
Click to expand...

I'm not buying anything yet. It'll be a while before I even do the BEAD conversion. I'm just having the conversation out loud now in case this eventuality comes up. So we'll see what happens. But I'm glad to know this option is viable.
 
#18
On some instruments it could bow the top up,
like you occasionally see cheap acoustic twelve-string guitars. B-D would have more tension at pitch than E-G.

And in particular, in the probably rare case this bass would do that, would the warranty cover it with an 'alternate' tuning?

Probably not a concern, but personally I'd want to know. When Starfires debuted, it was a four string only world, E-G.
 
#20
J Wilson said:
On some instruments it could bow the top up,
like you occasionally see cheap acoustic twelve-string guitars. B-D would have more tension at pitch than E-G.

And in particular, in the probably rare case this bass would do that, would the warranty cover it with an 'alternate' tuning?

Probably not a concern, but personally I'd want to know. When Starfires debuted, it was a four string only world, E-G.
Click to expand...

The thing about 12 string guitars is they end up with about twice as much tension on the neck because there's twice as many strings. In this case, I'm subbing out one string thickness for another, and downtuning the whole thing. So there will be an equal or lesser amount of tension on the neck as there is in standard tuning.
 

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