Carvin Players

On my LB75P:

1) Stock Carvin's
2) DR Fat Beams
3) Ken Smith Rock Masters
4) LaBella Hard Rockin (in the mail)


I have not found a low B yet that I am satisfied with. The search continues.

 

Give a try to the Zon Regular 5 String... it's officially called UltraSonic Stainless 5-string bass set regular gauge ($37)

 

1. stock
2. D'Addario XL170
3. Dean Markley Will Lee's SR2000

I like the odd sizes (.047, .067, .087, .107, .127). They just seem to feel better than the .050's or the .045's. Also, they are tapered so that only the core rests on the bridge (and not the winding). I like 'em, others do not.

If I had trouble finding them, I would go back to the D'Addario's.

 

When I was into the bright stainless steel thing, nothing really did it for me but RotoSound RS66LD. But I haven't used them in a while. I've been very happy with the Carvin strings nickel roundwounds. They're made for us by LaBella. I've been told I need to check out some Elixers, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. My V440T I bought on eBay has Trace Elliot strings on it because that's what it came with and I haven't gotten around to changing them. I'm not real thrilled with them. But I don't really play that bass much, it's more of a novelty.

 

On my B5, Carvin nickel rounds sound the best so far and have lasted a good long time. In fact, I have not had a set of nickel plated rounds on any bass that have lasted as long as these have.

I in fact had a set of Elixers on it but the B string went dead in a only a couple of weeks.

 

my favorite string when I was playing an LB75 tuned tenor were the purple silked Ken Smith steels.... "Rock Masters" I think

 

The stock strings are perfectly fine. After a few weeks I swapped 'em for DR Hi Beams and was happier, but still, the stock Carvin's are fine.

 

I've never changed the roundwound strings that came on my lb75f 5 years ago. The sustain hasn't suffered, but the old strings and the fact that it is frettless, make it definately a more round and less bright sounding instrument. I play it so much that I am tempted to change them, but it sounds so good now, why bother to change.

If I had a fretted carvin, I would probably have changed the strings a couple of times by now, but when you like to cut the highs anyway, it becomes less vital to change the strings often.

 

That was the first thing I changed on both my B5's. The Carvin strings were terrible, almost made me return my first one!

Once I put on D'Addario XL170-5's.....whole new bass!

 

On my fretless 5 I prefer the tapewounds that you can get through Carvin. On my Fretted 6 I'm using TI rounds.

 

I was given a set of stainless Ken Smith Rock Masters by a well-known bass maker, and I had to raise the action SO high just to get them to stop buzzing. I left them on my LB75 for 2 days, then tossed them.......................

After 20+ years of playing Ernie Ball Super Slinky (pink pack) guitar strings, and some 10+ years of playing Ernie Ball Super Slinky 5-string bass strings (green pack), I went back to the Ernie Balls, lowered the action way back down and I have been gigging steadily in a classic rock band, and very happy with the EB's..........................

 

I recently switched to Daddario Pro Steels on my LB 75. .135 B string sounds like thunder. These strings last really well, and have a great, defined top end. Before that, I was using a custom set of chromium alloy strings made for me by Phil Petillo, with a .139 B. These were a little more "polite" than the Daddarios, but also sounded great.

 

sounds like they were a lesser tension then the strings you truss rod were set too. When I switched from Roto Swing bass strings I had to mess with the rod at least 4 or 5 times over a 2 week period.

I've played nothing be stainless steels since the early 80s. Rotos to start, then Smiths. I had a deal on GHS stuff and stayed with their Super Steels but never really dug them. Now I usually string with SIT Rock Bright Steels or D'Addario Pro Steels. Both are killer Stainless rounds IMO/E.

 

I used their flatwounds on my fretless for a while before I switched over to D'addario roundwounds (I they're its D'addario. And I'm not really sure if I spelled it right.)

 

Carvin strings are made by LaBella...they are the same strings as the Deep Talkin' Bass.

 

GHS Brite Flats.

 

tenor 5-string? how do u tune that C-G-D-A-E or F-C-G-D-A?

 

The strings that came with my LB76F are the best strings i've ever used, I used Daddario's after that and the low B sounded very faint, then i switched the low B to a Elixer Nano web of my 5-String trail pack, and it still sounds faint, I got my LB75 used so i don't what strings came on it, I've used Blue Steel and Ernie Ball strings and I use the Ernie balls and they sound fine, the B sounds just as good as the rest of the strings

 

I actually tuned it E-A-D-G-B... like a guitar tuned an octave lower with a broken High E string. There was no internet, hardly a bass specific mag, just me with no real means of learning what was in my head but to take guitar lessons and teach myself the bass I wanted to play.