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Chris Wood string help.

Feb 15, 2008
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2,877
FL
Well, Ive found the tone I wanna strive for now.. And I need your help TB!

The strings are the main thing. I can dig in harder, and change pickups and such, but I need to know what strings Chris Wood is playing in this video:



Theyre black, so DR Black Beauties come to mind (I highly doubt it, they sound too "flat" to me), or black nylon tapes.

Any help is appreciated! The video is worth the listen, either way! :D
 
Those are definitely tapes. What a fat sound!

Wood was on the cover of Bass Player a year or so ago, with his P Bass that had black strings on it. They look, to me, like they are kind of bumpy. That would mean Fender tapes.

Chris Wood has some of the all time great sounds out there on You Tube. His Hofner with flats sound on the MMW w/Scofield "Chank" is awesome.
 
Chris Wood says he uses black beauties, because he doesnt have to replace them as often, and he uses roundwounds exclusively for live gigs. If you google him, you can find pics where you can see the coating has worn off in big spots. Even in the youtube video you linked, you can see that the coating has worn off close to the bridge. Tape wound wont wear off like that. Another interesting thins is, it looks like he sets the pick ups flat and very low down to the body.
 
The pickups being so low could account for the basyness, he could have the tone down, and the eq could be anything,

I can't remember offhand any tapes with black silks, which they would have to be to not be Black Beauties, from up close looks at his bass.
 
I've read elsewhere that he uses black beauties on that particular P. In one of the other clips from that concert he does some pick work that definitely sounds like rounds. Also, in one several of the close up shots, you can see were the coating has worn off.....

My bet is a well worn in set of DR Black Beauties.
 

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