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Dead E String? (with sound sample)

M

micret

Apr 11, 2017
8
3
#1
Today i restrung my fender precision bass with new La Bella 760FL Deep Talkin Bass Strings and immediately noticed that the E string sounds dead (sounds like i'm palm muting it even though i'm not). i contacted thomann customer service and they are willing to send me a new set. After the video of me playing the bass, i tried them on another p-bass and the result was the same. I looked at a lot of youtube reviews of the strings just now, and on none of them does the e string sound like mine. Before thomann send me another set though i wanted to ask here if you think this is normal or this is indeed a dead e string. Thanks!

Video of me playing the bass:
 
#5
michael_t said:
Based on what I've read, a brand new set of flatwounds with a dead E (or duller than the other three) is quite common, although the degree of dead-ness varies from set to set and from brand to brand.
Click to expand...
I'll second this. I've been playing basses with flats on them, since 1968. Lots of different flats, on lots of different basses. In fact, I've hardly ever played a bass without flats on it. And while not all flats come out of the box with a "Dull/Dead E string"... An awful lot of them do. Assuming that your E string isn't really a dud; that it isn't twisted - or is internally broken? What normally happens, is that as you play them - and how long you do, depends on who's flats you're using - the E string will actually start to brighten up a little (don't ask me how; it just does), and the other strings will lose their 'zing' (like strings normally do). When they all meet somewhere in the middle? They're broken in; and, if you take reasonable care of them? They will sound that way for a long time. My oldest Flats, currently, are a set of Fender 9050L's. They're about... 9 years old, at least; have been on 3 different basses; and are about to go back onto one of them. They sounded just fine when I took them off; and, if I don't screw them up re-installing them, they'll still sound that way. You need to break flats in; so, just keep playing that bass; La Bella flats generally don't take too long to break in...:thumbsup:
 
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#6
micret said:
Today i restrung my fender precision bass with new La Bella 760FL Deep Talkin Bass Strings and immediately noticed that the E string sounds dead (sounds like i'm palm muting it even though i'm not). i contacted thomann customer service and they are willing to send me a new set. After the video of me playing the bass, i tried them on another p-bass and the result was the same. I looked at a lot of youtube reviews of the strings just now, and on none of them does the e string sound like mine. Before thomann send me another set though i wanted to ask here if you think this is normal or this is indeed a dead e string. Thanks!

Video of me playing the bass:
Click to expand...

Sounds like a flatwound E string to me.
What I like doing on a set of flats, is slapping on a pressure wound E. It evens things out quite a bit.

But, try Chromes and Cobalts. They are both very even, very lively sets. I prefer chromes. They just have that sound to them. Cobalt sound like a set of worn rounds after a week or so. Chromes sound like lively flats.
 
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#7
micret said:
Today i restrung my fender precision bass with new La Bella 760FL Deep Talkin Bass Strings and immediately noticed that the E string sounds dead (sounds like i'm palm muting it even though i'm not). i contacted thomann customer service and they are willing to send me a new set. After the video of me playing the bass, i tried them on another p-bass and the result was the same. I looked at a lot of youtube reviews of the strings just now, and on none of them does the e string sound like mine. Before thomann send me another set though i wanted to ask here if you think this is normal or this is indeed a dead e string. Thanks!

Video of me playing the bass:
Click to expand...


Compare to my early day fresh 760FL on my pbass, the E string sound much more lively and healthy than yours.
Fresh from pack 760FL just sound like beefy tone roundwound bass string.

But GHS Flat i been use has similar thing like your.

Hopefully the replacement set are fine. Good luck.
 
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#8
If you don't like that E-string you're not gonna like the rest of the strings either in a couple of weeks/months when they're broken in. The E-string is more or less what LaBellas are supposed to sound like. The rest of the strings just haven't gotten there yet. They won't get quite as "dead" as the E-string but close.

It's not unusual for the E-string to mellow out faster than the rest but LaBella DTFs are weird. Some sets are all bright out of the box, others are far more mellow, almost broken in. They're wonderful sounding strings though, if you like that kinda tone/feel/vibe.
 
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#11
Well, I had a problem with a set of La Bella LTFs. More evident than I hear in this video. The E string had a much lower volume than the others. Even increasing the pickup height it was not possible to attenuate the difference. I waited a year and it didn't get better. I sent a message to La Bella who promptly sent me another E string. I'm waiting for the string to arrive.

And a side note: Not every company treats consumer relations in such a positive way, it deserves to be mentioned, just as we do when we feel prejudiced.
 
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#12
JeezyMcNuggles said:
Sounds like a flatwound E string to me.
What I like doing on a set of flats, is slapping on a pressure wound E. It evens things out quite a bit.

But, try Chromes and Cobalts. They are both very even, very lively sets. I prefer chromes. They just have that sound to them. Cobalt sound like a set of worn rounds after a week or so. Chromes sound like lively flats.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I will definitely try chromes next then!
 
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#13
Deleted member 271037 said:
If you don't like that E-string you're not gonna like the rest of the strings either in a couple of weeks/months when they're broken in. The E-string is more or less what LaBellas are supposed to sound like. The rest of the strings just haven't gotten there yet. They won't get quite as "dead" as the E-string but close.

It's not unusual for the E-string to mellow out faster than the rest but LaBella DTFs are weird. Some sets are all bright out of the box, others are far more mellow, almost broken in. They're wonderful sounding strings though, if you like that kinda tone/feel/vibe.
Click to expand...
I don't dislike the sound of the e string, i just don't like that the other strings sound more alive. If all the strings sounded like the e string i would really like it or also if the e string sounded like the other 3
 
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#14
Compared to the other strings, the E has the highest proportion of lower harmonic content and fundamental vs upper harmonic content. The overall sound seems compressed to me, which is going to make the E seem even less bright. The relative distances between the strings and the pickup polepieces might be playing a role here too, but I think most of the issue is coming from somewhere in the signal path rather than the strings themselves.
 
#15
My set of LaBella DTF strings was several years old and I still thought the E sounded dead and undefined compared to the other three which I loved. A couple months ago the E broke right at the tuner, so I replaced it with a D'addario Chrome E. Of course the Chrome was very bright at first, and after a week it still sounded so different that I took it off and tried a different brand for a while. But in the end I stuck it out, and now two months later it blends well with the rest of the strings. I'm much happier with it than with the original old LaBella, even though I'm probably breaking all the rules.
PS: The new Chrome sounded like the A, D and G do in your video. Your LaBella's will lose that zing pretty soon. Unfortunately the E might go even deader, like mine did. Having a little more growl and clarity on the lowest notes is better IMO than having mud or thud down there.
 
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#18
micret said:
Today i restrung my fender precision bass with new La Bella 760FL Deep Talkin Bass Strings and immediately noticed that the E string sounds dead (sounds like i'm palm muting it even though i'm not). i contacted thomann customer service and they are willing to send me a new set. After the video of me playing the bass, i tried them on another p-bass and the result was the same. I looked at a lot of youtube reviews of the strings just now, and on none of them does the e string sound like mine. Before thomann send me another set though i wanted to ask here if you think this is normal or this is indeed a dead e string. Thanks!

Video of me playing the bass:
Click to expand...

For what its worth- The Great Dead E String phenomenon
 
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