Deadest / oldest strings on a recording?

[project_c]

Other than Jamerson, what are your favourite recordings - audio or video - featuring ancient / dead strings? Can be rounds or flats, doesn't matter as long as they are old and dead, and still being used.

 

[J-Bass RMR]

Keith Ferguson / Fabulous Thunderbirds

 

[SpankBazz]

Any Chic record.
Bernard only changed strings when they broke.

 

[Citizen Nara]

If I am not mistaken, Ben Shepherd from Soundgarden loved ancient rounds to the point I always thought they were dead flats, let alone rounds, so Badmotorfinger and onwards

 

[iiipopes]

Duck Dunn never changed strings.

 

[brianrost]

It never mentions if the bass strings are dead in the liner notes, so I don’t really know

 

[smatanovic]

If I am not mistaken, Ben Shepherd from Soundgarden loved ancient rounds to the point I always thought they were dead flats, let alone rounds, so Badmotorfinger and onwards

I was going to add this. Dead heavy gauge GHS boomers. I LOVE his tone.

 

[project_c]

It never mentions if the bass strings are dead in the liner notes, so I don’t really know

It's Talkbass, the collective knowledge here usually goes far beyond liner notes!

 

[zombywoof5050]

Phil Chen has said that he never changed the flats on his Precision.

 

[Kyle_S]

Herbie Flowers comes to mind first for me when I think of that sound. I know he played Rotosound black nylons in some truly beefy gauges (115-65!), but I don't know how long he would've rocked a single set.

 

[KidAmnesia]

Random thought: for most of his career, Jameson's strings weren't that old.

 

[micguy]

If I am not mistaken, Ben Shepherd from Soundgarden loved ancient rounds to the point I always thought they were dead flats, let alone rounds, so Badmotorfinger and onwards

Yep - I know one of their techs, and while they change guitar strings all the time, they are told not to change his bass strings.

 

[pbass2]

George Porter Jr. AFAIK, he's got some seriously vintage rounds on his old P. How old they were at the time of some of those hits like Cissy Strut, no idea. I expect he doesn't change the strings on his Laklands now much if ever.

 

[Citizen Nara]

Yep - I know one of their techs, and while they change guitar strings all the time, they are told not to change his bass strings.

Rusty gauge







I will walk myself out

 

[Ggaa]

Joe Osborn prior to about '74 I think.

 

[Pimpernel Smith]

Joe Osborn on hundreds of recordings. Once, he changed his flat wound strings, and Richard Carpenter ( of The Carpenters) heard them, and told him to get his old strings out of the trash and put the old ones back on his Jazz bass.

 

[winston]

Harvey Brooks on Richie Havens' Follow - sounds like very dead, totally muted, flatpicked. - wonderful song & performances all around!