Problem is the bass is a 7 string. Are there any sets offered that would be best for the neck? I would hate to ruin the board due to improper gear.
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First fret less...what strings are best?
- Thread starter Brian7StringNY
- Start date
Flats will give a more uprighty sound & be easier on the fretboard. Dunno who makes a 7 string set.
Rounds give more mwah but are harder on the board.
Go for the sound you like. Fingerboard maintenance isn't very hard to learn & the tools aren't very expensive.
Rounds give more mwah but are harder on the board.
Go for the sound you like. Fingerboard maintenance isn't very hard to learn & the tools aren't very expensive.
I'm sorry, but I have no patience with this thought pattern. Use the strings that give you the sound you need to make the music you hear. The wear on the fingerboard is the price of playing fretless. To think otherwise is the same as not wanting to drive your car due to wear on the tires.
jte
jte
Well, if the sound of rounds is what you hear, then use them. My untreated rosewood fingerboard lasted about seven years with variouis stainless and nickel rounds on it. And replacing the board with a thick chunk of ebony only cost about $150 and it's lasted about 13 years with only a light buffing of steel wool once a year.
My point is to choose your strings for the sound needed and accept the wear. If flats are the sound you like that's a good reason to use them. But to avoid wear on an instrument but accept a compromise in sound defeats the purpose of making the sound in the first place.
"Needless" is the critical factor. And for the sound that attracts many people to fretless in the first place, it's round wound strings. You can avoid needless wear by maintaining a light touch with the both hands, by avoiding side-to-side vibrato, and by experimenting with different strings. I know Jaco used Rotosound RS-66, which have a deadly and deserved reputation for being very abrasive (hard stainless alloy and a coarse outer wrap). But I've found other stainless rounds that work well for the sound but aren't nearly as abrasive. My fretless has also had TI flats, GHS Precision flats, and GHS Brite-Flats (a moddified roundwound), but for my music it's gotta be rounds.
jte
My point is to choose your strings for the sound needed and accept the wear. If flats are the sound you like that's a good reason to use them. But to avoid wear on an instrument but accept a compromise in sound defeats the purpose of making the sound in the first place.
"Needless" is the critical factor. And for the sound that attracts many people to fretless in the first place, it's round wound strings. You can avoid needless wear by maintaining a light touch with the both hands, by avoiding side-to-side vibrato, and by experimenting with different strings. I know Jaco used Rotosound RS-66, which have a deadly and deserved reputation for being very abrasive (hard stainless alloy and a coarse outer wrap). But I've found other stainless rounds that work well for the sound but aren't nearly as abrasive. My fretless has also had TI flats, GHS Precision flats, and GHS Brite-Flats (a moddified roundwound), but for my music it's gotta be rounds.
jte
I've got D'Addario Half Rounds on my old fretless Jazz (and have for years). Easy on the neck but brighter than flats. FWIW, Mike Lull did some work on that bass and commented on how good they sounded.
Keep in mind that the mere mention of half-rounds can result in high-tempearture flames here. 
That said, I love half-rounds on fretless. I have them on my 6 but I don't think they make a high F or low F#.
That said, I love half-rounds on fretless. I have them on my 6 but I don't think they make a high F or low F#.
It looks like they make an F, but I don't see an F# at the following link:
[This invalid link has been removed]
Bass string info. starts on page 10...
[This invalid link has been removed]
Bass string info. starts on page 10...
Thanks for all the info and opinion. I will most likely go with rounds and deal with fingerboard maintenance when required.
Cheers!
Cheers!
just my 2 cents, I love rounds on my fretless, it made me decomission my fretted basses i've used for the last 15 to 20 yrs. you get a nice little growl (IMO),and the tone is awsome, to me anyways
