Fretless Players: What strings?

[ibz]

+1 (i'm not kidding!)

'01 MIA fretless jazz, rosewood board. i have a set of Roto TruBass tapewounds on there now. awesome!
http://[malware url removed].net/vicious-smiley-1815.gif

Oh I like my tapes, no doubt.

 

[m.oreilly]

roto funk masters on an ebony board. very pleased with them.

 

[Jamiebass]

I have nickle rounds on my fretless uncoated rosewood-necked Vintage. I like the sound but I can see physical damage to the fingerboard. Will neck damage actually effect the sound or just ruin the looks?

It will effetct the sound if it gets bad enough. I had a Yamaha fretless for years, and I never used flats. I eventualy had to sand down the fretboard (untreated rosewood) because the grooves ( ! ) were so bad under the g string, I couldn't "fret" notes. Sounded verry similar to a dead fret, or real bad fret buzz.

 

[AndroWal]

DR Highbeams.

Ebony fingerboards mostly...on my Wals...my Zon of course has their fingerboard. Although I use SS roundwounds, it takes years and years for the boards to need dressing. On one of my Wals that I used every day for 14 years, I had the fingerboard dressed only once in that period. Softer woods such as rosewood, and maybe pau ferro might need dressing sooner. If you have a good piece of ebony or the like, I wouldn't worry at all about using SS roundwounds....any manufacturer that you like...epoxy is not always necessary and on some basses just makes the sound to bright and clacky... I like the DR Highbeams as they sound great, come out of the box feeling great, have great flexibility and stay bright longer.

 

[Matt R.]

I have nickle rounds on my fretless uncoated rosewood-necked Vintage. I like the sound but I can see physical damage to the fingerboard. Will neck damage actually effect the sound or just ruin the looks?

I personally have never had a problem with marring of this kind. You would have to really have some deep furrows before playing became a problem. I did the epoxy thing to my bass and it sounds and plays much better

 

[rusty66]

I have fender black nylon tape wounds on my Tomkins fretless. (maple coated neck). I was given a set to try out with huge worries & concerns. Best fretless sound Ive heard in a long time. Plenty of Mwah, bright, easy to play & no wear on the board at all. Highly reccomended.

My two cents!

Cheers

Rusty

 

[the low one]

I've tried all sorts and just prefer flats.

 

[Gintaras]

I have a frankenjazz with a maple board. I had sit silencers on it and really liked them but when I replaced them with DR Black Beauties that were sitting around. Brighter sound with more mwah. Next project is to epoxy the fingerboard.

 

[Tom Howland]

I like all the below.
Depending on the bass.

1-Ken Smith Compressors.
Smooth feel, warm, tone.
2-TI-flats.
Low tension, balanced tone last forever.
3-TI-Jazz-rounds.
Even, warm, but brighter than TI-flats.
4-DR-Sunbeams.
Lower tension, smooth feel, bright, but warm.
I just got a set, and likr these a lot.

 

[atruedinguss]

I have a Squier Vintage Fretless Jazz bass and use D'Addario nickel rounds on it. I want to replace the nut and bridge sometime, but that's beside the point. Sure, they scratch the fingerboard, but I love the timbre they give. If I want warm, I switch to my neck pickup and play nearer to the fingerboard.