By the way, has anybody mentioned the cool black silk that lines up perfectly?
(2014 Am Std P, strung thru-body)
(2014 Am Std P, strung thru-body)
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I simply can't afford to experiment with different basses and amps/cabs, so I figure for $20 a pop I can at least allow myself some fun with strings.
I'm in the same exact position as well. And before I started experimenting with different brands and types of strings, I thought "Strings are Strings". Of the different brands I've tried, Pressurewounds are the most radically different set I've tried, and from a lifespan standpoint, they're right there with Infeld Superalloys, - another Alloy 52 string.
Oddly, the Superalloys reminded me of Boomers from a tone and surface feel standpoint. The Superalloys were a smidge brighter than Boomers, but I much prefer the tension of Boomers. Now, IF only GHS made an "Alloy 52 Boomers", that would be something! This said, I very much love my Boomers just the way they are!
By the way, has anybody mentioned the cool black silk that lines up perfectly?
(2014 Am Std P, strung thru-body)
Yes, I have!
- Sep 9, 2007
- 5,309
- 4,977
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Eventide, GHS Strings, G&L Guitars, NS Design, Tsunami Cables
We did; Boomers B52s were exactly what you described. They were discontinued because they didn't sell.
I thought you folks did. What a shame players didn't catch on to them, - myself included.
I thought you folks did. What a shame players didn't catch on to them, - myself included.
Alloy 52 Boomers may be redundant when GHS already offers the PWs (rollerwound), the Progressives (round) and the Brite Flats (groundwound).
- Sep 9, 2007
- 5,309
- 4,977
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Eventide, GHS Strings, G&L Guitars, NS Design, Tsunami Cables
I thought you folks did. What a shame players didn't catch on to them, - myself included.
To be honest, they weren't anything remarkable. And because nickel-iron as a material is more expensive than nickel-plated steel, they were just a more expensive variant of Boomers. Slightly brighter, but not enough to warrant the pricetag.
It also bears to mention that marketing was against the strings already, due to the name. Because Bass Boomers have a specific tonal "footprint," having a set of strings using a widely different material than what Boomers are known probably led a lot of people to say they didn't sound anything like what they were used to. Whereas something like Roundcore Bass Boomers works well in that regard, because they're made with the same materials, but a slight change.
What was the difference between the alloy 52 Boomers (allegedly unremarkable) and the Progressives (wholly remarkable)?
- Sep 9, 2007
- 5,309
- 4,977
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Eventide, GHS Strings, G&L Guitars, NS Design, Tsunami Cables
The Boomers B52 were designed by taking the Bass Boomers specs and changing the final cover.
Progressives were designed as their very own string, from the ground up.
By the way, has anybody mentioned the cool black silk that lines up perfectly?
(2014 Am Std P, strung thru-body)
not too perfect, but almost...
My only wish... is that I can have a plain high-F .020p string with the same black silk.
If the fretboard is fairly soft (cheaper charges of Rosewood, for example) they still cause pretty heavy wear of the fingerboard.
- Sep 9, 2007
- 5,309
- 4,977
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Eventide, GHS Strings, G&L Guitars, NS Design, Tsunami Cables
Sure, softer wood shows wear more than harder wood, like ebony. But, and I've said this before, ANY string when plucked on a fretless is, in general terms, vibrating metal against a piece of wood. In the construction world, that's called a saw; even flatwounds do this to a certain degree. The best deterrent against fingerboard wear is good technique.
If you can wear out a fretless board so badly it needs to be replaced in less than 5 years of normal use I will buy you a new one.
+1. My plucking hand is anything but delicate. I really dig in at times, to get that growl out the notes, but my "fretting" hand technique is pretty light. My fretless P-Bass has a Warmoth neck with an ebony fingerboard. My local guitar tech finished the fingerboard with Fullerplast. I've used numerous brands of roundwounds on it, stainless steel and nickel plated, and other than some scratches in the finish from the string's outwraps, it's perfect. I think I've had this bass since the early 90's, and it's seen lots of miles.
I know some fretless players prefer the slightly warmer sound of a bare fretless fingerboard, though. But I think with a lighter touch on the strings with the "fretting" hand, any decent fretless fingerboard will hold up for a very long time. Even longer if you use strings with a smooth, or smoother surface.
I have a set of PWs on my Nate Mendel P, love these strings. Next change I get, I’m going to pick up a couple more sets for my other basses.
on the contrary... as a wall decor, the more the merrier...Well there's your problem. That contraption has too many strings. Basses have four!
I have a Valenti J 5-string that has an ash body and maple board, Sadowsky preamp. It's one of the most comfortable basses I've played, but boy is it bright. With steel strings it's unacceptably clicky. With nickel rounds, it's still growly enough to do the rock Geddy thing, but I play in a horn funk group. Either way, I find myself rolling off the tone control more than I want to, because that tends to pull out some of the mids that I'd prefer to keep in.
I just ordered a set of Pressurewounds to see how they tame back the high end. Based on what I read in these threads, they could be just the thing to keep this particular instrument in the roundwound ballpark but to make it a little more laid-back sounding. I'll report in.
I just ordered a set of Pressurewounds to see how they tame back the high end. Based on what I read in these threads, they could be just the thing to keep this particular instrument in the roundwound ballpark but to make it a little more laid-back sounding. I'll report in.
