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Hmmm, my first digit is after 1 so maybe the last number (211 on mine) is the number for the month. Not actually sure if it's a true serial number or just an ID number for instruments made in a certain month since the sticker could be picked at random like Fender neckplates were back in the day.
I talked to Jeff Cocco at the La Bella strings booth today at NAMM. He says the tapewounds for U-Bass and Micro Bass are still in development. They don't have an availability date yet and I couldn't twist his arm to make any kind of guess as to when they'll be on the market. He did say they'll be available through the online string websites, like their other strings.
Jeff said the string gauges, before the tape is applied, are 40 - 95. With the tape wound on there, you get a fatter string, and I think it's like their standard tapes, but I wouldn't bet my firstborn on it. He didn't see any problem with there being too much tension on the tops of the acoustic basses.
Pricing is supposed to be the same as their other tapewounds since the manufacturing process is the same.
Jeff said the string gauges, before the tape is applied, are 40 - 95. With the tape wound on there, you get a fatter string, and I think it's like their standard tapes, but I wouldn't bet my firstborn on it. He didn't see any problem with there being too much tension on the tops of the acoustic basses.
Pricing is supposed to be the same as their other tapewounds since the manufacturing process is the same.
They would need to have very low tension. It's like tuning a long-scale bass 9 half tones down and then play the note on the 9th fret
.They would need to have very low tension. It's like tuning a long-scale bass 9 half tones down and then play the note on the 9th fret
Not so much if the proper gauges are used. A .135 B string on a 34" scale has an F# at the 9th fret which is very close to 23" from the bridge so detuning the F# a whole step to E using a .135 gauge string on a 23" scale isn't that much of a stretch (pardon the pun).
The nice folks at Gold Tone were kind enough to sell me one of their solid body prototypes. It has some nicks and scrapes, along with a few extra holes where they were experimenting with strap button location.
It is definitely very solid. The neck has a rounded profile like a 1950's Les Paul.
Maybe production is getting closer, perhaps sometime after winter NAM?
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It is definitely very solid. The neck has a rounded profile like a 1950's Les Paul.
Maybe production is getting closer, perhaps sometime after winter NAM?
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I'd get a solid body one definitely. Would like to see if you can get any sort of decent slap tone out of it.
The nice folks at Gold Tone were kind enough to sell me one of their solid body prototypes. It has some nicks and scrapes, along with a few extra holes where they were experimenting with strap button location.
It is definitely very solid. The neck has a rounded profile like a 1950's Les Paul.
Maybe production is getting closer, perhaps sometime after winter NAM?
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Very cute...any idea on the pricing on these?
Ok, so I tried to follow up with this post directly with La Bella to get some facts, and I was told that there was not a Jeff who worked for the company.
Hey Frank, sorry about that. His name is Eric Cocco. I just looked at the business card. I was writing late last night after a long day.
Well mcontour, how do you like the GT Solid body MicroBass? Could you tell us where do you plug in the cable? Are there batteries, are there electronics, how does it sound and how does it feel, is it comfortable and what does it weigh? It looks sweet. I also forgot to ask what is the overall length of the instrument top of head stock to bottom of body?Thank you for posting.
The note at the 9th fret is a G# and it's 2 whole steps to E, isn't it?
I never played nylon tape flatwounds only simple roundwounds. Playing from the 9th to 21th fret feels and sounds different than playing on the first 12 frets. The shorter the string gets the stiffer it feels. Maybe there is a reason all the micro scale basses use rubber strings?
Oops. You caught me. Don't know what happened there, I either typoed and believed my own typo or miscounted in my age enfeebled mind. Worse part is, I think I may have done it twice.
2 steps is just a bit less of a stretch for a 135 gauge string. The gauges of the strings are not yet known. Perhaps they used an even heftier string for the super short scales. Maybe a little bit of floppiness is what's needed to mimic the tone of rubber strings. Labella is a stringmaker of many years so I would think they could figure it out.
Point was that a heftier string would compensate for any extreme floppiness that would be incurred by using standard scale E string gauge tuned to E on such a short scale. How the Labella's will sound is also currently an unknown. I'd rather try them than speculate so, I'll give them a try when they become available and see if they work for me.
Oops. You caught me. Don't know what happened there, I either typoed and believed my own typo or miscounted in my age enfeebled mind. Worse part is, I think I may have done it twice.
You're not alone. The first time I counted, I came to the same conclusion as you. Maybe we counted in the wrong direction?
I don't know much about string making, but there have to be some other parameters than gauge and length. I have a 0.95 E on my short-scale, which is thinner AND shorter than the average long-scale bass guitar string and it plays just fine (D'Addario EXL220S).
I also expect, that La Bella have figured it out, but I still wonder how they will perform in comparison to the Pahoehoes and Aquilas and why nobody did a micro scale bass with steel strings before.
There Are more parameters, like type and shape of core, but,
gauge is a big part of this.
I have no doubt about the market. This one is simply a case where it hasn't been done well yet. I truly believe there will be a significant market with metal strings. The only alternative to date has been a 60 dollar set of strings. It Should be able to be on the market for closer to half that. Also, for the people who say that a metal string will just make for more boring acoustic electric bass tone - I say, tell that to all the Rob Allen and Carvin fans who are getting amazing tones applying La Bella tapes to an acoustic design. Now add how the tone will shape even further at a shorter scale, and all the ingredients for affordable awesomeness are there.There are an awful lot of people on this planet who would love the tone of a RA Mouse but can't afford that beautiful instrument.
[I think RA is among the most talented luthiers on the planet. That man knows how to build a beautiful bass.]
My SWAG is that they will sound different. I don't think until now has there been as much interest or as many instruments available to make string production viable. The Guild Ashbory in the 80s kind of flopped and the DeArmond Ashbory has been around for a while but has had issues with strings breaking and they're both fretless. Only recently has a fretted design become available. I think thanks to Kala there has been more interest generated in these tiny wonders.
About 20 years ago I purchased a 23.5" scale Danelectro guitar neck at a yard sale and have been on and off developing a fretted "rubber" string version using an Ashbory bridge and their Banjo tuners. When the Kala fretted UBass came along I decided to watch them and hope for a longer scale version. When Goldtone introduced the longer scale fretted MBass I gave up on making my own and bought the MBass. Now I await the release of the Goldtone MBass solidbody.
Are you referring to the Pyramid set for the UBass, or another one (which I doubt, since it would already make two of 'em)?
For completeness's's sake, there's also the Fernandes Pie-Zo (a 25" bass AKA "Nomad" outside Japan) replacement string set available. Standard EABG tuning, gauges .125 (which ties in to mongo2's musings above) to .065, 30 bucks on the ewwbay, or direct, as mentioned here:
No affiliation, never even tried them since I don't own a subshorter myself.
Yet.
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