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No problem at all, the help is still appreciated. I love the strings otherwise. Even if they don't work then at least I learned something through first hand experience.
I was hoping it might have just been a defective string, but being that it happened on the thinnest string I am not sure. That would likely be the first string to go if the tension was too high.
Is it possible you may have been tuning it too high, I did that once thinking I was in the correct octave and snapped a string.
Here’s a question for Gold Tone ME solid body fretless players (note: my acoustic GT bass does not have this issue);
- in an attempt to get closer to a genuine UB ‘jazz pizz’ sound - especially walking bass lines with that legato type ring - I switched my white thunderguts for LaBella flats.
However, the La Bella’s are producing distorted sound - a definite fuzz, as opposed to a rattle. Really not the clean sound I wanted at all.
First thing I did was replace the battery (no joy). I’ve adjusted the action as best I can. If I roll off the gain (i.e. volume) it’s a bit better - but the fuzz is still there. Otherwise, reducing the treble gets rid of most of the fuzz - but then the sound is far too wooly. Not a satisfactory solution.
Does anyone have a similar experience with the solid body FL, or can anyone recommend a ‘fix”?
- in an attempt to get closer to a genuine UB ‘jazz pizz’ sound - especially walking bass lines with that legato type ring - I switched my white thunderguts for LaBella flats.
However, the La Bella’s are producing distorted sound - a definite fuzz, as opposed to a rattle. Really not the clean sound I wanted at all.
First thing I did was replace the battery (no joy). I’ve adjusted the action as best I can. If I roll off the gain (i.e. volume) it’s a bit better - but the fuzz is still there. Otherwise, reducing the treble gets rid of most of the fuzz - but then the sound is far too wooly. Not a satisfactory solution.
Does anyone have a similar experience with the solid body FL, or can anyone recommend a ‘fix”?
After investigating the above mentioned problem further - now I'm suspecting the problem lies in the dodgy seating of the piezo pick up; sometimes when I apply pressure to the bridge the sound 'cleans itself up' - only to revert back to a muddy fuzz. More later..
Those ceramic saddles are notorious for imbalanced sound, even though the saddle has slots to separate the four parts, it's still only one piece. The tray the saddle sits in has four individual pickups, so sometimes the saddle does not put even pressure on the them. The remedy I found here on TB years ago is to remove the saddle, cut all the way through the slots to make four separate pieces (i used a thin Xacto saw blade), carefully replace the pieces in the tray, you might use a little tape temporarily to do so. I've done this to four or five of my bass ukes that worked perfectly.
Many thanks - that's a great eye-opener into the whole 'signal production mechanism' - I may well take your advice in due course. But for now, I have adopted the fix recommended by Tim Skaggs (thanks also to you) re: widening the slot 'by a hair'. I've got the thunderguts back on right now, & they sound super sweet. Be interesting to see how the LaBella flats sound now.. but TBH, the thunderguts sound so nice now, I'm tempted to stick with them for a good while longer..
Well - in the end I've gone with your suggestion (after having tried Tim Skaggs' idea re: widening the slot 'by a hair'- it worked temporarily) because I think the problem is definitely more akin to what you have described. Although it seems a bit brutal at first, I sawed up the saddle, then had to experiment by trial & error - for ages - until I got a decent sound (see photos!). And for anyone else looking at these pics - believe me - it was the only way to get the pick-up working properly. Now the sound is really sweet - but I suspect its not a very good long term solution.
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I guess I didn't explain it clearly enough, you cut off way too much of each section and did not replace the black end caps. Using a very thin blade through the existing slots is all you needed to do. When done, it should look very much like it did before the cuts. I have an extra saddle I can send you.
I'm considering buying a used Gold tone 25 with Labella Silverback strings. Do you think a trade for an Ibanez AEB10e acoustic bass is a good deal?
I just tried out the new Thunderblacks on my 23” MB fretless. First impression: Very similar in sound and feel to the original whites.
I think they are the same just a different color.
I have been using the Thunder Browns on my bass uke and really like them. They are better than the red's.
In my experience, they are a little less sticky, but what turned me off to any poly strings is that in humid conditions, they all get sticky, so I went exclusively with Galli flatwound 20.5" and 23".
No. They are like the red's and infused with copper. At least the e and the a are. The e and a are also smaller diameter than the blacks and whites.
Here is a review.
Not quite — the stickiness is still there, but not as pronounced. Reading the other comments makes me think the blacks may have more similarities to the browns. I do notice the D and G strings to be a tad smoother (and glossier in appearance), but that was also the case with the whites. As far as sound goes, IMO they have that same “growl” that the whites have.
Can’t use the Gali flats on my GT MBass due to intonation issues or I would already own a set.
I can’t go the slightest bit of sticky. My body chemistry makes it worse and no amount of powder or oil cures the problem.
