I have four basses and have gone through over a dozen strings sets to find strings that works well on a particular bass.
One of the few things I learned along the way was my initial ideas of what strings should work were mostly wrong.
The G&Ls 5'ers have proved to be the toughest to match up. I'm almost inclined to the think the 3 piece maple necks on my offshore Korean Zons are stiffer than the quartersawn one piece necks on the G&Ls and so easier to find 5 string sets with workable B strings, but I don't know.
Anyway after about a year of fooling around, I'm to the point here there may be 'better' strings and I may have already ordered and received 'better' strings, but I think I'm at the point where what's in place is 'good enough'
Zon Standard Status GHS Pressure Wounds -- mellow almost sweet tone -- goes a little thumpy in a consistent way up the neck -- in my experience this is very unusual as the B generally goes thumpy before the E, but these stay well matched as just a touch of thumpiness comes along above the 8th fret.
Zon RTK -- this is fast becoming my favorite bass with what I can only assume are pretty aged Dean Markley Blue Steels. great response -- smooth when I play smooth, grit when I dig in. The pickups are no name knockoffs of EMGs, it's not a USA Zon, but what ever it is this thing delivers.
G&L L2500 -- LaBella Quarter rounds -- kind of the natural roll off of the upper end and low end power play -- closest to P bass function in my collection
G&L M2500 -- Dean Markley Helix -- waiting for them to mellow out, but very consistent tone and sustain anywhere on the fretboard which had not been easy to find with this bass. These are exposed cores but long enough for string through so I didn't have to readjust anything. .128 B string which seems to be the 'Goldilocks' spot for this bass -- any fatter and it gets dead and thumpy, any thinner and it's too floppy.
I have sets of nickel plated stings sitting on my table, but at least for now, I'm in no hurry to install them.
One of the few things I learned along the way was my initial ideas of what strings should work were mostly wrong.
The G&Ls 5'ers have proved to be the toughest to match up. I'm almost inclined to the think the 3 piece maple necks on my offshore Korean Zons are stiffer than the quartersawn one piece necks on the G&Ls and so easier to find 5 string sets with workable B strings, but I don't know.
Anyway after about a year of fooling around, I'm to the point here there may be 'better' strings and I may have already ordered and received 'better' strings, but I think I'm at the point where what's in place is 'good enough'
Zon Standard Status GHS Pressure Wounds -- mellow almost sweet tone -- goes a little thumpy in a consistent way up the neck -- in my experience this is very unusual as the B generally goes thumpy before the E, but these stay well matched as just a touch of thumpiness comes along above the 8th fret.
Zon RTK -- this is fast becoming my favorite bass with what I can only assume are pretty aged Dean Markley Blue Steels. great response -- smooth when I play smooth, grit when I dig in. The pickups are no name knockoffs of EMGs, it's not a USA Zon, but what ever it is this thing delivers.
G&L L2500 -- LaBella Quarter rounds -- kind of the natural roll off of the upper end and low end power play -- closest to P bass function in my collection
G&L M2500 -- Dean Markley Helix -- waiting for them to mellow out, but very consistent tone and sustain anywhere on the fretboard which had not been easy to find with this bass. These are exposed cores but long enough for string through so I didn't have to readjust anything. .128 B string which seems to be the 'Goldilocks' spot for this bass -- any fatter and it gets dead and thumpy, any thinner and it's too floppy.
I have sets of nickel plated stings sitting on my table, but at least for now, I'm in no hurry to install them.
I've finally got it down to a science
