Great job in that other thread.
And, cool to see that the design was tweaked after your first feedback.
Mimmo is a master at all this. I'm really looking forward to testing them out when they arrive.
My test will be on a 23" scale 4 string.
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Guitar Scale Acoustic Basses
- Thread starter SBassman
- Start date
Great job in that other thread.
And, cool to see that the design was tweaked after your first feedback.
Mimmo is a master at all this. I'm really looking forward to testing them out when they arrive.
My test will be on a 23" scale 4 string.
Thanks. Yeah Mimmo (and everyone at Aquilastrings) have been wonderful. They are driven to find the right combination for their strings and they are really interested in the player's viewpoint.
The second set they sent felt more like 'traditonal/typical' string (by 'typical' I mean tension and basic feel) but on my bass the stiffer 'blended core' string had a slightly shorter decay (ie thumpy-er). Mimmo mentioned that the production set will be a pure sugar core BEA and a blended DG. I think this will be a nice combo. the Sugar cores have a unique dry earthy quality not as 'brilliant' as a typical bronze string.
I'm excited to hear your review/experinces
The second set they sent felt more like 'traditonal/typical' string (by 'typical' I mean tension and basic feel) but on my bass the stiffer 'blended core' string had a slightly shorter decay (ie thumpy-er). Mimmo mentioned that the production set will be a pure sugar core BEA and a blended DG. I think this will be a nice combo. the Sugar cores have a unique dry earthy quality not as 'brilliant' as a typical bronze string.
I'm excited to hear your review/experinces
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These new strings are exciting. Can't wait to try these on my Guild, my Kala, and I'll likely pick up that oddball gap bridging Harley Benton bass uke with the longer neck and 6-10mm longer scale. It seems like a 'couch bass' sweet spot but string choice for it has kept me from buying.
I'm looking forward to it, too. I was an original enthusiastic bass uker, but I eventually wanted something a little closer to a guitar. Hoping the new Aquila Flat Spirals will be a great alternative string.
Anyone planning on checking out the new 24" scale Martins? A little pricey and only two band EQ but who knows maybe they're amazing and worth it?
https://bassmagazine.com/gear/martin-guitar-launches-new-junior-bass-acoustic-models
https://bassmagazine.com/gear/martin-guitar-launches-new-junior-bass-acoustic-models
They are street priced right around the Taylor version and I imagine are similar. Nice to have a choice of models. My question would be what are the "Martin" strings like? Are they similar to the D'Addarios (or licensed by them)? 2-band EQ is all you really need on these instruments.
Some of the nicer-sounding acoustic electrics I've tried lately, just have the soundhole thumbwheels for volume and tone. I'm talking about larger, more expensive ABG's in that regard, as well as my little Guild.
Assuming that the rest of your signal chain is good, you probably have much better EQ options on your amp, pedalboard, or FOH system. A little treble rolloff to control string noise goes a long way if the instrument already has the right mojo...
I have the Ibanez with side knobs and the Guild with thumb wheels. I find the former easier to use, no doubt, but both deliver adequate tone variation for me. About half the time I run through a bass amplifier, and the other half through a PA system.
I also resort to the old trick of putting some foam rubber under the strings just in front of the bridge. I use these guitars for their acoustic dynamics, and their resemblance to a string bass, and I can certainly get all the tones I need with the controls they have.
I also resort to the old trick of putting some foam rubber under the strings just in front of the bridge. I use these guitars for their acoustic dynamics, and their resemblance to a string bass, and I can certainly get all the tones I need with the controls they have.
The $749 price for the four Martin models appears to be actual retail, not list. Basically two finishes, each with a cutaway and non-cutaway model. This is actually less than the Taylor price of $899 ($999 for koa). Assuming an equal level of quality, this makes the Martin a better deal.
They have the Fishman Sonotone piezo, which I think means tone wheels in the sound hole. The Guild has the same system. The Taylor has the side controls, as does the Ibanez.
They are shipping starting 4/28.
According to the ads, the strings are made by Martin, but they are the same construction as the D’Addarios and around the same price, $30. They are round wound bronze around a nylon core. They are very bright when you first play them, but they mellow out over time. I stick a piece of foam under the strings in front of the bridge to eliminate some of the treble if necessary. They are somewhat slinky but not floppy so they can be bent. Some controlled bending can make them sound like a fretless.
They have the Fishman Sonotone piezo, which I think means tone wheels in the sound hole. The Guild has the same system. The Taylor has the side controls, as does the Ibanez.
They are shipping starting 4/28.
According to the ads, the strings are made by Martin, but they are the same construction as the D’Addarios and around the same price, $30. They are round wound bronze around a nylon core. They are very bright when you first play them, but they mellow out over time. I stick a piece of foam under the strings in front of the bridge to eliminate some of the treble if necessary. They are somewhat slinky but not floppy so they can be bent. Some controlled bending can make them sound like a fretless.
One could convert a guitar with minimal hassle. Basically, a new nut (or two enlarged nut slots, and two new ones) is all that's needed. Using the La Bella CB40-PE you wouldn't even have to modify the bridge (just use one hole for the E and G, two holes for the A and D). Leave two tuners unused, and boom.
EDIT - weeell, fitment of the untapered low E at the post might be hard (unless the Ovation platform is a nylon-string version, with classical-guitar tuners): perhaps the Invalid Link Removed or the Magma TRANSPOSITOR MI-E BASS SOUND (GCT-E), whose lowest strings taper before the post (I believe), would be a better choice than the La Bellas.
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I'm not following...
How would you get correct string spacing at the bridge, if you're reusing the original string holes on a 6-string acoustic guitar bridge?
Also, good luck jamming the beefy E string from a set of CB40's (or the Savarez, which are heavier gauge than the La Bellas) into the existing holes. I've had to slightly modify the hole in the post of the tuners on both my Guild and Ibanez basses because of the extra thickness compared to the stock D'Addario strings.
So it seems.
By using two holes for one string (for the inner ones), and tying them so that the string is pulled to a spot in-between the two holes.
Don't need it, thank you very much.
Since you mention the Savarez, you have read the edit. Seems disingenuous not to acknowledge it.
No, they aren't (.089 vs. 096), as you would know if you had bothered opening the link. Plus, again as was mentioned but went unacknowledged, the string in the two sets I linked to in the edit may (as also implied, I'm not 100% sure) taper before the post.
I'm all for discussion, but I'd appreciate my earlier contributions to be read first.
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Sorry if I offended, but you're reading too much into a couple of short sentences.
Using the original holes the way your describe is an interesting approach, and if you find it comfortable to have an offset like that at the bridge (last two holes empty), then that's absolutely fine.
But it's not how I'm used to seeing it done. Every other 6 to 4 conversion I've ever seen involved replacing or plugging and re-working the bridge, in order to get the strings to line up with the full width of the bridge and fingerboard.
As far as my Savarez comment goes, I'm clumsy with numerical product names- when I followed your link, the packaging of your LOW640R's looked identical to the 4CB640R's that I recently installed on my medium-scale Ibanez.
I thought that we were literally talking about the same strings, and I wasn't referring to the gauge of the vibrating part of the string anyway- just the tail that gets inserted into the tuner.
I'm not offended. I just find it a waste of time for both when I get knee-jerk reactions to hastily-read posts of mine, and objections to points I already addressed in my post.
No bridge holes are left unused with my approach (which of course only works with tie-end strings):
Code:
━(1)━━━┅ E string (the way strings are installed on normal, 6-hole classical guitar bridges)
┏(2)┓
┃ ┣━━┅ A string (tied similarly, but not identically to how 12-hole classical guitar bridges work)
┗(3)┛
┏(4)┓
┃ ┣━━┅ D string (same as A string)
┗(5)┛
━(6)━━━┅ G string (same as E string)Aaaah...
That makes more sense. I was deceived by the photo with the E and A in the normal holes, and the high E position empty.
@HaphAsSard Im not familiar with the 12hole bridge type, could you post a pic of the string tie for the A/D in the diagram?
This idea is really interesting
Thanks!
Twelve-hole bridges aren't too common, but are out there. This pic is straightforward enough, as to the exact string path:
My variant as illustrated in the circled area (I don't have instruments currently sporting it, I'm afraid), beside having the holes spaced wider for obvious reasons, has the string - after it enters the tie-block section at the leftmost hole of the pair from over the bridge saddle, comes out at the back and is passed over the block toward the saddle - make a loop (under and over) itself in front of the block, before entering the right-hand hole (and ending up secured behind the block), so that the main section of the string (from block to saddle to headstock) gets pulled to the right, in an in-between position between the two holes.
I just bought a used Guild Jumbo Junior ABG with tired OE strings. I'd be glad of opinions on what replacements for D'Addario PBs are currently available that fit this little bass as a drop-in, play in tune, and possibly make less string noise. I play in unamplified acoustic folk bands and noodle acoustically in the house. I'll be amping just enough that my Bass Micro Cube RX will do it, and any decent sound like classic ABG with a bit of DB and maybe some fretless style 'Bwah' on slides would be great. Clank, Boing, Rumble and Bap! would probably get me expelled, even if I could make them sounds. Thanks, Max
