I used rounds on fretless for yrs until I switched to flats...once in a while I would polish out the scuffs but it's not a rule that you must use flats.
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Have a big dilemma...
- Thread starter Outshined91
- Start date
Get a setup gauge/ruler. I prefer the Music Nomad one, it's black so it makes seeing the readings very easy. Measure the relief in the neck, measure the action, measure the nut height. Read through any of the available setup guides, music nomad, Jerzy Drozd, fender, stew Mac, but instead of doing the adjustments just measure where your bass is now. Write it all down. Put on the other strings. If you like them great. If not tweak and see if you can get it comfortable. If not, remove them and revert back to your previous setup that you can now duplicate exactly because you took detailed measurements.
Edit:
Step 4: profit
Edit:
Step 4: profit
Expensive is chasing sound and feel with new basses and amps and cabs. Strings? That's like the price of a meal at an affordable restaurant.
(Ok, a really nice meal if we're talking TI Jazz flats)
Get into soaking used but not totally dead sets in alcohol, you can revisit sets and always have a quick, broke in set precut and ready to go.
Set up wrenches should be close at hand. Just seasonal weather changes can be cause for adjustment.
And heavier doesn't mean more bass. Usually it just means stiffer.
FretNation.com is my go to.
Tons of light gauge round sets for under $25, I've found nice sets under $15 on sale.
Nickel, stainless, coated, there's so much to try...
IMHO, strings are everything. Finding sets you love is worth a few bucks. It's like dating. Cost of a couple burgers to find the right one.
(Ok, a really nice meal if we're talking TI Jazz flats)
Get into soaking used but not totally dead sets in alcohol, you can revisit sets and always have a quick, broke in set precut and ready to go.
Set up wrenches should be close at hand. Just seasonal weather changes can be cause for adjustment.
And heavier doesn't mean more bass. Usually it just means stiffer.
FretNation.com is my go to.
Tons of light gauge round sets for under $25, I've found nice sets under $15 on sale.
Nickel, stainless, coated, there's so much to try...
IMHO, strings are everything. Finding sets you love is worth a few bucks. It's like dating. Cost of a couple burgers to find the right one.
Instead of messing with your bass, I would take a good look at how you are EQing your rig first before doing anything. Spend a good amount of time of "twiddling the dials" exploding all the possibilities that you can come up with.
Then, you can't come up with anything, check out you speaker as it maybe that they can't reproduce the frequencies you desire.
I'll echo what some others said and learn to set up your bass and you'll be fine. It's really not that difficult to make small adjustments a few times a year as necessary (and when you change to new strings). How often are you going to be changing from standard to your drop C tuning? Heavier gauge strings are going to help with tuning down. You might have to try a few different sets to find exactly what gauge works for you though. If you plan on switching tunings pretty frequently, then you might just have to compromise and find something that is going to feel OK at standard tuning but still stiff enough that you can tune down.
If I were in your position, I would seriously consider getting another bass and have it permanently set up for the low tuning.
If I were in your position, I would seriously consider getting another bass and have it permanently set up for the low tuning.
If yo have strings with good feel, and you want more low end, don't change strings. Heavier strings will add level, but it won't add low end. Use EQ.
If you want to tune down all the strings, change to heavier strings. If you just want to down tune the E, get a heavier E - Just Strings sells singles of a bunch of string types.
If you want to tune down all the strings, change to heavier strings. If you just want to down tune the E, get a heavier E - Just Strings sells singles of a bunch of string types.
I play fretless and used boomers in drop D. I will get back to you after my murder trial. Should be done by Friday week.
I wish my "big dilemmas" were as fun, refreshing, and simplistic as choosing a string gauge!
Thank you all for the advice and input. I never really realized that thicker strings may not mean more bass, if they are tuned to the same pitches... makes sense now 
. For those telling me to work me EQ settings, I have actually just been trying that the past day and revisited in per your request. My best result has been bass at max on my amp EQ, midrange at 12 o'clock (normal for me and my tastes) and treble rolled off to 3 o'clock on the amp (DI to amp, no pedals/pre). It's pretty good - pretty full, a little twang, like the ton - but as soon as I change my pickup blend, etc. to move into a more jazz tone from my normal rock setting, I lose it. It gets thin, and just sounds flat. I'm thinking the gauges may not help as much, except I do miss the down-tuning - that did give me the oomph I was looking for. I had this bass strung BEAD (.120 GHS Boomer B atring along with the appropriate strings from the light set I'm using now) for its first two weeks with me and it slayed! I just had to switch off because as fun as it was for me on the side, I needed the G string more for playing with my groups. I want to try the heavy set because I can even do BADG etc. if I am so bold. For those who mentioned setup, I am just OK with that. I will definitely reread those who posted specific procedures here on this thread because I will need them. The issue is I have mainly bought used and all of those have come to me nicely set up; the two basses I have bought new only needed a minor truss and bridge adjustment, so for lack of necessity I am not exactly a setup wizard. This is definitely a good opportunity to work on that.
I have a gig tomorrow for which I'm taking the bass in question as my back-up, but after I get back I will try the heavier gauge strings and report back. Will probably need some more help!
. For those telling me to work me EQ settings, I have actually just been trying that the past day and revisited in per your request. My best result has been bass at max on my amp EQ, midrange at 12 o'clock (normal for me and my tastes) and treble rolled off to 3 o'clock on the amp (DI to amp, no pedals/pre). It's pretty good - pretty full, a little twang, like the ton - but as soon as I change my pickup blend, etc. to move into a more jazz tone from my normal rock setting, I lose it. It gets thin, and just sounds flat. I'm thinking the gauges may not help as much, except I do miss the down-tuning - that did give me the oomph I was looking for. I had this bass strung BEAD (.120 GHS Boomer B atring along with the appropriate strings from the light set I'm using now) for its first two weeks with me and it slayed! I just had to switch off because as fun as it was for me on the side, I needed the G string more for playing with my groups. I want to try the heavy set because I can even do BADG etc. if I am so bold. For those who mentioned setup, I am just OK with that. I will definitely reread those who posted specific procedures here on this thread because I will need them. The issue is I have mainly bought used and all of those have come to me nicely set up; the two basses I have bought new only needed a minor truss and bridge adjustment, so for lack of necessity I am not exactly a setup wizard. This is definitely a good opportunity to work on that.I have a gig tomorrow for which I'm taking the bass in question as my back-up, but after I get back I will try the heavier gauge strings and report back. Will probably need some more help!
I got a minute. I play in drop D always on fretless. Long story. But, I switched from boomers to Roto sound steel strings. The normal gauge. Feels and plays much better. I live right on a saltwater river. The boomers rust very quickly here and get real rough feeling. The rotos actually feel smoother than rusty boomers and the tension is perfect.
