Hollowbody players…what strings do you use?

[lastminute]

I want to get a hollowbody bass and a flat wound combination to get me those woody, thumpy, sounds…but retaining clarity, especially with the low E not getting flubby. Don’t have a super specific sound in mind, but I want it to be versatile enough to do stuff ranging from Beach Boys, Jack Johnson, Beatles, Lemon Twigs, Motown stuff. Not too wide a range. I already have a Precision with flats but want an even woodier flavor.

For people playing moreso on that side of music, and use hollow bodies,

1) which hollowbody do you use
2) what strings do you use, and why?

 

[GwenOnBass]

It's a semi-hollowbody Chowny CHB-1, which is no longer in production. Settled on Pyramid Gold flats after several years of hunting for the perfect British Invasion vibe. Think: Chas Chandler. That's what I was after, and got it (with a .1uF tone cap option on a push-pull .047 uF pot). The Pyramids take a good while to settle. But when they do ... there's a TB'r here with 20+ year old Pyramid Gold flats he won't swap out for new ones ....

 

[ahbass2500]

Long answer:
I use Olinto (by LaBella) flats. Using them because they came on the bass when I bought it. Play and sound great so no reason to change them. Covers the artists you listed on my hollowbody. May or may not work well on the one you are considering.

I think your choice of hollowbody matters more than your choice of string (the pairing is what you need to get right). I have at least a few hours playtime on several hollows and they are quite different. I own a US Lakland Hollowbody with Bartolinis (play this one regularly), briefly owned a Lakland Skyline Hollowbody with ChiSonics (played this one for a week), and had a friend with an Epiphone Jack Casady (have spent a few hours playing this one and even more listening to it). They all have hollowbody timbre, but the range of tones available within that timbre varies a good amount. Even the two Laklands (basically identical build) were distinct just from the pickup differences.

Short answer:
Which hollowbody? May influence recommendations you get for choice of string.

 

[Mighty Thumb]

Epiphone Jack Cassidy w/TI flats. TIs and EB Cobalts are the only flats I’ve tried that I like and the Cobalts would be too bright for that bass.

 

[Mustang Surly]

All my basses are shorties. I have rounds on one Mustang, but flats on everything else (another Mustang, a Reverend Dub King and assorted Guild Starfires), mostly D'Addario Chromes ECB81M (45-65-80-100). One Starfire has some other flats on it. They came on the bass, so I'm not sure what brand they are, but all the silks are red, FWIW.

 

[Bassinthemudd]

I have a Guild Starfire I that had DR Legends on it when I bought it. I thought I'd be putting TI Flats on it, but haven't felt the need yet.

 

[scuzzy]

My hollow ibanez has TI flats, and it's a really nice combo. I have others with LaBella black nylons, and that is also a great combo. my semi-hollow fender starcaster has cobalt flats. it's nice, but I kinda miss that bass with NPS rounds.

 

[jd56hawk]

I want to get a hollowbody bass and a flat wound combination to get me those woody, thumpy, sounds…but retaining clarity, especially with the low E not getting flubby. Don’t have a super specific sound in mind, but I want it to be versatile enough to do stuff ranging from Beach Boys, Jack Johnson, Beatles, Lemon Twigs, Motown stuff. Not too wide a range. I already have a Precision with flats but want an even woodier flavor.

For people playing moreso on that side of music, and use hollow bodies,

1) which hollowbody do you use
2) what strings do you use, and why?

Forget about flatwounds and go with GHS black tapewounds instead.
Wouldn't use anything else even if Paul McCartney dropped by for tea and suggested his strings.

Little rehearsal yesterday and this thing was probably the best-sounding bass in the state of Pennsylvania!

 

[GregT]

My 60s Japanese Beatles Bass has had long scale TI Flats on it for years. It was just an old used set from my long-gone Precision Bass that I threw on there and will never take off.

 

[Aqualung60]

I use LaBella Tapewounds (Black) on my Jack Casady.

 

[markjazzbassist]

Hofner club fully hollow i use Pyramid gold Flats. A match made in heaven. However, for your needs of woodiness, it's TI Jazz Flats or Rounds, they really really accentuate the woody tone (especially in the upper registers). Very similar sounding strings so go with your preference of rounds or flats.

 

[michael_t]

I already have a Precision with flats but want an even woodier flavor.

What specific flats do you have on your Precision? When I see the word "woody", I think of GHS Precision Flats. "Woody warmth with focused punch" is how I've always described them.

 

[2saddleslab]

Gretsch 6072RI hollow body sporting TI flats, just like all my other basses. Gives a realistic doghouse tone.

 

[cymbop]

La Bella 760FL on both -- just like all my other basses. They please my ears and my fingers at once.

 

[96tbird]

Epi Jack Casady. Flats. I tried Fender, Labella and Chomes. The chromes stayed. The slightly crispier twang with them were a good mesh with the JC woody sound for me.

Remember that if you want real hollow sounds, you need a bass without a solid middle section. I have an Ibby like that and the hollow sides don’t do a thing imo, it just sounds like a solid body.

The Casady has 1/2” thick strip in the middle top but is hollow between. The strip runs from the heel block to the bridge block. I consider it a true hollow since the strip is for reinforcement and feedback deadening. Then there’s Hofners and other assorted true hollows.

Epi violin bass, nope. Many Asian violins, nope. Ibbys most seem to have the solid center block. When I see ads saying “semi-hollow” I’m immediately skeptical and assume it may as well be just a solid body. Hollow upper and lower bouts are just cosmetic and don’t really give the hollow thud. I can’t see how they do anything except look good and allow F slots for decoration.

Jack’s guts. Looking at the heel block, the top strip with wood fibers hanging from the pickup hole. And the bottom skin.

Looking straight through from one side to the other.

 

[ad9000]

I have TI Jazz Flats on my Vox and Eko hollowbodies and Pyramid Golds on my Hofner. Both are the woodiest sounding strings I've used.

 

[mikecd1]

Hofner 500/2 Club bass with TI flats. My current set is almost 20 years old and still sound great. There's something about the feel of these, probably due to the low tension and the nickel gives a nice warm, woody tone on the Hoffy.

 

[Low Main]

I have an early MIK Lakland Hollowbody with the Bartolinis. 34" scale. I currently have Sadowsky flats on it.

Made by LaBella. Or at least they were at the time. The set dates from the 2000's I think.

It's the lighter set with a .100 E string which helps with the clarity.

The main thing with the E string is mounting it correctly and not killing the core. Bob at LaBella gave me the gospel on that years ago.

That applies to all the strings in a flatwound set.

I play seated more often now with age, so the body shape is important from an ergo standpoint.

I struggled with an Epi Casady for that reason. There wasn't enough waist cut and lower horn to keep it settled in place on my leg.

The Lakland body has rounded edges and no binding which helps with the comfort and playability.

For the most part, I wish neck and body binding didn't exist.

 

[2saddleslab]

For the most part, I wish neck and body binding didn't exist.

 

[funkinbottom]

I too use La Bell black tapewounds on my semi hollow.