La Bellas do eventually even out for the most part. I have a set of FSs on a P bass that are maybe 10 years old and they sound very even. Definitely may favorite flats.
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La Bella - Change thumpy dead E string to a different brand?
- Thread starter 534N
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I tried to stretch the two La Bella E's that I had. I pushed firmly around the witness points, pulled firmly all over the string length, and still no change. I played the hell out of them over a period of weeks too. It was driving me mad. It could have been the nut but I'm not familiar enough with that to go through the trouble (and possible error) with modifying or swapping out something that may not even be the problem, so I went for a cheaper and more simple solution first. Just changing that E for another brand worked alright for me. I still have a lot of love and respect for La Bella because those other 3 strings are incredible and they are directly responsible for a lot of my sound, but I wish I could have gotten that dead E worked out easier. Maybe one day I'll give it another try but first I'd like to see a video of someone who has one of these perfect La Bella E's so I can hear it for myself. Please feel free to share if it's not too much trouble. Also, thanks for all the replies, guys 
Chiming in: you are NOT crazy. I just went through 2 sets of La Bella 760FLs. The first set had a dead and I mean DEAD G string that would twang out like a sitar (with relief and action set correctly). I took them off my Fender CS and onto my Lakland and nope, definitely the string. Not only did it twang, but it sounded absolutely lifeless compared to the rest. Even then, I decided to give them a few months to relax. Nope, could always tell when I hit the G.
La Bella sent me a new set. This time, the E string was dead as a friggin doornail and the A string had the twang problem. Come ON man. Right now my Lakland has the EAD from the 1st set, and the G from the 2nd. Sounds good now.
For the record, I haven't had this issue with other flats. Have never had a dud in a Dunlop set, ever. I really love the sound of these La Bellas, but I will not be buying again. Hopefully this Frankenstein set lasts a long time.
Dunlops are fantastic flats. I had some issues with Labella DTF's and haven't used a set in several years. I did pick up a set of the La Bella LTF's and really dug them. They are very much in line with DTF's tone but I think the lower tension allows them to sustain better and they evened out right away in the first few days. Tension is very similar to the Dunlops. Dunlop is still my go to on flats but I really like the LTF's as well to get the La Bella vibe with out some of the La Bella problems.
The Labella 1954 E string is hard work. I just swapped an 18 month old set from a P to a J. They were fine on the P but the E string had a metallic distorted chorus kinda sound on the J.
Fixed with a combination of letting the neck relief settle into the tension, getting out a very slight swing twist, properly setting the witness points and lowering the pickups to allow for extra string mass.
In my case that E string wouldn’t have been fixed without all those tweaks. Had I not know the string itself had zero issues for the last 18 months I probably would have thrown in the towel. Worth all the effort because they sound and feel so good
Fixed with a combination of letting the neck relief settle into the tension, getting out a very slight swing twist, properly setting the witness points and lowering the pickups to allow for extra string mass.
In my case that E string wouldn’t have been fixed without all those tweaks. Had I not know the string itself had zero issues for the last 18 months I probably would have thrown in the towel. Worth all the effort because they sound and feel so good
The Labella 1954 E string is hard work. I just swapped an 18 month old set from a P to a J. They were fine on the P but the E string had a metallic distorted chorus kinda sound on the J.
Fixed with a combination of letting the neck relief settle into the tension, getting out a very slight swing twist, properly setting the witness points and lowering the pickups to allow for extra string mass.
In my case that E string wouldn’t have been fixed without all those tweaks. Had I not know the string itself had zero issues for the last 18 months I probably would have thrown in the towel. Worth all the effort because they sound and feel so good
I tried restringing and some of the other things you suggested and it didn't work for me, but perhaps I kept getting a twist in the E strings when I installed them. I'm not sure if I do that part properly but I had never experienced any problems in the past with other strings. The Ernie Ball Group 3 E string mostly did the trick for me as a replacement. It still has an ever-so-slightly different sound to it but I settled on it to save myself further frustration and money.
I kept both of my La Bella E strings so I may give them another try one of these days. Maybe I will have some luck next time. Thanks for sharing your experience with that.
I had the same problem with my A and E strings from the Mustang La Bella set. I took the advice and checked to see if they had twisted and of course they were ... very difficult to rectify, but I finally did it with a little patience. Now I love my Stang again
I struggled with the E string on my fairly fresh set of 780fl's for a while. I didn't so much mind the softer, pillowy sound that the E string had (while the others where still bright and twangy) but it didn't seem to ring out good on the fifth fret and up. I would notice it most when playing by myself but also during full band practices/performances. The A note and up just had no sustain. The G on the third fret would ring out with a regular amount of sustain and seemed just fine. I definitely made sure the string had no twists and the witness points were set. I did tweak the relief when I first put them on and got it to be what I think seems to be just right and the action was medium to maybe just a hair lower. It annoyed me enough to where I yanked them off and put a set of fender flats on. The Fender's had no issues whatsoever on the E string. They did seem to be quite a bit stiffer feeling. In the end I wasn't happy with the fenders and missed the beautiful pillowy thud of the labella's so I put them back on. I finally found relief from the dead sounding E string by raising the action to a spot where it is a little higher than I'd normally like and lowering the pickup quite a bit. After that it seems to have a more equal amount of sustain further up the string and just sounds way better.
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Wow, this thread has come back from the dead!
Maybe I will give that La Bella E string another chance. There’s a veryy slight difference in the sound with the EB group 3 E string and the other strings and sometimes it makes me want to try a new set but that A, D and G string are so beautiful that I always hesitate to change them. I’m slightly afraid their tone might change if I take them off and put them back later.. maybe a wrong twist or a bad witness point or some other mystery thing I won’t be able to figure out.. ahhh..
I agree about that particular smooth pillowy bass sound though. It is very warm and pleasant. I keep these flats on my Squier Mustang as a special tool for songs that want that softer low end puff with the kick drum. It’s truly a brilliant sound.
Well you know, that’s the beauty of the internet/Talkbass…if you’re having an issue it’s likely been talked about before. So…thanks for starting the thread when you did. I, a couple years later, found the conversation very informative and helpful! Pat yourself on the back good sir!
I found this thread after I put a set of 760f-mus on my Mustang and getting the dead E string. I’ve literally never had a problem with Labellas in 20 years, I figured I just got a bum string.
Anyways I stripped off the E string and it twisted about 180°. I smoothed out the twist, put it back on and BAM! Perfectly evened out the tone. Since I never had that happen before I would have never thought to check for twist. You saved me a hell of a lot of aggravation! Thanks!
Thanks for the info! I kept my E string so I’ll have to give it another try. I didn’t notice any twist in the string through. I’m not sure what I would need to do to fix it if it has a twist set into the string and I can’t see it.
There’s the desirable, musical thump that sustains, and there’s a dead, undesirable, almost atonal kind of thump that is distinctly different. You’d know it if you had experience with it
I figured when i put the string on I twisted it in a way that tightened the outer wrap of the string so it couldn’t vibrate properly. Giving it a turn in the opposite direction seems to have opened that winding up so it functions correctly.
At this point, I have no idea which way I might have twisted it. I have 2 of them because I asked La Bella about it and they sent me a replacement. But I got the same sound from both so I assumed that I probably wouldn’t get the musical sound from it that I was looking for.
My alternative string (from Ernie Ball Group III set) doesn’t match the other 3 strings perfectly in tone but it’s really close. Maybe I will try one more time and see if I have better luck with the La Bella E.
One way I found to get the big fat sucker on without a twist was to drop the saddle down as low as it'll go, which let's the ball end spin more freely in the bridge hole, then run your fingers slowly along the sides of the string (gentle pinching grip) from tuner post to bridge before you wind her up near full tension. That should line the string up without a twist.
Then bring the saddle back up and tune to tension. Count the number of turns you make with your screwdriver while taking the saddle down so you can make the same number of turns in reverse and get it back at the original height.
Easiest way to fix any twist is this: once you've mounted the string and taken it to tension once, tune it down and keep tuning it down until the string is very slack. Keeping it on the tuner, pull the string down until the ball at the end is projecting well out of the bridge. Keep some tension up at the nut end by pulling down gently up there, but let the bridge end protrude loosely out. Any residual twist should now be released. Keeping some tension up at the nut end, re-tighten the tuner and take the string up to pitch. Bend the string downward at the nut and at each saddle (witness bends) and you should be good to go. Sometimes I have to do this a couple of times to get the string to really ring clearly.
