La Bella Super Polished Ian Martin Set

[999Brent]

Just become available in La Bella’s site.
I like the guage that is offered and the fact that Ian is very much about the sound and gear, so high hopes…

 

[tindrum]

Now these I might try. The standard set with the .107 E was a hard pass for me .

 

[Kyle_S]

Definitely going to try these. I like the gauges. La Bella's more recent sets having a .107 E and only an .080 A has puzzled me.

 

[FirewalZ]

Are these "bridge cable" type flats or more moderate in flexibility and tension?

 

[J-Bass RMR]

Some interesting product notes:

• Can be both top loaded and strung through the body
• Do not tug or pull on strings to break them in as they might break.
• Only the silk portion of the string should wrap around the tuning post (or else the string will break).

 

[FullumMusic]

I have a set of their previous Non-Ian-Martin-Allison Superpolished and really like them. (.047 - .107)

For context, i hate the sound of new Roundwounds. I hate when strings are too bright. I like full spectrum, but not the metallic twang of new Rounds, and i don't like when the high-mids and highs overpower the lows and low-mids.

I feel like the Superpolished let me skip the break-in period when Rounds are too bright and twangy and go right into their natural-sounding phase. And i like that they're articulate like rounds, while still being beefy and full-bodied.

Curious what these lighter gauges will do to the tone and feel.

 

[Swerve]

Are these "bridge cable" type flats or more moderate in flexibility and tension?

These aren't flats. More like ground wounds afaik.

 

[littlebun]

The regular gauge felt great on an Olinto 57-style P at Namm. These should play easily.

 

[FullumMusic]

Are these "bridge cable" type flats or more moderate in flexibility and tension?

These aren't flats. More like ground wounds afaik.

@Swerve is correct. They're Round-wounds that are then polished down until they've removed enough metal that they're almost flat to the touch. They definitely feel different from flats. They're not polished so far down that there's no divot where the windings meet. But they're no longer round windings. They play, essentially, like rounds. They just feel and sound slightly different from standard round-rounds.

Edit to add: I've played "Half-rounds" many years ago in the past, maybe the mid/late 1990s?. Don't remember what company made them. I remember them being very abrasive on my fingers. These are similar in concept, but VERY SMOOTH to the touch.

 

[MCS4]

Edit to add: I've played "Half-rounds" many years ago in the past, maybe the mid/late 1990s?. Don't remember what company made them. I remember them being very abrasive on my fingers. These are similar in concept, but VERY SMOOTH to the touch.

As a side note, I once had a set of half-rounds that I wrote off for the very same reason, but when I decided to dust them off again for a second look I discovered they actually suffered from the same highly-correctable issue as a lot of flats: Some type of gritty gunk or substance left over from the manufacturing process that can be removed by either (1) playing them a lot or (2) simply running them through a slightly damp cloth until they get fully clean before installing them on the bass. After I did the latter they were super smooth, almost like a worn in set of flats. Personally I see a lot of people knocking the texture of certain half-rounds or flats and I wonder if it is just this type of thing; these days I always clean off flats before installing and they always end up being nice and smooth.

 

[Brandon Shea]

@Swerve is correct. They're Round-wounds that are then polished down until they've removed enough metal that they're almost flat to the touch. They definitely feel different from flats. They're not polished so far down that there's no divot where the windings meet. But they're no longer round windings. They play, essentially, like rounds. They just feel and sound slightly different from standard round-rounds.

View attachment 7144551

Edit to add: I've played "Half-rounds" many years ago in the past, maybe the mid/late 1990s?. Don't remember what company made them. I remember them being very abrasive on my fingers. These are similar in concept, but VERY SMOOTH to the touch.

Thanks for the picture, that's super helpful! They definitely seem like they'd have an interesting feel.

Do these seem to last longer than typical roundwound strings in your experience?

 

[Jhass]

@Swerve is correct. They're Round-wounds that are then polished down until they've removed enough metal that they're almost flat to the touch. They definitely feel different from flats. They're not polished so far down that there's no divot where the windings meet. But they're no longer round windings. They play, essentially, like rounds. They just feel and sound slightly different from standard round-rounds.

View attachment 7144551

Edit to add: I've played "Half-rounds" many years ago in the past, maybe the mid/late 1990s?. Don't remember what company made them. I remember them being very abrasive on my fingers. These are similar in concept, but VERY SMOOTH to the touch.

I’ve always used GHS Pressurewound strings. They are made with a different process (flattening the outer winding between rollers rather than grinding down), but they achieve a similar result in terms of tone, if not feel, although they are nicely smooth.

 

[FullumMusic]

As a side note, I once had a set of half-rounds that I wrote off for the very same reason, but when I decided to dust them off again for a second look I discovered they actually suffered from the same highly-correctable issue as a lot of flats: Some type of gritty gunk or substance left over from the manufacturing process that can be removed by either (1) playing them a lot or (2) simply running them through a slightly damp cloth until they get fully clean before installing them on the bass. After I did the latter they were super smooth, almost like a worn in set of flats. Personally I see a lot of people knocking the texture of certain half-rounds or flats and I wonder if it is just this type of thing; these days I always clean off flats before installing and they always end up being nice and smooth.

Interesting. Seems if the abrasiveness is so simply removed by a quick wipe-down or minimal polishing, you'd think they'd do that at the factory so that people don't just assume their product is too abrasive. I mean, i understand every step in the process costs money. But, it costs more if people aren't buying them. So it goes.

Thanks for the picture, that's super helpful! They definitely seem like they'd have an interesting feel.

Do these seem to last longer than typical roundwound strings in your experience?

Welcome. I haven't had them on long enough to know how long they're gonna last. And they're not on a primary bass, so i'm not even using them every day. I play it maybe 1 or 2 times a week. I've had them on since summer and they still sound good. I'm a fan of playing Rounds until they're dead-dead or break. But they're not even close to dead. Of course, like i said, they're not getting used that much neither.

I’ve always used GHS Pressurewound strings. They are made with a different process (flattening the outer winding between rollers rather than grinding down), but they achieve a similar result in terms of tone, if not feel, although they are nicely smooth.

Nice. Yeah, i can see pressure deforming the windings as being smoother than grinding them down to flatten them out. I guess because the La Bellas are polished, not just ground, they feel smoother than ground-wound or half-wound. But according to @MCS4 you can smooth those out polishing them lightly with a cloth and your hand.

 

[fivestringgecko]

Following out of curiosity, to watch for more feedback on these.

5sg.

 

[Saetia]

Following along, I have a Jazz I’d like to try these on.

 

[MrAB4003]

Congrats @IanAllison on your new signature strings!

 

[999Brent]

Anyone else have a set on order?
I have ordered a set, but in New Zealand, so will be some time before I get to try them out.

 

[Saetia]

Anyone else have a set on order?
I have ordered a set, but in New Zealand, so will be some time before I get to try them out.

I did. Don’t have the yet.

 

[witt426]

I actually just put my set on tonight. I went from flats to these, so a big change, but first impressions are good.

 

[Saetia]

I actually just put my set on tonight. I went from flats to these, so a big change, but first impressions are good.

Right on. I ordered them to try on my Jazz. If they go well I’d love to try a 5 string set on my Modulus Q5 but I have that set up for a specific project in Drop G with an equal tension Kalium .168 set. The Moddy has so much high end content (read so much all frequency content) that it’s hard to tame. My hopes with the Jazz are to thicken.