LaBella DTFs on an acoustic bass

[Dan_reeves]

I have a lot of experience with LaBella flats on my typical solid bodies - I am considering using them on my 34" acoustic bass to get a thuddy sort of tone. The bridge on the acoustic is one with holes and pins, like you'd find on an acoustic guitar. With that being said, do I need to get the string through version so as not to break them upon installation? Anyone ever tried this before and what we your results? I know I could just buy and try but I'd like to not make a mistake if I can avoid it. Thanks!

 

[michael_t]

I have a lot of experience with LaBella flats on my typical solid bodies - I am considering using them on my 34" acoustic bass to get a thuddy sort of tone. The bridge on the acoustic is one with holes and pins, like you'd find on an acoustic guitar. With that being said, do I need to get the string through version so as not to break them upon installation?

The "thru-body" version of La Bella DTFs come with an extension at the ball end that's supposed to go through the body and sit behind the saddle. If you were to use them on an acoustic bass with the type of bridge you're talking about with holes and pins, I would imagine the extended end would sit over the saddle. I wonder how that would work?

In addition, the thru-body extension at the ball end would make the whole string longer than the regular ones, and that would mean some of the main body at the tuner end would end up wrapping around the post, which is something La Bella explicitly warns against.

Am I making sense to you?

Here's a pic of the thru-body extension side by side with the regular ones...

 

[Dan_reeves]

The "thru-body" version of La Bella DTFs come with an extension at the ball end that's supposed to go through the body and sit behind the saddle. If you were to use them on an acoustic bass with the type of bridge you're talking about with holes and pins, I would imagine the extended end would sit over the saddle. I wonder how that would work?

In addition, the thru-body extension at the ball end would make the whole string longer than the regular ones, and that would mean some of the main body at the tuner end would end up wrapping around the post, which is something La Bella explicitly warns against.

Am I making sense to you?

Here's a pic of the thru-body extension side by side with the regular ones...

View attachment 4736264

Perfect sense - I had forgotten the through body version was longer than the typical long scale. Great point. Probably need to go another direction then - there is the fear of breakage on one hand, issues of length on the other. Thanks for talking it through. I think I will go a different direction.

 

[ewarren88]

Admittedly not DTFs, but I have other flat wound strings on my "campfire" acoustic bass. Maybe chromes; I forget now. I wanted the ability to set the action high and dig in hard without shredding my fingers on rounds. A bit more like some upright bass technique, trying to pull the most volume out.

I haven't had any issues with string breakage at the bridge. If there's been any minor wrap separation I would not have noticed. If you try it, I think you'd want the standard top mount string style for reasons that you noted.

Good luck!

 

[bolophonic]

I had a set of DTF's on one of my Precision basses for years until they were just so dead that I changed them out. I eventually put the dead DTF's on my acoustic bass guitar and they sound incredible. No problem with the break angle from the string pin over the bridge. They were dull and thuddy on the electric, but the acoustic bass really squeezed a lot of extra goodness out of them.