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LaBella Flats for Hofner

#21
Pilgrim said:
I bought the Rogue VB-100 violin bas and the strings on it were ghastly. Tinny, nasty, horrible sounding,

I installed the Labella Hofner flats and the bass came alive - it sounds much, much better. I can't say that I've noticed any particular difference in response from one string to another. I do know that everyone in my band likes the sound of that bass with the Hofner flats on it.

I wonder if you got a bad string, or if the pickups on your bass are adjusted with different distances on one side than the other?

The Rogue turned out to be a marvelous bass...
P6010079.jpg
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Just wondering, did you get the .50-.100 or the .39-.96 set?

I almost got the Rogue instead of the Hofner because I played one and was very impressed with it. But being in a Beatles band, I just figured the name on the headstock would be worth the extra $100. The Rogue is a much more solid bass really. I just got home from playing yet another gig on the Hofner and I'm still loving it. It sure throws down a big woody sound!
 
#22
tallboybass said:
Just wondering, did you get the .50-.100 or the .39-.96 set?

I almost got the Rogue instead of the Hofner because I played one and was very impressed with it. But being in a Beatles band, I just figured the name on the headstock would be worth the extra $100. The Rogue is a much more solid bass really. I just got home from playing yet another gig on the Hofner and I'm still loving it. It sure throws down a big woody sound!
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I got the .50-.100 set; just double-checked to make sure. Those are fun basses, easy on the shoulder and with a nice sound. :bassist:
 
#23
TunaCaserole said:
G+D Bright new Flatwound sound?? Flatwounds arent suppose to be bright.. correct?
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Actually many are. They just don't have that piano tone like round wounds. Different decay.

The Deep Talkin' Bass stainless steel flats are very bright, and they stay that way too. You can slap on them. They are like old roundwounds with a mellow top end.

LaBella Nylon Tape Wounds sound great too. Those are the strings you hear on the Who's My Generation.

All this talk about La Bella flats... I think I'm going to get a set this week for the new bass. :D
 
#29
I have experimented with a few different flat sets on my Beatle basses (1963 and Icon). The 63 likes La Bella's. The Icon prefers Rotosound Beatle Flats. I say, give em what they want.

Seriously, the Rotosound Beatle flats (monel flats) sound GREAT on the Icon. Deep and resonant but with really decent sustain. Great for all roots music. Give em a try.
 
#32
funkytoe said:
I have experimented with a few different flat sets on my Beatle basses (1963 and Icon). The 63 likes La Bella's. The Icon prefers Rotosound Beatle Flats. I say, give em what they want.

Seriously, the Rotosound Beatle flats (monel flats) sound GREAT on the Icon. Deep and resonant but with really decent sustain. Great for all roots music. Give em a try.
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So Funkytoe, are these the ones you're talking about for the Icon:

RS77M Gauges 40-50-75-90. Flatwound. Monel. Medium scale.

I may have to try them if so.

Thanks, Alan
 
#36
The key to a good-sounding short-scale is tension, and a .90" or .95" E is just WAY too thin. Not enough tension to support sustain. Even a .100" is somewhat anemic, but better. A .50"-.105" set is really the lowest you should go on a shortie if you don't want the thud sound on your E. If you have a Hofner or a knockoff thereoff, you MIGHT get lucky and find one which is naturally resonant in the lower registers and will actually work with the ,90" or .95" E, but if not, you must increase the tension via string gauge increase. There's really no free lunch here.
 
#39
tallboybass said:
So I got my LaBella Deep Talkin' Beatles Bass Strings in .96-.39 gauge (just like Paul uses) on my Hofner Icon, and I'm having problems. The G and D strings sound like a completely different set than the A and E strings. G+D = bright new flatwound sound....A+E = dark thud with the E being REALLY dead sounding. Anyone else use this set and have problems? After doing all the research I could, it seemed this was THE string set for the Hofner.

Alan
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I've had this same problem with both LaBellas and Pryamid strings.

The D and A sound bright, the A was just right but the E had a bit more thud sound.

However what I found was that break in time was the answer.
After a few months the strings seemed to settle in with the G and D getting that classic Hofner tone. The E is what it is (some say it's supposed to sound that way) however I think it might simply be the short scale that causes that on the E string.

After the strings get stretched for a period of time they balance out nicely.

I did try TI's also which were great, however I could not get used to the A,D,G being so balanced to the touch but the E being 106 gauge always felt out of place to me, so I went back to the Pryamids.

Hope that helps. Oh and make sure you wipe down those strings until they feel glassy.
 
#40
Gene Leone said:
I've had this same problem with both LaBellas and Pryamid strings.

The D and A sound bright, the A was just right but the E had a bit more thud sound.

However what I found was that break in time was the answer.
After a few months the strings seemed to settle in with the G and D getting that classic Hofner tone. The E is what it is (some say it's supposed to sound that way) however I think it might simply be the short scale that causes that on the E string.

After the strings get stretched for a period of time they balance out nicely.

I did try TI's also which were great, however I could not get used to the A,D,G being so balanced to the touch but the E being 106 gauge always felt out of place to me, so I went back to the Pryamids.

Hope that helps. Oh and make sure you wipe down those strings until they feel glassy.
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Yes, after a few weeks of playing, the LaBellas evened out quite a bit. The 'E' is still deader than the rest and the 'D' & 'G' are still a touch brighter, but I guess after a while they'll ALL be dead.
 

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