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Labella Jamerson Flatwound on a Sterling SUB Ray4?

Pier_

Pier_

Dec 22, 2013
1,820
1,750
Roma, Italia
#1
Hi everybody,

since december I'm using the wonderful 0760M on my Harley Benton JB75. I knew these strings before, and fell in love again after mounting them on this bass.
it has a sturdy bridge and a big neck, so I haven't got problems with them, but a friend of mine used this set on a Squier Affinity, and the bridge bent under the tension.

two weeks ago I bought a Sub Ray4, wonderful bass, well sounding... but in two weeks I spent more time trying the various strings I had at home (Ernie Ball 45-100, 50-105 and GHS 45-105) more than actually playing this bass... I had two reharsal sessions and a gig in the meanwhile, and did it with the three different sets :D

I probably just figured out that I'm addicted to the Labella Jamerson, both for what concerns the feeling and the sound.
I'm a flatwound lover, in particular becase I don't slap a lot, and when I do, I still like the "contra vibe" of the slapped flats compared to the bright roundwound sound.

where's the problem? I'm afraid that they can bend the bridge... I've tried the 50-105 from Ernie Ball, but their overall tension is less than a 45-105 GHS, so they don't count much...

has someone tried them, or at least some heavy gauge flats on this bass?
 
#3
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#5
I had to read your post a few times to figure out what you were saying. I wouldn't worry, Infinity's are very cheap both in price and construction. Your SUB is a bit higher quality and shouldn't have that problem.
 
#7
Hi guys,

I'm about to buy the Labella set, but being a bit of a Scrooge, I'd like to ask if anyone have tried them on Stingray basses :D
I've looked at some youtube videos of SR+flats, but mostly with small gauge strings or bright flats like EB Cobalt.

anyone tried them?
 
#8
Stingrays are great with flats. I personally wouldn't put Jamersons on one though. You will be playing near the bridge over the pickup most likely. Unless you have very strong hands and also strong technique it won't be fun to play due to the stiffness near the bridge. Luckily, there are plenty of lighter guage labella sets to choose from that sound similar.
 
#9
chilliwilli said:
Unless you have very strong hands and also strong technique it won't be fun to play due to the stiffness near the bridge.
Click to expand...

that's not a problem, I use them on my main bass, a Jazz Bass, and I'm used to play it from the neck to the bridge :)
I play with a light touch when I'm near the bridge, and the firm Labellas are great in that spot, because the fingers can just barely touch the strings like a feather, and still there's a lot of tone and dynamic.

if the strings are too light, I can't find a right spot near the neck, they always seem to be too elastic.

chilliwilli said:
You will be playing near the bridge over the pickup most likely.
Click to expand...

well, I usually play all over the strings, whatever bass. even the Stingray plays wonderfully if fingered at the end of the bridge, and I'm doing it already with rounds.

however, I couldn't resist and bought them :D they should arrive tomorrow from Amazon. I'm bother the forum with samples and reviews.

let's just hope the bridge won't bend...
 
#10
end of the journey: I bought them on Amazon because they would have come the day after (which was saturday). however, the courier didn't ship on saturday, so they slipped to monday.
I needed them for monday evening/tuesday evening for a couple of gigs, and I didn't have time to try them, so I shipped them back (0€ with Amazon, because they arrived later than stated).
I then found a good price on Stringbusters, 40£ (48/49 euros, compared to the 67€ on Amazon) shipped to Italy, and in less than a week they arrived.

yesterday I mounted them, and wow...

first of all, the bridge didn't have problems :P I checked the truss rod after mounting every string, for not finding the neck too bent, and it all went good.

now they are extremely metallic. I'll post some samples as soon as possible.
 
#12
I have the SUB SB4 with same hardware and electronics as the SUB Ray 4. The bridge is thin gauge metal, and will likely bend over time when using higher tension strings. This bending is common to thin metal bridges with top loading strings. Nevertheless, it's not a big deal as is does not affect playability or sound. As long as you have room to lower pickups and saddles it'll be fine. And if or when the saddles are bottomed out or you need to lower the pickup more, shimming the neck joint would bring up the action to get more break angle over the saddles, and provide more room for saddle and pickup height adjustments.

Nevertheless, the SUB Ray 4 would benefit from a good set of flats to tame that hot output and upper+upper mid sound.
 

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