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Balor or other ABG owners. What strings are you using? Thinking this will be getting Infeld flats when I wear these tapes out. I like them better than Phosphor Bronze but still not quite what I want from a feel and tone perspective (not a huge fan of nylon feel, want even darker tone).
I like the GHS Pressurewound Bronze strings, all the tonal character of bronze without the finger noise raspiness, but not for you if you're looking for darker than nylon tapes.
The D’Addario bronze were my “don’t sound brash” like ABG bronze strings. Then the DR ABG strings eclipsed them. Just tone.
It doesn’t hurt to adjust your touch. If you can make bronze strings sound smooth like when you play EB your touch on the EB will jump lightyears.
It doesn’t hurt to adjust your touch. If you can make bronze strings sound smooth like when you play EB your touch on the EB will jump lightyears.
I’m using these too - after years of using LaBella tapes on my ABGs.
My main bass is an Emerald, after decades of going through the quest for tone, my Emerald XB type 6 string fretless wins. My band agrees. I play it amplified with others and acoustic while practicing myself, getting intonation right, etc. K&K straight to the output, and my amp is a j-di with a crest power amp into a couple of low b 2×10s; the eq is how you play it.
So... I had to order a Balor fretted to go along with it; will be 8 months because of extreme multiscale customization, 37 to 33.
I can speak about the earlier model fretless: most responsive, useful bass you could own. Other basses I play include the Status shown next to it, another fretless Status 6, a Carvin 6, a Kay upright; Emerald is the most useful with a loud fusion band.
I usually don't take pictures of my instruments, but I did the day I got the Emerald back from being stolen for many months. The guitarist in my band saw it on Ebay, and I located it about 20 miles away. Sounds best with Elixir steels.
So... I had to order a Balor fretted to go along with it; will be 8 months because of extreme multiscale customization, 37 to 33.
I can speak about the earlier model fretless: most responsive, useful bass you could own. Other basses I play include the Status shown next to it, another fretless Status 6, a Carvin 6, a Kay upright; Emerald is the most useful with a loud fusion band.
I usually don't take pictures of my instruments, but I did the day I got the Emerald back from being stolen for many months. The guitarist in my band saw it on Ebay, and I located it about 20 miles away. Sounds best with Elixir steels.
I’ve got a TC-5F as well. What strings are you using? I’ve got Thomastic Acousticores on it right now but Bronze Phosphors are louder.
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how do you like the Matt finish on the fingerboard? What do they have 18mm spacing at the bridge? I’m jonesing for one and know my finishes already. Black/natural CF with a charcoal gray burdseye maple top and headstock. Saw a guitar like that and was sold immediately. Just got to get back to work as soon as this Plandemic is over November 5th. Can’t wait!!!
Is that charcoal quilt? I like your thumb rest too! I’ve run my Turner RB-5F and the Tacoma TC 5F with Thomastic Acousticores, which I like and take a bit to get used to the feel but they growl nicely when you dig in a bit. I’ve had Martin and Do Addario PB’s on the Tacoma quite a few times. They’re louder with way more finger noise. Never tried tapes or had steels on them.
On mine it's pretty bad. I get a lot of buzzing. The neck is fairly straight and the truss rod works, so I guess it's the frets that are uneven. Also, see here for my saddle woes:
Standalone saddles
It does look great though, and the body is well made. On the topic of loudness... well, it's also pretty bad. I can't even play with a friend on acoustic guitar in our living room, he doesn't hear me at all, and I barely hear myself. The only way we can jam acoustically is if he uses an unplugged electric guitar.
It's blue with quilt veneer on top, the lighting just wasn't. I've never tried any of those strings. It came with coated tape wounds and sounded more like an upright, honestly a very useful sound! I bet the Tacoma and Martin sound great either way with those extra bright strings or with tapewound. I really like the Tacoma "Thunder Chief." I like elixirs because they don't grind the frets/fingerboard down, plus they're fast. Elixirs are either love them or hate them; anyone I've talked to.
Here's the beast that Alistair (and other fine luthiers) built. 37-33". K&K straight out. Elixir tw extra long scale just barely fit the b string. I couldn't imagine a better bass guitar, in the Anthony Jackson sense of the word and all the instrument is supposed to be.
