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NBD...Finally No More Whining About A 5er
- Thread starter ejaggers
- Start date
You are going to get individual opinions and, this is what I use and this is the best strings. With the mirrad of rounds it's a tough call when searching for the right string. Just to ad to the confusion, I use GHS and Daddario. Your ears will tell you what is right. Going to have to try different brands and that can get expensive. Good luck.
OK, I'm a long time round wound string player almost 50 years now. The problem is isn't the strings. It's your EQ on your amp and or bass. It needs to be different that what you normally have set up usinf flats. Take the time to find out what is usable.
Start here: Set your amp tone controls flat, then add in some low mid ( around 165 hz) roll off some treble off your bass, then add in a little more low bass on the amp to taste. Make these adjustments gradually.
What you should find is this is a really good EQ for playing in ensembles as it will set in the mix very well. At home practicing by yourself, add a little more low bass to get those pillowy lows. Don't forget to back that off on the gig.
If you give this time, what you will find is you can get about 95% of what you can get out of flats, (and make no mistake, I agree there are certain genres that basically require flats), but rounds can give sounds that you just can't get out of flats no matter what EQ you use. I've been playing Motown, Stax, & Muscle Shoals music for almost a half a century using rounds gigging and recording. In that time I have never had a complaint or even a suggestion I should use flats. I have heard on numerous occasions about flat users being very hard to work with when they get to a (ahem) Vintage age. You know like when they are broken in LOL!!
Seriously, play what you like. There is no rule you have to play rounds. it's your bass, your art, and I respect that. Enjoy your new bass, and congrats.
Congrats. TI Jazz Rounds are great if you want a little less brittle round.
anyway, when I first played from 4 to 5 I was hitting the wrong strings with my plucking hand and after a few days I’d a week of practice while looking at my hand it clicked and became natural. Don’t panic. It will be just fine.
anyway, when I first played from 4 to 5 I was hitting the wrong strings with my plucking hand and after a few days I’d a week of practice while looking at my hand it clicked and became natural. Don’t panic. It will be just fine.
I got an Ibanez 205 and put Labella LTFs on it. I haven't played round wounds in over a decade. For me, they really work on that bass. Also, not a big fan of stuff that requires batteries so I pulled the pots and everything and made it VVT passive with a cap switch in the 4th spot.
It really plays nicely and will be my token 5 string for years to come.
The bass has really hit the sweet spot of being a keeper; it's cheap enough that selling it wouldn't move the fund-raising needle much, but it's nice enough that I can't imagine a complaint I would have that would move me to want to sell it.
It really plays nicely and will be my token 5 string for years to come.
The bass has really hit the sweet spot of being a keeper; it's cheap enough that selling it wouldn't move the fund-raising needle much, but it's nice enough that I can't imagine a complaint I would have that would move me to want to sell it.
I didn't mean to give the impression that I am exclusively a flats player.
In fact, 7 of my 13 basses do not have flats.
I do however pick up my short scale the most because that's where home is.
My Mustang has LaBella 760F-MU and the Musicmaster Fender nickel rounds.
These are the two I play the most....057912
Got it. I have a Large collection (Just ask my wife) of two basses and they both have rounds on them. LOL!! Thanks and have fun.
Cobalt flats are good.
....Until they start to brutally corrode and rust then you wish you had just stuck with the Thomastiks and added some EQ
I saw a couple SR205's and started to do the same thing,
because I wanted thin spacing and didn't want active.
This one was just too cheap to pass on,
so if me and 5's don't click I'm out of 70 bucks....057912
Now you have a 5er and ibanez at that. So that means your string spacing is 16.5 mm. That is considered narrow so you'll want to take your time getting used to that. My 1st 5 stringer was my Warwick and its the same. After i got used to it there was no going back to 4string for me. You'll find its actually faster and more efficient with closer strings so once you're locked in its going to get a lot of fun. Stick with it and be patient with yourself. Pretty soon you'll be used to and actually happy to have that b string to play on. As far as strings you could try some groundwounds or sit silencers. Basically going to be mellow sounding strings but you'll have some definition in tone hopefully. Im not familiar with that humbucker on your bass but i know the humbuckers on my Warwick are pretty sensitive and it took a lot of tinkering with strings to find what i liked. Once i did though it made that bass hard to put aside.
I don't think you have many choices. There are very few 5 string sets for 28.6" scale. If you find some post the link 
I know Newtone Strings and a few other makers offer custom length sets. I have an ESP B5-jr which is the same length and I found few options.
I know Newtone Strings and a few other makers offer custom length sets. I have an ESP B5-jr which is the same length and I found few options.
For sure. I did 500K LT volumes and a 500K AT tone. Coupled with an on-on .047 / .022 cap switch, I'm pretty happy how it turned out. I had to enlarge the pot holes to take the standard size guitar/bass potentiometers. Also, I don't remember which one, but had to use a mini-pot on one of them because the pot hole in the bass was right up against the side of the control cavity.
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This is a long-scale bass....057912I don't think you have many choices. There are very few 5 string sets for 28.6" scale. If you find some post the link
I know Newtone Strings and a few other makers offer custom length sets. I have an ESP B5-jr which is the same length and I found few options.
Then you have plenty of choices.
I can't remember, are 500k pots brighter or darker than 250K?
I had a mod where the tone knob did very little to change the tone,
and I even created a post about it but got no usable info.
But, strange as it may seem, when I changed the strings that solved the problem.
I definitely can't explain that.
I'm gonna try different strings on this one, BUT, I am a Mod-Aholic
so I do see upgrades in my future..057912
