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Pyramid's vs labella's tone for beatle bass?
- Thread starter perutxo
- Start date
I played Hofners, mostly 501s, for decades before I switched to my Jack Casady bass.
I always used flatwounds on my Hofners. From the early 1970's to about 1990 I used Pyramid Gold strings when I could find them. The Hofner branded flats are made by Pyramid, but they are not Golds.
The Golds had the warmest tone, so deep as pliable, a dream to play through my Ampeg B-15N .The Hofner version, like the Labellas, had a more metallic sound, and brighter ,and were stiffer. The Labellas were too bright and stiff for me. Others may disagree.
I gave up on the Pyramid Golds after I purchased several packs each with either dead E strings, or mis-wound, untunable strings. Poor quality control. I met with the people from Thomastic-Infeld (USA) and showed them the problems with the Pyramids and the Labellas. Eventually the Thomastic-Infeld flat Jazz short scale came to be. I know you didn't ask, but I found their quality control to be excellent, as are their strings, which sounded great on the Hofners.
I always used flatwounds on my Hofners. From the early 1970's to about 1990 I used Pyramid Gold strings when I could find them. The Hofner branded flats are made by Pyramid, but they are not Golds.
The Golds had the warmest tone, so deep as pliable, a dream to play through my Ampeg B-15N .The Hofner version, like the Labellas, had a more metallic sound, and brighter ,and were stiffer. The Labellas were too bright and stiff for me. Others may disagree.
I gave up on the Pyramid Golds after I purchased several packs each with either dead E strings, or mis-wound, untunable strings. Poor quality control. I met with the people from Thomastic-Infeld (USA) and showed them the problems with the Pyramids and the Labellas. Eventually the Thomastic-Infeld flat Jazz short scale came to be. I know you didn't ask, but I found their quality control to be excellent, as are their strings, which sounded great on the Hofners.
Pyramid Golds. Or, if the instrument still has its factory Hofner flats, leave those on ... they're the same strings. I also have a Club, and I've tried the TIs and LaBellas, and gone right back to the Pyramids every time. They have the sound and feel that I think suits Hofner basses best.
