Does anyone have any good advice on replacing strings on a 5 string trough body bass? Thanks in advance.
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Replacing new strings question.
- Thread starter Just go for it
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Your question is too vague and broad.
What specific model of bass? 34" scale? Any specific type of strings you're looking for? Your tonal goals?
My advice: take the old ones off before putting the new ones on.
I never would have thought of that, tip of the day, thx!
That's exactly the bass I've been GASing for!
One piece of advice... That bass is "thru-body" (= Yamaha's diagonal thru-body), but it does NOT necessarily need "extra long" or "super long" strings as "long scale" by most manufacturers are 37"-37.25" in winding length (ball end to taper/silk), which is long enough. So, plenty of options!
EDIT: Yamaha recommends "extra long" strings for that model. But that's based on the old "long scale" of 36.5" winding length (ball end to taper/silk).
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Pop over to the Yamaha BB club. You'll find lots of string discussion there.
Is there a Yamaha BB club? There is now!
When I remove the old string I use the length of it
against the new one to have a good measure before cutting.
against the new one to have a good measure before cutting.
When I get my own BB735A, the first thing I'll be doing is to change out those strings. Not a fan of D'A XL Nickels myself.
Check to make sure the label says Thomastik Infeld.
When I get my own BB735A, the first thing I'll be doing is to change out those strings. Not a fan of D'A XL Nickels myself.
What is your advice regarding strings?
Let us all repeat the mantra:
1) measure from the ball anchor to the tuner side of the nut
2) measure from the ball anchor to the middle of the tuner post, in this case the B string
3) purchase strings where the winding length or speaking length is between these two measurements
What is the body wood on this bass? My Rickenbacker 4002 (yes, "2," not "1" or "3") is, of course, maple. D'A XL sound horrible on it, but GHS Progressives bring out the best it has to offer in its own flavor of growl (Now, if only GHS would get Progs 2.0 going before I run out of my NOS singles). My gig bass, Ibby SRA305, is some variety of Asian mahogany. D'A XL strings sound absolutely great, Boomers get muddy, and my favorite Fender 9050XL flats are nasal. On my alder body P-style custom fanned fret, D'A XL sound thin, and GHS and Roto steels sound magnificent. On my Jaguar H, D'A XL's don't have enough tension to be stable, but La Bella 760FL-M sound great, as if they were OEM. And so it goes for each bass. I will only go so far as: [make and model of strings] sound [good, bad in between] on this particular [make model] bass. I won't make categorical statements, because I actually make more money year-to-year from gigs with my Ibby and a set of D'A XL170BT with a 130 B-string tuned to C.When I get my own BB735A, the first thing I'll be doing is to change out those strings. Not a fan of D'A XL Nickels myself.
I've researched this particular bass enough to know the low B needs to be between 37" and 37.75" in winding length to fit properly thru-body. "Long Scale" by most major manufacturers (GHS, Ernie Ball, D'Addario, Dunlop, Rotosound, SIT, etc.) are 37"-37.25" these days, so that should fit this bass just fine. The only notable exception is Elixir, whose "long scale" is 36.5", which is long enough for top-loading but probably a bit too short for thru-body on this bass.
