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Rotosound Bass VI
- Thread starter Iristone
- Start date
The gauges look reasonable, if they're long enough should work?
In my experience, the Rotosound flatwound 090 is underwhelming on a VI: tone is significantly tubbier than that of its long-scale low E counterparts (possibly due to its construction, with a tighter ribbon, more in line with the D and G strings as found in Jazz Bass 77 sets of all lengths); perhaps even more importantly, the string is at the same time very low-tension and high-stiffness, making it hard to intonate (to the point that the saddle may run of adjustment) and to control (pitch upon the attack being jumpy to all but the softest of attacks).
Your mileage may vary, though: I do recall reading positive reviews of shorty/medium Roto flats on here (most, but not all, of the negative ones being mine).
What I would try (if I had the Fender/Squier VI, which I do not) is get the RS77LE, and install, after threading it into a 2" metal tube, the A 095 as a low E, as well as the 075.
As for the Top Tape set, you may have to wind the exposed core ending to the farthest tuning posts, assuming they get there at all: only one way to find out.
I'm thinking so, but won't the long-scale strings be too long for the short scale and small tuning posts?
EDIT - I'm back.
Sheesh, I searched for 10 minutes but couldn't find a single, undisputed picture of long-scale Rotosound Jazz Bass 77 flats at the headstock.
Those demoed by Mo Foster in this video seem to have the silks for the E and A strings pretty much aligned.
If consistently true, this would mean that the 095 too would be 37" long ball to silk, as their low E strings are said (by them) to be,
which in turn means it should taper just ahead of the nearest post, if threaded though the aforementioned 2" tube.
[The distance between the low-E ball-end anchoring at the vibrato tailpiece and its tuning post on a Fender/Squier VI is circa 35.625", according to @moon-bass who kindly provided the measurement.]
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The tube would certainly interfere with...
(googles "opposite of a dive bomb")
...reverse dive bombs / "pig squeals".
(This, of course, if and only if
- the Jaguar-type vibrato construction allows it in the first place, which I don't know
- total tension of the strings, certainly higher than on a Jaguar with typical electric-guitar gauges, allows it
- you're in any way interested in reverse-divebombing.)
But regular/subtle/vintage-style whammy-bar stuff, I believe, would not be impeded.
Really, the first step is getting the Top Tape set and seeing if it is long enough: should it not be the case, the Monel flat VI plan would fall apart.
I assume you've already considered ready-made alternatives, to wit the La Bella 767-6F and Pyramid VI2595F sets.
In the meanwhiles, check this out - a string manufacturer from Argentina that makes flatwounds and black nylon tapewounds and, as reported by @Saturday, does custom work:
LemmaSound strings
Cuerdas strings flatwound, planas, roundwound, blacknylon o doble bola para bajo eléctrico, acústico, multiescala, fretless, headless. Calibres y escalas custom
[Of course, for roundwounds there's a bunch besides those two: Newtone, Kalium, Stringjoy. Yet others can also be added to the list, though there may be minimum quantities involved (and some could restrict themselves to just custom sets of existing gauges/lengths), like Curt Mangan and Magma, to name two I'm aware of.]
At this stage, there is no evidence, mind you, that the Lemma Sound folks would be amenable to dealing intercontinentally - they may or may not, and in the latter case they may or may not be talked into doing it, if asked gently and/or often enough. Either way, it's nice to know they're there.
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