try as I may, I can't finger this one out on my own . . .
I've been lurking here for a while and apologize for not introducing myself sooner. I promise to do so after I post this request -- Does anyone know of a quality string for a 1/4 scale bass?
"Quality" to me is mostly a warm (dark? . . . probably not on this bass) arco tone and some sustain pizzicato. Thump sounds great, but again, this probably isn't the bass for it. I just want something that won't be too scratchy to bow and produce some bass quality for the pizz stuff, and the scale really doesn't seem to offer much selection. My fear is that fitting strings for a 3/4-scale will be problematic, but reading this board tells me most of y'all know far better than I do about that.
The backstory is my brother bought this bass in the country from a fella who sold him his pickup truck. It was a school's bass and sufficiently abused but still plenty playable. It's an Englehardt M-3 (52937). Someone had literally chopped across the strings and fingerboard in a dozen or so places, but it played as is and came with a bag and a bow. So, we bought it.
I sanded the fingerboard until the gouges were mostly eye-sores and replaced the strings with the cheapest ones in town (red label super-sensitives for a 1/2 bass). It sounds ok but mostly is a fun little instrument for me to gig with around town -- my twin brother and I have just started working on some acoustic material. Downside is that these strings are awfully rigid and just lack the warmth I remember from bowing the upright in my youth. Granted, it's a much smaller instrument but the string really seems to be the start of the brightness.
I'll get into my own rust in an intro post, but suffice to say the bass shouldn't be blamed alone. Sparing my skill (rather, lack thereof), does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing or any sort of informed recommendation?
Thanks in advance.
Intro post coming . . .
I've been lurking here for a while and apologize for not introducing myself sooner. I promise to do so after I post this request -- Does anyone know of a quality string for a 1/4 scale bass?
"Quality" to me is mostly a warm (dark? . . . probably not on this bass) arco tone and some sustain pizzicato. Thump sounds great, but again, this probably isn't the bass for it. I just want something that won't be too scratchy to bow and produce some bass quality for the pizz stuff, and the scale really doesn't seem to offer much selection. My fear is that fitting strings for a 3/4-scale will be problematic, but reading this board tells me most of y'all know far better than I do about that.
The backstory is my brother bought this bass in the country from a fella who sold him his pickup truck. It was a school's bass and sufficiently abused but still plenty playable. It's an Englehardt M-3 (52937). Someone had literally chopped across the strings and fingerboard in a dozen or so places, but it played as is and came with a bag and a bow. So, we bought it.
I sanded the fingerboard until the gouges were mostly eye-sores and replaced the strings with the cheapest ones in town (red label super-sensitives for a 1/2 bass). It sounds ok but mostly is a fun little instrument for me to gig with around town -- my twin brother and I have just started working on some acoustic material. Downside is that these strings are awfully rigid and just lack the warmth I remember from bowing the upright in my youth. Granted, it's a much smaller instrument but the string really seems to be the start of the brightness.
I'll get into my own rust in an intro post, but suffice to say the bass shouldn't be blamed alone. Sparing my skill (rather, lack thereof), does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing or any sort of informed recommendation?
Thanks in advance.
Intro post coming . . .
