String recommendations for Paranormal Rascal...

[J Posega]

I went ahead and put regular scale (not short) EB Slinky (cobalt) flats on my new Rascal. The E string wound one wrap of full diameter on the tuner, but these are pretty darn flexible and show no sense of stress that I would be worried about with stiffer flatwounds. These strings on this bass sound phenomenal.

 

[unclebass]

Since I was set to play Christmas music at a community gathering this past weekend, my wife let me open my present early. Absolutely beautiful!! Very fat tone! Took the zingy roundwounds off and put DR Legends on. Still trying to get them to settle in, but they may be a bit too dark for those pickups. I’ll need to play it a few more weeks to make sure, but I may be looking at putting a set of GHS Balanced Nickels on it. From what I can tell, it looks like it is right at 32.75 inches from ball end to the back of the nut. That means that GHS short scale strings should just squeak by. Might have to trim a small amount of silk to make them fit, but it looks like the Balanced Nickels or Pressurewounds may be a better fit for the humbucker pickups. The first picture is of my headstock with the DR Legends that are 33.5 to the silks, the second is another base with the Labella mustang flats that are 34 to the silks.

 

[the_Ryan]

I originally put the La Bella Mustang flats on my Rascal, but I felt they were too dark in the neck and middle positions so I switched to a set of medium scale Chromes and that seems to have brightened things up a bit while still retaining a thumpy character.

 

[klattman]

I originally put the La Bella Mustang flats on my Rascal, but I felt they were too dark in the neck and middle positions so I switched to a set of medium scale Chromes and that seems to have brightened things up a bit while still retaining a thumpy character.

I had the labella’s on also and the fit great and sound good but you lose versatility with this bass so I went back to pressurewounds.

 

[unclebass]

I had the labella’s on also and the fit great and sound good but you lose versatility with this bass so I went back to pressurewounds.

Did you use the short scale pressurewounds or the long scale set?

 

[klattman]

Did you use the short scale pressurewounds or the long scale set?

Pretty sure I’ve got long scale on there. Short scale for a thru body bridge I have failed at before.
(mus labella’s are perfect length of course).

 

[unclebass]

Tried an old set of long scale D'Addario tapes that I had lying around, sounded too thin. Then tried an old set of long scale GHS Balanced Nickels left over from another bass, still not right. Reinstalled the original rounds, definitely too bright. Finally put the DR Legends back on, reassuring my original thought that these basses are made for flat wounds. Looks like Darla will be wearing these for a while, especially since they seem to sound even better after the reinstallation.

During the multiple string changes, I noticed that the string ferrules are much shallower than those on my Sire U5. Didn't know that they came in different depths, since, until I acquired both of these basses this year, none of the other dozen plus basses I've owned have been string through. It appears that if I took the time and effort to remove the OE string ferrules, drill out the additional 1/2" to install deeper ferrules, It would open up a wider range of string options.

 

[dropbass]

Since I was set to play Christmas music at a community gathering this past weekend, my wife let me open my present early. Absolutely beautiful!! Very fat tone! Took the zingy roundwounds off and put DR Legends on. Still trying to get them to settle in, but they may be a bit too dark for those pickups. I’ll need to play it a few more weeks to make sure, but I may be looking at putting a set of GHS Balanced Nickels on it. From what I can tell, it looks like it is right at 32.75 inches from ball end to the back of the nut. That means that GHS short scale strings should just squeak by. Might have to trim a small amount of silk to make them fit, but it looks like the Balanced Nickels or Pressurewounds may be a better fit for the humbucker pickups. The first picture is of my headstock with the DR Legends that are 33.5 to the silks, the second is another base with the Labella mustang flats that are 34 to the silks.


View attachment 5279489 View attachment 5279490

Thanks for this. I’m loving mine. But def wanting to try the labella’s. Or possibly the med scale low tension Bella’s .

 

[enjoi1018]

Thinking about getting rid of the stock nickel rounds (does anyone know what exact set this is?) and try something different.

Legends seems great, and I’ve never tried them…

I absolutely love Pressurewounds, I run them on a carbon neck bass of mine with fantastic results. I don’t think I want to go this route, with this bass, though…

Are LaBella LTFs floppy on these basses given 1) they’re already low tension, 2) you seem to have to get a non-short scale set for these basses, and 3) the combo of them being low tension AND shortening their working length?

Thanks for the feedback! Any other experiences or opinions are welcome!

EDIT: I see LaBella makes a Mustang specific set, now. Are they basically DTFs but scaled differently, or are they their own thing?

Would TI flats also have the same issues above given they are very low tension?

 

[dropbass]

Thinking about getting rid of the stock nickel rounds (does anyone know what exact set this is?) and try something different.

Legends seems great, and I’ve never tried them…

I absolutely love Pressurewounds, I run them on a carbon neck bass of mine with fantastic results. I don’t think I want to go this route, with this bass, though…

Are LaBella LTFs floppy on these basses given 1) they’re already low tension, 2) you seem to have to get a non-short scale set for these basses, and 3) the combo of them being low tension AND shortening their working length?

Thanks for the feedback! Any other experiences or opinions are welcome!

EDIT: I see LaBella makes a Mustang specific set, now. Are they basically DTFs but scaled differently, or are they their own thing?

Would TI flats also have the same issues above given they are very low tension?

The labella mus. Fit on mine perfectly. Very happy.

 

[unclebass]

After playing the Legends for a few months, the sound was just too generic. These pickups needed something different. Tried a set of medium scale Chromes...I now know what everyone means when people say they sound metallic. Decided to go the direction of Pressurewounds, but since short scale Pressurewounds would likely not only have silk laying in the nut, but the G string would probably be too short to have enough windings on the tuning post, I went with the long scale light set. The silks reach all the way to the D tuner, but bare string wrapped around the E and A tuners hasn't caused any problems with playability or staying in tune. Achieved the slightly brighter sound I was after without the string noise I was getting from the factory rounds. Wish they would still offer them in a medium scale, but it is what it is...