In your experience, what are the best strings for that classic "mwaaaah" on an epoxied fingerboard?
BFG
BFG
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Strings for fretless
- Thread starter bassfootballguy
- Start date
I like GHS Pressurewounds or Ken Smith Compressors for electric, and GHS Pressurewound bronze for acoustic.
That's where the epoxy comes in, no?
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
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- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
Refinish it in twenty years or so if needed, no big deal. I have Sunbeams on one of mine, they are great in general and if you want mwah they can bring it for sure. I try not to emphasize that aspect of fretless all that much myself though, FWIW.
I use DR Hi Beams on several fretless basses, and they do eventually leave grooves, but it takes years. Got one that's due for a board levelling / epoxy treatment now, in fact. (I'll probably go with super glue instead.)
If you want to be safe, just don't play your bass.
Seriously though, it's not nearly as big a worry as you think to play rounds on a fretless. I'd be surprised if you had anything more than cosmetic damage after 10 years of regular playing.
Anyone who answers with anything besides roundwounds isn't answering the question. You may like flats or half wounds but for classic mwah you need rounds.
Nothing wrong with a bit of honest "wear and tear" earned doing what you love - a thousand times better than a fake "road worn" finish applied before the bass ever leaves the factory, IMO (but each to their own). If you want to keep it looking pristine, put it under glass and hang it on the wall. Otherwise, play it, enjoy it, and if the fretboard needs a refinish in 15 or 20 years, then it'll have been worth it.
If you could play a fretless bass with rounds(or pressurewounds for that matter) over a large white piece of paper on the floor under the neck for a period of time(pause).......you will not see fingerboard sawdust on it.
The extent of wear from rounds has been greatly exaggerated.
You will see winding marks after a great while.
Which are easily sanded out with a radius block and some super fine sand paper.
Edit:
Now.
If you slap,tap,double thumb and push the palm of your hand down the strings over the neck on your fretless(Jaco did this on occasion)the deal is off!
The extent of wear from rounds has been greatly exaggerated.
You will see winding marks after a great while.
Which are easily sanded out with a radius block and some super fine sand paper.
Edit:
Now.
If you slap,tap,double thumb and push the palm of your hand down the strings over the neck on your fretless(Jaco did this on occasion)the deal is off!
To which I will counter with EB Cobalt Flats.
Further, it is my experience that 'mwah' is much more a function of setup and technique than strings. Almost any string can be made to mwah on a flat board with low action. Since 1984 I've played Roto 66, 55 and 707, Dean Markley Half-Round, d'Addario ProSteel, Nickel and Chrome and EB Slinky and Cobalt Flats. Adding in some relief and raising the action will kill the mwah from even the brightest of shiny new SS rounds.
On the question of fingerboard damage, it is a real thing. The problem is it is easy to mistake minor wear or other imperfections for mwah. In this sound clip from a month or so ago there is slight wear around the F on the D string (14.5s and 27s onwards). The board was Plekked to perfection in September 2017 and this started happening in April 2021, with daily use.
Any decent rounds will mwah well; the secret is a hard board - epoxy, ebonol, etc.
I use TIs and sometimes White tapewounds. on the right board they both can sing. I have one bass with an ebonal neck that is very expressive and a Fender with ebony, I think, which is pretty dark.
DR Sunbeams work for me, but honestly, I think that sound comes more from technique and set-up than from a particular brand of strings.
+1 on Cobalt Flats. Easy on the fingers, easy on the board and produce great mwah with low action and a favored bridge pickup.
Rounds + lower action + play near fingerboard.
The epoxy should take care of that. Even without epoxy, there are things you can do to reduce wear, such as taking care to use a lighter touch (don't pound the strings into the fingerboard when playing), using fretless vibrato instead of bending the strings like a guitar, ... And keep in mind, there is a difference between marks left by the strings and actual wood removal - even flatwounds will leave marks. Wood removal would take years.
