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suggestions for fretless

T

TechDeath

May 16, 2012
79
0
#1
recently my buddy let me borrow his homemade fretless 5 string with a MEC bridge pickup and a carvin pickup. haven't had it long enough where I can exactly tell which kind of tone I'm looking for but I really LOVE the tones I get on the higher strings. not really sure what I think about the lows, which are crucial for what I play, they're really muddy but I don't want to put steels on and change the sound too much. I need something with a decent amount of attack. any suggestions help! thanks in advance
 
#4
TechDeath said:
recently my buddy let me borrow his homemade fretless 5 string with a MEC bridge pickup and a carvin pickup. haven't had it long enough where I can exactly tell which kind of tone I'm looking for but I really LOVE the tones I get on the higher strings. not really sure what I think about the lows, which are crucial for what I play, they're really muddy but I don't want to put steels on and change the sound too much. I need something with a decent amount of attack. any suggestions help! thanks in advance
Click to expand...

By the higher strings, do you mean the D and G? And the E and A are muddy? What kind of bass is it? Have you tried adjusting the pickup height to where all 4 strings have even output?
 
#5
yea the D and G is that I meant by higher strings and the only muddy string is the B string. I'm just starting to think it's just the worn out string. and the pickups look to be pretty even already
 
#8
Dead strings could be the cause of what the OP experiences. It can also be caused by a large difference in tension. Some sets have pretty tight G, D and A strings with rather ploppy E and B strings. On my BEAD tuned Ibby I use Ernie Ball flatwounds which are very similar (if not equal) to D'addario Chromes. The EB's can be bought as singles, so a balanced set can be composed. 40, 55, 75, 100, 130 is what I'd advise for a five stringer.
 

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