The Official 7-String Bass Club.

[Razman]

So I need to go read here a bit more but what is the consensus on Wolf 7 stringers? The D string a little weak on them? What pickups fit these things? I may go check out that green one on CL near me and see how it sounds, but I'd rather not have to sink a bunch of $$ into it. The owner is selling a USA Cirrus fiver for a good price also - not that I need a second five string, but it IS a Cirrus, and they rock. I really want another Conklin GT-7. Or three.

Raz

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

The D-string on mine was fine. I'm pretty sure Delanos will fit.

 

[wlan2]

I've never played the bass in question, but didn't the fretless groove tools come from the factory with a synthetic fretboard? If that's what you've got you should be able to use any strings without worry. If you've got one that was de-fretted by a player, that's a slightly different story, though purpleheart is a fairly hard wood anyway.

I ended up going with the Kalium roundwound 0.136B - 0.029C set, plus a 0.182F#. The nut needed some minor adjustment with a round file for the F#0 string, and the tapered end needed some persuasion to feed into the bridge. First time tuning the strings, the C machine head snapped, so I ordered two sets of Gotoh 4-string tuners to replace them.

I also confirmed, after going through some photos, that this is a de-fretted neck: it has the same top-edge inlays between the fret lines, which is disorienting for someone used to playing with dots directly on the fret lines. Eventually, I'd like to add some white dots at the proper positions, and black out the inserts and fret lines. (Any suggestions for materials or techniques?)

I looked into replacing the neck with an original fretless neck, but since this bass was manufactured in China under license, Conklin says I need to contact the company that handled the licensing for parts; and that company says they no longer have any parts for it, so I need to contact Conklin. So unless someone knows where a fretless neck for this bass is sitting around, I'm going to have to "finish" the conversion of the de-fretted neck on my own.

 

[IronSpatula]

I also confirmed, after going through some photos, that this is a de-fretted neck: it has the same top-edge inlays between the fret lines, which is disorienting for someone used to playing with dots directly on the fret lines. Eventually, I'd like to add some white dots at the proper positions, and black out the inserts and fret lines. (Any suggestions for materials or techniques?)

To be honest I've never really seen an "inlay delete" that looked clean. On solid black ebony, you might be able to get it to where it's invisible to the audience on stage, but there will always be enough textural difference between the wood and the fill zones that it would be obvious up close. On woods with more complex colors (like the stock purpleheart), you don't have the luxury of dyeing everything black and would need to try to match the color. Too much hassle IMO.

If you really want a clean board with dots positioned where the frets would go, I say your best bet is to replace the whole fingerboard. Most would probably have a trusted luthier take care of something like this, but a guy on here DIY'd a blank ebony board on his SX 6 string jazz and it looks fantastic.

In theory, it would also be possible to finish the face of the fingerboard with a tinted coating like black CA glue (hard-finished fingerboards do sound brighter). You'd essentially just be painting over your fretlines and would only need to deal with the stuff on the side that only you can see.

 

[Persona87]

Hey guys, question from a new 7-string bassist (pics incoming soon): how do you tune your highest strings? I like the regularity of fourths tuning, but going to a guitar tuning would let me use some of the chord shapes and melody lines I’ve used on guitar (not that I’m a super-experienced guitar player; I just like the idea of calling on my drop-2 voicing should the need arise). Are you a CF kind of person, or a BE?

 

[TolerancEJ]

I tune the highest C-F. I think it’s completely up to the individual though. Go ahead & change the tuning if you’re more comfortable.

 

[Aidil]

Hey guys, question from a new 7-string bassist (pics incoming soon): how do you tune your highest strings? I like the regularity of fourths tuning, but going to a guitar tuning would let me use some of the chord shapes and melody lines I’ve used on guitar (not that I’m a super-experienced guitar player; I just like the idea of calling on my drop-2 voicing should the need arise). Are you a CF kind of person, or a BE?

My BTB7 is on standard 4th (B0-E1-A1-D2-G2-C3-F3). I've had it on guitar like tuning (B0-E1-A1-D2-G2-B2-E3) for few weeks, but then concluded that the 35" scale and 15.5 mm bridge string spacing didn't make it anymore comfortable for playing guitar chord shapes. And this led me to buy Ibanez SRC6 which were specifically designed for this kind of tuning (E1-A1-D2-G2-B2-E3), although it has no low-B.

 

[Persona87]

You know, I was thinking about one of those. The problem is that the string spacing is so narrow that it's hard to play in a traditional bass style. I like playing finger style; in fact, my main guitar is a nylon string because it's easier to play with fingers. I'll probably end up going with CF, but I just thought I'd see what other people were doing first.

 

[Aidil]

You know, I was thinking about one of those. The problem is that the string spacing is so narrow that it's hard to play in a traditional bass style. I like playing finger style; in fact, my main guitar is a nylon string because it's easier to play with fingers. I'll probably end up going with CF, but I just thought I'd see what other people were doing first.

Ever since I learned classical guitar in junior high, I always let the fingernails on my right hand protruding a little bit. Even then when I had switched to bass as my main in college until now, I still keep them like that. So, I have no problem playing the SRC6 fingerstyle despite very tight string spacing.

 

[Razman]

No relation but the fellow answered a couple of questions for me, so if anyone is interested in an eight string GT-7 here you go:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

This may be a conversion I do one day; I prefer the 'normal' GT-7 string spacing however. Nice to see it can be done. That would give me my 8 string bass with a low F# and a high C though, just sayin'...

Raz

 

[Aidil]

No relation but the fellow answered a couple of questions for me, so if anyone is interested in an eight string GT-7 here you go:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

This may be a conversion I do one day; I prefer the 'normal' GT-7 string spacing however. Nice to see it can be done. That would give me my 8 string bass with a low F# and a high C though, just sayin'...

Raz

don't you mean a low F# and a high F? cause you could already have a low F and a high C by using your 7 string.

 

[Uncle Hanky]

I’m hoping to join this club very soon! I’m thinking I have my mind just about set on a nice used GT-7!!!

 

[spintop90]

Wow, looks so cool.

 

[Ed Goode]

 

[Razman]

Link Removed

Has anyone heard of this company? I’m still searching for reviews. Looks like they are made to order - might be my ticket to a seven string one day.

 

[CoR Bass]

Link Removed

Has anyone heard of this company? I’m still searching for reviews. Looks like they are made to order - might be my ticket to a seven string one day.

Never heard of them. You may be better off just getting this guy. Or keep an eye out for the Bill Dickens model. Sometimes they come up under $1k. I prefer them over the regular Conklin GT7 due to the thinner neck and upgraded electronics.

Conklin groove tools 7 string bass with Protec Contego Bass Case | eBay

 

[Razman]

Any clue who made this one? I was told it may be custom from Japan, but I can’t tell.

 

[Dr. Turkey]

Hey guys I hope to join the club some time this year. I wanted to ask first though, since most 7 string basses seem to use plain 1st strings, but for consistency would it be possible to use a guitar's wound G string instead? I realize I'd have to make some sort of modification to accommodate the smaller ball end but would the tension be an issue?

 

[Aidil]

Hey guys I hope to join the club some time this year. I wanted to ask first though, since most 7 string basses seem to use plain 1st strings, but for consistency would it be possible to use a guitar's wound G string instead? I realize I'd have to make some sort of modification to accommodate the smaller ball end but would the tension be an issue?

Ken Smith has .020 wound string which according to the website is meant to be used for high-C:

Bass Burner NPS Series - Ken Smith Basses

But, had you often played a 7-string bass strung with a plain high-F string, you would knew anyone who's hearing it played thru amplification wouldn't even notice. Just like most guitars use plain strings for the higher strings and wound strings for the lowers.

 

[Dr. Turkey]

Thanks for the link. Of course I realize most people listening won't notice, when I say for consistency I mean for my own sake, though I guess when I string it up with flats a plain 1st string will feel perfectly natural.

On another note, has anybody compared the weight of the Wolf basses to the Ibanez? I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up the btb and realized how light it was.