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Tried out Lumped Bass Strings made by Jonathan Kemp

Santraginus

Santraginus

Apr 24, 2005
253
27
56
Frankfurt, Germany
#1
About ten years ago, I sold my Sadowsky NYC five-string JJ because I never got used to the way the b-string sounded, especially when played in higher registers, i.e. above maybe the sixth or seventh fret.
Now, much later, I got curious and tried the lumped bass strings (made by Jonathan Kemp in Scotland) by putting a b-string on my Jazz bass, to see how the string sounds.

The test went to my complete satisfaction, because all over the lenght of the neck, the notes rang evenly, without shifting overtones or poor definition. Of course, some tonal degradation happened at the upmost frets, but pretty neglible compared to what I was experiencing with all other strings - and I tried a lot of different brands and gauges, never to my satisfaction.

There are some older threads related to Kemp strings on talkbass... Has anybody else tried them in the meantime? What are your experiences?

Regarding myself: I am in the market for a new 5-string bass... :-)
 
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#4
Santraginus said:
About ten years ago, I sold my Sadowsky NYC five-string JJ because I never got used to the way the b-string sounded, especially when played in higher registers, i.e. above maybe the sixth or seventh fret.
Now, much later, I got curious and tried the lumped bass strings (made by Jonathan Kemp in Scotland) by putting a b-string on my Jazz bass, to see how the string sounds.

The test went to my complete satisfaction, because all over the lenght of the neck, the notes rang evenly, without shifting overtones or poor definition. Of course, some tonal degradation happened at the upmost frets, but pretty neglible compared to what I was experiencing with all other strings - and I tried a lot of different brands and gauges, never to my satisfaction.

There are some older threads related to Kemp strings on talkbass... Has anybody else tried them in the meantime? What are your experiences?

Regarding myself: I am in the market for a new 5-string bass... :)
Click to expand...
It's very hard for me to imagine any B string being better than a Sadowsky Tapered .125. That string on a Sadowsky 5 string is so nice and even up and down the neck IME. If anything most other B strings are too overpowering in the upper register.
My personal favorite is a Thomastic Infeld Jazz Round B string. Along with the rest of the JR345 set, they are just wonderful.

All that said, I'd love to try out a Lumped B string.
 
#6
michael_t said:
A couple of questions...

If I wanted to try one of the B strings, where can I get it? Would you be able to post a pic of these strings on your bass, including the lumped part? Thanks.
Click to expand...

You can find them at kempstrings.com.
I tried only the b on my Jazz Bass, to try out how it sounds. I won‘t be using the entire string set until I acquired a five string bass. I can post a photo of the string later today.

EDIT: And once I have a five string bass (in a couple of months, hopefully), I will post some sound samples.
 
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#8
IMG_2212.jpeg
 
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#10
For me, it is not about equal tension between strings, but about tonal properties. Never really could stand the tone of normal B-strings, including all the top brands, when played in upper registers. Even the E-string gets somewhat unfocused farther up there.

The strings are seemingly only available from Jonathan Kemp himself. I hope that he will be licensing their production to a major string manufacturer at some point.
 
#11
I use D'Addario ProSteels on my Fender American Jazz Deluxe 5. I purchased the bass right off the line, literally, new in Oct 2009. I've done roughly 2000 paid dates and countless rehearsals and sessions, along with daily personal practice, with this, my only fretted bass, since I got it. Every string set I've used in that time has performed flawlessly, with the exception of a Dunlop Steel B string that was awful. To say I know this bass intimately would be a gross understatement. And my B strings have always played well, sounded excellent, all the way to the last fret. All sets, all materials.

I use ProSteels as my go to, favorite, best sounding and longest lasting string set. But I have tried virtually all strings on a market, these just do it for me. In each case, however, with all the sets I've tried, all my strings play and sound great to the last fret.

Part of my success is in the installation. There are certain things I learned about the install process over the years that have helped the performance and longevity of my strings.

But I believe that the single greatest contributor to my success has been string height, over both the neck AND the pickups. I think folk try to get their action so low as to be easy to play, but I think that action too low inhibits string vibration, and pickups too close to strings attempting to get the most output are what causes the warbling effect so many mention when speaking of their larger strings. Especially in the higher registers, where pressing a string down naturally gets the string closer to the pickups. Sometimes TOO close...

Roger Sadowsky used to write tech articles in Bass Player Magazine long ago. I read, then re read, these articles religiously over the years. And still do. He mentioned Will Lee, who, he said, had to have ridiculously high action to get his tone. I come from playing upright, where higher action is necessary to get the strings to speak properly, for volume. So, I raised my action quite high by today's standards. And for me, it helps tremendously in getting even response up and down the neck on all my strings.

When I first started using B strings, they were new tech. Manufacturing techniques were still a mystery, and B strings were all over a map in quality and performance. 30 years later, B strings have improved greatly in quality over that time, as well. But the single most important factor to me is distance. Finding the right balance of string height and playability is key. And it's been a very long time since I had a string set that didn't perform exactly the way I wanted it to. B strings included.

Having said ALL that, heh (I know, I know...), the lumped string concept does sound interesting. Problem is cost, and, I string my bass thru the body. To get a string with this design to work, it would have to be a set they don't make. I can't use taper wound strings for the same reason. The taper, nor the lump, would end up at a location that would allow the string to function the way in which it is designed.
 
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#14
In one of the threads that @michael_t referenced, I had a good discussion with Dr. Kemp. I emulated his experiments with golfer's lead tape, putting one wrap around the E string of the set I had on my bass at the time. I watched the traces settle down and achieved essentially the same results as Dr. Kemp. He agreed it was a singular way of confirming his results. I don't play as many gigs as I used to a few years ago, so I am still considering the strings' pros and cons due to cost. But one of these days I'm sure I will try a set.
 
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#15
iiipopes said:
27681297[/URL], member: 145228"]I had a good discussion with Dr. Kemp. I emulated his experiments with golfer's lead tape, putting one wrap around the E string of the set I had on my bass at the time. I watched the traces settle down and achieved essentially the same results as Dr. Kemp. He agreed it was a singular way of confirming his results.
Click to expand...

Well done! :thumbsup:

I have a great deal of admiration for anyone who takes the trouble to do an experimental verification of a claim before accepting or dismissing it, rather than indulge in a never ending philosophical debate over it. Something that’s more the norm rather than the exception at TB.

Extra points for also discussing your findings with the original researcher.

Science. It’s a wonderful thing. :cool:
 
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#19
David McIntire said:
But I believe that the single greatest contributor to my success has been string height, over both the neck AND the pickups. I think folk try to get their action so low as to be easy to play, but I think that action too low inhibits string vibration, and pickups too close to strings attempting to get the most output are what causes the warbling effect so many mention when speaking of their larger strings. Especially in the higher registers, where pressing a string down naturally gets the string closer to the pickups. Sometimes TOO close...

Roger Sadowsky used to write tech articles in Bass Player Magazine long ago. I read, then re read, these articles religiously over the years. And still do. He mentioned Will Lee, who, he said, had to have ridiculously high action to get his tone. I come from playing upright, where higher action is necessary to get the strings to speak properly, for volume. So, I raised my action quite high by today's standards. And for me, it helps tremendously in getting even response up and down the neck on all my strings.

When I first started using B strings, they were new tech. Manufacturing techniques were still a mystery, and B strings were all over a map in quality and performance. 30 years later, B strings have improved greatly in quality over that time, as well. But the single most important factor to me is distance. Finding the right balance of string height and playability is key. And it's been a very long time since I had a string set that didn't perform exactly the way I wanted it to. B strings included.

Having said ALL that, heh (I know, I know...), the lumped string concept does sound interesting. Problem is cost, and, I string my bass thru the body. To get a string with this design to work, it would have to be a set they don't make. I can't use taper wound strings for the same reason. The taper, nor the lump, would end up at a location that would allow the string to function the way in which it is designed.
Click to expand...

I may agree on some of this as too small distance between pickup and string is not good for a balanced sound. This is also depending on the type and strength of the pickup, so the recommended distance may vary quite a bit.
I also like to have rather high action but this creates another problem since too high action creates a big angle when fretting the string and it will sound out of tune… maybe no double tone but very hard to intonate the string on the higher frets.

As many have said it would be interesting to try these lumped strings.
 
#20
The “lump” is another step in string technology that’s been going on since the 1950’s for electric bass strings. Heck, round wound strings were one of the steps in bass string technology, because all strings were flat wound in the beginning. Exposed / taper core, different gauges, different steel alloys, coated strings, etc. were all developments in string technology. This “lump” step might become as common as nickel plated steel winding wire. It and future steps in string technology are welcome to me even with a little extra cost because at my age with my current bass collection, I don’t see myself swapping everything for fan-fret / multi-scale.
If new string design isn’t your thing, just remember, without it we would all be playing flats or metal wound guts….
 
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