Warwick Alien 6 acoustic fretless strings

[EAME]

Evening all
Anyone got some string suggestions for the Alien 6 ?

Cheers

 

[Richard Lindsey]

Evening all
Anyone got some string suggestions for the Alien 6 ?

Cheers

Sorta depends on what kind of vibe you want to go for. I don't have an Alien 6 but I do have two 6-string ABGs, one fretless and one fretted. I'm a little more inspired by upright bass sounds when playing ABG, so I use Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats. The price is indeed painful, but they last a long time.

As far as I can tell, however, most people here use roundwounds, pressurewounds, or tapewounds on their ABGs. On my Emerald Balor 6, I actually got a decent sound just using a balanced set of Kalium roundwound electric bass strings, but it was a bit more guitar-like than I was going for on an ABG. I tried a set of La Bella tapewounds, but I thought there wasn't enough definition on the low B string; also I didn't love the feel under my fingers.

The GHS pressurewounds for ABG get some good press here; however, they don't make a 6 string set, so you'd have to fill in the gap with another type of string. I tried this, using an electric pressurewound string for the high string, but the resulting set didn't surpass the Jazz Flats for my tastes, though I thought it was better than the Kaliums.

Unfortunately, the choices for 6-string ABGists are considerably more limited than those for 4-stringers or 5-stringers.

P.S. Yet another choice, one I haven't tried, is the 6-string Acousticore set from T-I. They're reputed to be very low tension but to have a really interesting sound. Also quite expensive, though. I just haven't been able to convince myself to spend that much money on a set I might not like.

 

[EAME]

Hey Richard
Really appreciate the info in your reply-
Much to consider over the weekend ..

 

[EAME]

Sorta depends on what kind of vibe you want to go for. I don't have an Alien 6 but I do have two 6-string ABGs, one fretless and one fretted. I'm a little more inspired by upright bass sounds when playing ABG, so I use Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats. The price is indeed painful, but they last a long time.

As far as I can tell, however, most people here use roundwounds, pressurewounds, or tapewounds on their ABGs. On my Emerald Balor 6, I actually got a decent sound just using a balanced set of Kalium roundwound electric bass strings, but it was a bit more guitar-like than I was going for on an ABG. I tried a set of La Bella tapewounds, but I thought there wasn't enough definition on the low B string; also I didn't love the feel under my fingers.

The GHS pressurewounds for ABG get some good press here; however, they don't make a 6 string set, so you'd have to fill in the gap with another type of string. I tried this, using an electric pressurewound string for the high string, but the resulting set didn't surpass the Jazz Flats for my tastes, though I thought it was better than the Kaliums.

Unfortunately, the choices for 6-string ABGists are considerably more limited than those for 4-stringers or 5-stringers.

P.S. Yet another choice, one I haven't tried, is the 6-string Acousticore set from T-I. They're reputed to be very low tension but to have a really interesting sound. Also quite expensive, though. I just haven't been able to convince myself to spend that much money on a set I might not like.

Hey Richard
Really appreciate the info in your reply-
Much to consider over the weekend ..

 

[Jon Moody]

I had an Alien 6 string fretless when they first came out. Loved the bass, probably one of the few AEBs that acoustically held its own with two guitarists.

I threw light gauge steel strings on it, because I wanted more of that bright, Jaco-esque type of tone out of the bass. It handled them well, with no fingerboard wear aside from cursory marks that were made with the OEM set. The big body of the instrument played well with the brightness of the strings, allowing it to still keep a roundness and depth of tone. Because of that, I didn't think of using flats or anything darker on the bass.

I can't speak for the newer thinline ones.

 

[Barukh Immanuel]

I love the Labella tapewounds I've got on mine.