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What strings for pau ferro fretless neck?

polokojo

polokojo

Dec 17, 2004
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Paris
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#1
I recently installed a fretless neck on my jazz bass (the neck is from a fender jaco signature). It has pau ferro fingerboard and my feeling so far is that this wood feels quite different than the more popular rosewood or ebony.
I have been experimenting with strings but I don't think I have found the ideal combination yet.
For the Pau ferro fretless players out there, is there a kind/brand of strings that suits this wood better than others in your opinion?
Thanks!
 
#2
If you’re after the iconic fretless “mwah,” you’re on the right track with pau ferro. Best as I can tell, the “secret sauce” for that sound is the combination of a hard neck wood, roundwound strings, and a tilt towards the bridge pickup. The most prominent “mwah” seems to come with an epoxy-coated neck, which will be even harder (look up audio clips for Pedulla Buzz basses.)

Ebony and pau ferro are both harder woods than rosewood (pau ferro actually means "iron wood"). I’ve noticed that MTD fretless models all have ebony 'boards, despite their fretted brothers in the same model line having a different wood.

I’ve inquired here on TB about the situation of roundwounds damaging a pau ferro fretboard, and found that it can be a problem if you do a lot of vibrato (read, pressing hard and pulling the strings). However, even at that it should be minimal and easily dealt with by a qualified luthier.

I have a Tobias fretless with a pau ferro 'board, and I went with nickel roundwounds, which get most of the sound of stainless rounds, but are easier on the fretboard. It sounds really nice with lots of “mwah.” I also have an Ibanez BTB fretless with a (softer) rosewood ’board, and it’s much more subdued by comparison. I’m using flats on that one (rounds didn't seem to get more "mwah").

The amount of “mwah” can be dialed in (or out) by emphasizing the bridge (more) or neck (less) pickup. EQ can contribute too, especially treble and midrange. Swapping roundwound strings for flats will tone down the “mwah” as well, as would swapping the neck for one with a rosewood fretboard.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your journey!

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

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#5
I believe pau ferro is actually softer than rosewood (Janka hardness scale) so I'd expect more string marks. MM used it on their Stingray fretless so I have to believe it is a solid choice.

And please, don't bend strings for vibrato on fretless, move your finger slightly along the length of the strings like a violin player does.

Strings? Flats will mark the neck less than rounds. I've been using TI flats on my ebony neck but recently switched to rounds because I wanted more upper clarity from the notes. I expect more marks. On PF I'd take the same approach. Try flats. If you're happy you're done. If not, rounds for the sound.
 
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#7
polokojo said:
...is there a kind/brand of strings that suits this wood better than others in your opinion?
Click to expand...
i have one ax with a pau ferro fingerboard. i've used several different round-wound sets, and i've enjoyed all of them on that fingerboard.
- roto 66 (ultra-light gauge) --- could have been the funkmaster set.
- TI jazz rounds.
- currently: dogal-hellborg stranded cores.

BLUE PJ.png (pictured with rotos)

it's my only active ax. i'm pretty sure any string set would shine when paired with this instrument. but i'm a 'rounds guy', so that's all i've ever tried.
 
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#12
darwin-bass said:
I believe pau ferro is actually softer than rosewood (Janka hardness scale)
Click to expand...
This is correct. Pau ferro is slightly softer than East Indian rosewood (which is the type of rosewood that's most commonly used for guitars today). Ebony is harder than both, although some types of ebony are only slightly harder than rosewood.

But of course, wood is an organic material and janka hardness is all about averages. The janka hardness of pau ferro and rosewood is close enough that a random random piece of pau ferro can probably sometimes be harder than a random piece of rosewood.
 
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#13
My take on this is that people tend to overthink this just a bit. Fingerboard wear is a thing - I won’t pretend it isn’t - but in 40-ish years of playing fretless it’s only ever been minimal on even my most played instruments.

Some people play much harder than I do and experience wear at a much faster rate. On fretted basses I’m sure they wear out frets faster than I do, too. Even classical bassists need to have their boards dressed and eventually replaced.

My point here is that you should use the strings that you’re most comfortable using and not choose them based upon fingerboard wear. Just dress the board or replace it when it becomes necessary; it’s the cost of doing business.

In terms of tone, I find pau ferro to be very similar to rosewood. Much more similar than I think some people want to believe. The only bass I currently have with a PF board is my ’88 Stingray. In the 32 years that I’ve owned it I’ve strung it with a variety of rounds. Early on I strung it with Dean Markley stainless steel rounds. Then moved to D’Aquisto nickel rounds, then D’Addario XL nickel, then Ken Smith Compressors (same as GHS Compression Wound) and, most recently, DR Sunbeams.

At no time did I choose the strings to suit the PF board; they were just the strings I was using on other basses at the time. I have a couple of fretless basses strung with flats for times when I want a change in tone (TI Jazz Flats on a Rickenbacker and Ernie Ball Group IV on a P-bass) but I normally string my fretless basses with Sunbeams these days, regardless of what wood the fingerboard is made of. I just like the way they feel and sound on a fretless.

I’d say just go ahead and string it up with strings you already know you like. When the time comes to replace them you can decide whether to stick with them or change course.
 
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#17
Rosewood not pau ferro but I've been used fairly abrasive D'Addario nickel XL's on my fretless parts J for over 15 years now and have only minimal wear showing that is completely superficial. As long as you are not bending strings, slapping aggressively or otherwise playing the instrument roughly, round wound wear on fretless is WAY overblown. Enough so I would call it a non-issue.
 
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#18
wysiwyg248 said:
Board close up view.

View attachment 7237667
Click to expand...

imho this looks to be Indian rosewood but i'm happy to be shown differently.

apparently fender did use pau Ferro as a substitute in the 90s, the internet is telling me if the pores are visible it's rosewood

my fretless P is a '97 and it has rosewood. I personally have tapes on both my fretless (labellas on one, fenders on the other) and I love em. great sound, easy to play. I have coil marks on both fingerboards but no real wear or scalloping or anything like that.

my first guitar was a hohner OM with a rosewood fretboard and i'm not kidding when I say the fretboard was unbelievably grooved in after ~20 years of play. just totally cooked. I don't see how typical rounds wouldn't wear in a fingerboard after awhile
 
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#19
wompwomp said:
imho this looks to be Indian rosewood but i'm happy to be shown differently.

apparently fender did use pau Ferro as a substitute in the 90s, the internet is telling me if the pores are visible it's rosewood

my fretless P is a '97 and it has rosewood. I personally have tapes on both my fretless (labellas on one, fenders on the other) and I love em. great sound, easy to play. I have coil marks on both fingerboards but no real wear or scalloping or anything like that.

my first guitar was a hohner OM with a rosewood fretboard and i'm not kidding when I say the fretboard was unbelievably grooved in after ~20 years of play. just totally cooked. I don't see how typical rounds wouldn't wear in a fingerboard after awhile
Click to expand...
I checked on line and you are right about the fingerboard. This instrument was built by the Custom Shop I think as a small Jaco homage series (it is stamped with a 3 of 17 mark), they didn't start using pau ferro until 2017 due to CITES restrictions on rosewood.
 

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