Life is too short to worry about fingerboard wear so much that you miss out on the glorious mwah that can be had with rounds. Buy a set of rounds and try them. If you don't love 'em, put 'em on a fretted bass. Whatever you do, don't take the option of rounds off the table out of fear.
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What strings would you put on a fretless stingray?
- Thread starter poochiecheeks
- Start date
I use GHS Pressurewounds most times. They work well with every fretless I’ve ever put them on.
For roundwounds I like TI Jazz Rounds. A little low tension for some players. But they work for me. I’m not into mwah very much. (I think it’s been overdone to the point of where it’s become cliche unless it’s used in only very limited doses. Just my 2¢.) But these strings do have a very nice mwah if that’s your thing.
For tapewounds I really like LaBella Copper White Nylons. Brighter than than any black tapes I’ve tried but still not too bright sounding. I also really like the unique way they feel. Nothing at all like any other tapewound I’m familiar with. And I’ve tried close to all of them.
But FWIW I avoid tapewounds on my fretless that only has a piezo pickup because I get a little click every so often when I stop a note. The piezo I have on that bass (Godin Acoustibass, ebony fingerboard, L.R. Baggs piezo and preamp) is very sensitive to the sound of the tape coming into contact with the fingerboard. And the onboard EQ on this bass doesn’t completely eliminate it no matter how I set it. So I keep it strung with a set of Pressurewounds which it seems to like.
For roundwounds I like TI Jazz Rounds. A little low tension for some players. But they work for me. I’m not into mwah very much. (I think it’s been overdone to the point of where it’s become cliche unless it’s used in only very limited doses. Just my 2¢.) But these strings do have a very nice mwah if that’s your thing.
For tapewounds I really like LaBella Copper White Nylons. Brighter than than any black tapes I’ve tried but still not too bright sounding. I also really like the unique way they feel. Nothing at all like any other tapewound I’m familiar with. And I’ve tried close to all of them.
But FWIW I avoid tapewounds on my fretless that only has a piezo pickup because I get a little click every so often when I stop a note. The piezo I have on that bass (Godin Acoustibass, ebony fingerboard, L.R. Baggs piezo and preamp) is very sensitive to the sound of the tape coming into contact with the fingerboard. And the onboard EQ on this bass doesn’t completely eliminate it no matter how I set it. So I keep it strung with a set of Pressurewounds which it seems to like.
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My fretless 'ray is a 32" scale Warmoth build. Ebony blank plank and an East 3-band EQ pre with sweepable mids. I've tries rounds, 1/2 rounds, TI Jazz Flats. I keep coming back to the JF as the ones that sound the best to me.
If it was a 34" scale, I'd probably give Pressure wounds a try.
If it was a 34" scale, I'd probably give Pressure wounds a try.
Must be the play with vice grip hands crowd or something. Some folks are super worried about this. Must have balsa wood fingerboard.
If you have some money to play with, and some fingertips left, try Roto Jazz Swing 66's. Yes, the Jaco strings.
Hard on the pinky's? Yes. Hard on the fretboard? Debatable. Good to the ears? Yes, IMHO, YMMV.
Hard on the pinky's? Yes. Hard on the fretboard? Debatable. Good to the ears? Yes, IMHO, YMMV.
Smooth_bass88
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- Oct 31, 2006
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Nickel rounds. Pick your brand of choice. I Ebony is pretty tough. If you don’t want mwah on a fretless what’s the point?
What strings XXXXX did I put on XXX my fretless stingray?
TI Flats to tame it down.
(fretless or not is irrelevant to my string choice though)
I'd try Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats for an "in-between".
An LPF may be helpful as well. (the result is very different from a tone control)
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/strings-to-tame-a-sting-ray.1643723/page-4#post-28277626
Lots of great suggestions, thank you.
I shared this on the fretless club page when I finally got it back, but I documented what happened to this bass before this point in a frantic thread I posted 2 years ago:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/im...less-neck-and-i-dont-know-what-to-do.1559416/
I shared this on the fretless club page when I finally got it back, but I documented what happened to this bass before this point in a frantic thread I posted 2 years ago:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/im...less-neck-and-i-dont-know-what-to-do.1559416/
I bought this from the original owner years ago sight unseen with no expectations of what it would sound like, but I have yet to find another bass like it. Very unique and one of the most Warwick sounding Warwicks I've ever played short of a thumb 5 string. I'm surprised the dual preamp idea isn't as common, it works really well to emphasize the bass on one pickup and the treble on another and blend the two together, especially when boosting the treble on either pickup sounds noticebaly different from each other. I know Low end Lobster on YT did a video on this concept with a Spector Eurobolt 4 string with EMG pickups but I haven't seen it much anywhere else.
It's been done to death already but fingerboard wear on fretless seems to be drastically overstated on this site. One time I let a former drummer of mine (keyword: former) play my fretless for all of 20 seconds, and that alone did more damage to the fingerboard in that instant than a year of consistant playing with rounds ever could, either Roto 66s or GHS nickels. I had one fretless with a rosewood board sound better with Chromes flats rather than any roundwound string I tried, but to me the idea of using something you don't prefer for the sake of preserving the fingerboard is counter productive.
I appreciate all the suggestions.
I'll probably try some nickel roundwounds as some have mentioned. The GHS nickels sounded great on a fretless PJ I used to have.
EB Cobalt flats are really great but every set I've had wants to rust, it must be some kind of body chemistry thing like how some people have nickel allergies.
I agree with the person who said pressurewounds are too high tension- I found a set I took off another bass and even the first 3 strings I put on were way too tight for what I'd prefer. The 5 string set only comes in one set of gauges so I'd bet the lighter 4 string set would be great on a different bass.
DR Hi Beams are a great suggestion that I didn't consider. I've had luck with the sunbeams in the past though they are on the looser side.
I've never tried tapewounds but I'd rather not file the nut slots any wider on this bass as the brass nut was custom made along with the new fingerboard.
I'll probably try some nickel roundwounds as some have mentioned. The GHS nickels sounded great on a fretless PJ I used to have.
EB Cobalt flats are really great but every set I've had wants to rust, it must be some kind of body chemistry thing like how some people have nickel allergies.
I agree with the person who said pressurewounds are too high tension- I found a set I took off another bass and even the first 3 strings I put on were way too tight for what I'd prefer. The 5 string set only comes in one set of gauges so I'd bet the lighter 4 string set would be great on a different bass.
DR Hi Beams are a great suggestion that I didn't consider. I've had luck with the sunbeams in the past though they are on the looser side.
I've never tried tapewounds but I'd rather not file the nut slots any wider on this bass as the brass nut was custom made along with the new fingerboard.
