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What's To Know About Flatwound Strings For a 6 String Fretless Bass?

C

Count Bassula

Jan 7, 2024
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10
#1
I'm an experienced guitarist, but new to bass.

I just picked up a 6 string fretless bass but the seller unfortunately put round wounds on it. The guitar has a 34" scale. The strings are held by the bridge, not through the body.

What gauges are available in flatwounds? I am looking for the lightest gauge available.

Also what are the different metal choices used in different strings?

I thought it would be tuned like a guitar but apparently people tune the low string to B and the high string to A. This is interesting as it gets rid of the shifted B string when tuning a guitar.

One set I was looking at said the strings are not for through body guitars, and the wrapped portion must only be the part that is around the post or the strings will break.

What flatwound strings will be good for this guitar? Lighter is better...
The guitar has a 34" scale. The strings are held by the bridge, not through the body.

Thanks!
 
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#3
This probably should go over to the bass guitar side. Mods??

But… being a 6 string electric fretless player in addition to DB, my only recommendation is TI flats. Take a deep breath on the pricing, but remember it is a 6 string instrument. I play a Ken Smith BSR6 and these strings are my go to. Bright enough to cut through most mixes and last FOREVER. But still half the price of a set of 4 TI Spirocore Weichs for my double bass. And as @Lee Moses above said, the highest string is tuned to C. Standard Tuning is: B,E,A,D,G,C. Basically 4ths. But a lot of electric players do tune in 5ths. Even some DB players. It’s a thing.
 
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#4
Look at the web pages of the bass guitar string manufacturers for tension data.

Also know that this is the double bass (DB) side of Talkbass. We typically use 41 to 43 inch strings and these won’t be able to mount on a bass guitar. They are also several times more expensive than BG (bass guitar) strings.

BTW, TI flats are a good recommendation, I have them on my 6-string BG, but being a DB player, I hardly play that instrument.

You can tune them BEADF#B for guitar intervals an octave and a fourth lower. It‘s up to you to find out if chords in that low range are still useful.

Anyway, you might have better luck asking on the string forum of the bass guitar side of Talkbass.
 
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#6
Count Bassula said:
I just picked up a 6 string fretless bass but the seller unfortunately put round wounds on it. The guitar has a 34" scale. The strings are held by the bridge, not through the body.

What gauges are available in flatwounds? I am looking for the lightest gauge available.

Also what are the different metal choices used in different strings?
Click to expand...

For flats, stainless steel is the most common and what I would recommend.

Dunlop Flats would be a good place to start. They're one of the more flexible ones with comfortable tension and do come in a factory 6-string set.

Dunlop 6-String Flatwound Bass Strings DBFS30125
 
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#8
Count Bassula said:
How can I move this to the correct section? Maybe I'll redo it over there..

OK I posted it again in the correct section. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for the replies.
Click to expand...

It's already been moved. I just asked the moderator to delete the duplicate one for you.

When you realize you posted something in a wrong section, don't start up another one. Instead, click on the "report" link at the bottom of your original post and submit your request for it to be moved.
 
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#20
Count Bassula said:
The 30" is probably from saddles to nut, so there would have to be enough to go the length of the bridge and the length of the headstock plus windings.
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If you look at a Bass VI, it's got about 4" of full winding behind the bridge, and maybe an inch past the nut. So the scale length is 30" but the speaking length of the string is 35.5". It could work but the lowest note you'll get out of it is E. If you want to string your bass in B, I wouldn't do it.
 
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