Yep - even number of windings versus odd number of windings - the manufacturing house does all the initial winds one way, then the subsequent ones alternate. If you wind all the windings in the same direction, you make a solid/stiff string, negating the reason for doing windings in the first place
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Which way were YOUR strings wound?
- Thread starter fretlessman71
- Start date
Yep - even number of windings versus odd number of windings - the manufacturing house does all the initial winds one way, then the subsequent ones alternate. If you wind all the windings in the same direction, you make a solid/stiff string, negating the reason for doing windings in the first place
Can’t say I’ve ever looked that closely at my strings. I kinda just throw them on, tune them up and get to playing.
I won’t argue with what you’re hearing because that would be inane but is it really that big of a tonal difference?
I won’t argue with what you’re hearing because that would be inane but is it really that big of a tonal difference?
I think you're getting all wound up over the strings.........
My theory is that since you’re using a pick it is “grating” across the ridges of the b string differently than the rest. You could pluck E,A,D,G north to south and B south to north to see if that fixes the percussive difference.
I just looked at my basses and they all are spun the same way, both across the bass and to each other. Six string DR and Smith sets, and two sets of four string TI flats. @fretlessman71, I think whoever wound your strings must have been drinking at lunch that day.
Your post restored my faith in humanity.
D
In my experience most B-strings have a noticably different timbre compared to the other strings. Maybe this is what your engineer is hearing? Or possibly something setup-related, like pickup height? Setting the pickup height for the B-string can often be a compromise with many basses/pickups.
I honestly don't see how the marginally different direction of the wrapping could possibly matter? But then again, I'm 90% fingerstyle - 10% pick (and often palm muted). If you're a 100% pick player I guess something like this MIGHT matter. But to the extent that an engineer would react? It seems a bit strange to me. After all, bass players have lived with this for decades and this is the first time I've ever heard anyone complain about the direction of the wrappings...???
Does it happen with other strings too or ONLY with this brand? With other basses too or ONLY with this bass? I'm not saying you're wrong, just trying to help with troubleshooting in case the problem you're experiencing MIGHT be caused by something else.
I honestly don't see how the marginally different direction of the wrapping could possibly matter? But then again, I'm 90% fingerstyle - 10% pick (and often palm muted). If you're a 100% pick player I guess something like this MIGHT matter. But to the extent that an engineer would react? It seems a bit strange to me. After all, bass players have lived with this for decades and this is the first time I've ever heard anyone complain about the direction of the wrappings...???
Does it happen with other strings too or ONLY with this brand? With other basses too or ONLY with this bass? I'm not saying you're wrong, just trying to help with troubleshooting in case the problem you're experiencing MIGHT be caused by something else.
D
As for different "grind" across the strings... I don't think I've ever played a B-string that had anywhere near the same "grind" and the other strings, at least not unless it was almost fresh, out of the box. Most B-strings tend to mellow out quite a bit faster than the other strings in my experience.
I’m really not sure why. I have learnt a lot here - especially being an Australian. Why the sink goes backwards when emptying. You take the plug out and then the sink fills up ergo rain must go upwards ergo why the place is always in bloody drought. Also why, when I have my pickups up too high my strings warble the wrong way around. On “set up “ videos (which are always made in the Northern Hemisphere) they warble up then down but mine go down then up. There’s a lot in this stuff…
It was also the reason the bass on Dancing on the Ceiling was played on an Australian set.
This. The angle at which the pick strikes the string makes a huge difference in the sound of the attack. Try this: hold the pick tilted slightly forward, so that it strikes the string on the side of the pick that’s closer to the neck. Now hold it so that it strikes the string on the side of the pick that’s closer to the bridge. Depending on the direction of winding you’ll hear a scraping sound in one case and not in the other. In my experience, the first position feels much more natural, and will usually get you that scraping sound.
If you want that sound, you’ll have to get some strings that are wound in the same direction. For what it’s worth, my 5 string GHS round core boomers and my 4 string d’addario XLs are all wound the same way, but I’m sure there are a lot more sets to choose from.
If you don’t need that sound, try holding your pick as flat as possible, relative to the strings. That should get you an even sound regardless of the direction of winding. Or you could use a felt pick, but that will change the sound even more.
But with x decades of bass playing behind you, do you honestly believe him/her? The obvious differences (significantly more weight per metre, thickness, number of winds, the tendancy for bigger strings to 'go off' more quickly than thinner ones, witness point settings, and possible differences in the way you play bigger strings, etc) are far more likely candidates for attributable difference than the direction of the windings. Has he/she adequately demonstrated how he/she eliminated all of these far more obvious and probable causes to the point that winding direction remained the only possiblility? I know I would not accept this at face value given the overwhelming number of other possible and far more plausible explanations.
