Fretless Bass Strings

paragontheory · Post by **paragontheory** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 9:43 pm

What are the best strings for a 4 string electric Hartke Fretless with Active Pickups?

FretLessSince68 · Post by **FretLessSince68** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 11:24 pm

Search this site for "Strings", you should find some good suggestions.

The answer to your question is quite simple, the best strings for your bass are the ones you like the best.

This means that you, like most of us, will need to try various brands and types until you find the set that makes you happy.

You may save some money by buying strings that other players like.

You will find string topic information on this site that may point you in the direction you are seeking. Without more information from you about what you desire from your sound, and the type of music you play, I can't help you much except to say that I have a few favorites.

If it is Mwah you want then Round Wounds are important, I like D'Addario EXP170 (coated round wounds). RotoSound makes a nice string.

Good luck and tell us what you are looking for tone wise.

alx · Post by **alx** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:01 pm

good round string for fretless is DR sun beam!!

SC · Post by SC » Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:33 pm

DR black beauties. 40-60-80-100

they last about a month.

rasturino · Post by **rasturino** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:43 pm

Hi,

How roundwound can I get on rosewood fingerboard?

I'm getting my first fretless bass (also play fretted - many years): acquired a used fretless MIM Fender Jazz Bass neck with lined rosewood fingerboard to put on my late-60s Precision Bass.

I prefer the sound of roundwound strings and would especially like to stick with roundwounds on my p bass because of the low-bass p bass pickups. I'd like to go as roundwound as I can without gouging the fingerboard. I'm not against surface-scratches; I'd just rather not make gouges that impact the playability.

I like many bassists & sounds; I suppose the tones I'm thinking of for fretless would range though much of Victor Wooten and Alain Caron. I don't slap; I play 50% walking on jazz classics & 50% funk.

I've read each thread on the "strings" search on Fretless.com; also read the string makers' brochures -all very helpful! But for my specific case (especially the rosewood), do you have a recommendation? I have strings in mind: DR Sunbeam nickel-coated or DR color coated - what do you think?

Also, I've read about strings that have flatwound exterior over a
roundwound interior: who makes them? Are they good?

Also, any comments on LaBella Super Steps (roundwounds) on fretless?

Also regarding the posts on tapewounds & those on groundwounds - any experience putting them on rosewood?

Finally, I'd love to hear any tips from anyone who has put a fretless j bass neck on a p bass. FYI, my p bass is all original except for the strings & the finish. The body finish was beaten down & repainted; I don't care about it. So I'll welcome suggestions for customization that won't take too long (I'm short on time).

Thanks in advance & best regards!

kiwi60 · Post by **kiwi60** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 3:42 am

Your string choice really depends on what sound you want.
I've got round wound Everly bass Rockers on the Lightwave at the moment, but have ordered some Tomastik Infeld (the best string in the world IMHO) flat wounds as I want more of a double bass vibe happening in the jazz band.

To help you decide, an idea would be to google your favorite fretless players personel website and check out their gear as they often will tell you what strings they use.

Re the rosewood fingerboard, I built a cheap fretless bass a few years ago by defretting the neck and played it with round wounds on the rosewood, and noticed track marks starting to appear after a short time.
So I did a bit of hunting around the web and came across the idea of putting 5 coats of 'super glue' on the neck after taking it off, and masking off all areas that I wanted to keep it off.
The method I used was to pour a small quantity of the superglue on the neck and spread it quickley along the neck with a business card.
I let each layer set rock hard before applying the next one, and after I had the 5 coats on, I used a Stewat McDonald fretboad radius sanding block with wet and dry sand paper to flatten it out and polish it up - final polish was with a 2000 grit.

The result is a diamond hard coating on the fretboard, great mwaah and no wear after 3 years.

Hope this helps

Cheers

FretLessSince68 · Post by **FretLessSince68** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 4:16 am

Thanks for that great tip on coating a fingerboard.

Please tell us what CR (Super Glue) you used. Stewart McDonald sells in three viscosity's.

I have used Polyurethane to coat the fingerboards of several basses, the surface is hard but not really hard. I think CR may be a better solution.

kiwi60 · Post by **kiwi60** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 3:14 am

I used Loctite Super Glue Liquid Professional, heres a link:

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/4/2/sg ... sional.htm

spikeyjed · Post by **spikeyjed** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 4:40 pm

Folks,

for me, definitely flatwounds for fretless - you can use your finger positions for mwah, bass & amp for any contour boost.

Also helps to preserve your fingerboard playing vibrato. Currently using Fender .45 to .100 gauge, good price and last ages.

Spikey.

tubedude · Post by **tubedude** » Tue Dec 09, 2014 5:18 pm

Rosewood is too soft to use roundwounds.
Flats, halfrounds, or nylon tapewound are your best bet to avoid gouges.
Or the epoxy/cyanoacrylate route to harden the board.

MTDSlick · Post by **MTDSlick** » Sat Dec 13, 2014 2:13 pm

I use GHS tapewounds and I lvoe them. They help give me a hybrid sound between fretless and upright. I used to use flatwounds, but I always felt they sounded too cold and I was never happy with the tenson, but the GHS tapewounds feel and sound great to me. Good luck and happy hunting!

MTDSlick · Post by **MTDSlick** » Sat Dec 13, 2014 2:13 pm

I use GHS tapewounds and I lvoe them. They help give me a hybrid sound between fretless and upright. I used to use flatwounds, but I always felt they sounded too cold and I was never happy with the tenson, but the GHS tapewounds feel and sound great to me. Good luck and happy hunting!

Post by **FretlessBass.com** » Wed Dec 31, 2014 1:04 am

Hi everyone,
For me, I started using flatwounds on certain basses that had "vulnerable" fingerboards that I wanted to protect. Initially it was purely a protection issue. But when I discovered Ernie Ball flatwounds and strung them up on one of my Fender Precision basses I was hooked. I had no idea how different they could be. Though I love the growl and "mwah" of a roundwound as much as anybody, the silky smooth effect of these flatwounds really caught my attention. So now having a bass strung with flatwounds and another with roundwounds really provides a nice variety. We do not endorse Ernie Ball officially, for the record. I have just found them to be very smooth and consistent. We have them listed at http://fretlessbass.com/shopping/shopping-strings/. They can be hard to find at retail shops, but online there are plenty of options. I was fortunate to actually interview John Taylor of Duran Duran recently and he brought up the topic of flatwounds and his recent re-discovery of them. John admittedly has not played much fretless, but he has a few songs in the past and hopefully some in the future that feature fretless (more info to come on that multi-part interview). I think people tend to forget they exist, and even on a fretted bass they bring such a nice difference, its quite refreshing. A bass player friend of mine was also telling me of his re-discovery of flatwounds at a high school reunion recently. Its funny how something that simple can make such a difference. If you haven't tried them give it a shot.

www.FretlessBass.com

Fretless Bass Strings

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