Yes, when I first bought a fretless bass, I asked suggestions about strings, and they told me that nickel strings work better 'cause they're softer and they won't eat the fingerboard...they calso recommended me some kind of strings: D'Addario Xl roundwounds, DR Hi-Beams, Elixir and LaBella Super Steps...being the latest two a bit expensive (even if really good) I alternate between the first two and I've always been at home!
Once every year I'll bring both my axes (fretted and fretless) to my luthier so he can clean them from sweat, marks ecc...my current fretless has a palissander lined fingerboard and the one I had before palissander unlined, and thanks God the luthier never found damages, so I suggest you to try nickel strings, steel strings work great for fretted bass, slapping ecc...
String type
I have to say that any string type leaves marks on a fretless board, even if it has a hard wearing finish such as epoxy. I've recently had this done and continue to use roundwounds and even epoxy coated boards will mark, mine certainly has but it does not effect playability. It is true nickel is softer but will still mark the board, all that has to be done is have your board periodically dressed when you feel that it is effecting playability, this goes for both unfinished and finished boards in my experience.
I will try and get some close up shots of my epoxy board if anyone is interested, just to show how much it gets marked.
I will try and get some close up shots of my epoxy board if anyone is interested, just to show how much it gets marked.
Hey Folks-
Just reporting in, I went with the Ernie Ball Group IIIs. I use these same flats on my old Peavey Fury, just the Stage II variant. Man, these are the highest tension flats on the planet. Sound is nice: big, fairly bright, lots of snap for flats. All that tension tugged Hell out of the neck of my SX Bargain Bass. I have been enjoying truss rod tweaks for the last couple of days. Right now, I have a little too much buzz in the first position, and not enough up around the 15th fret region. I'll be happy to have this worked out.
Just reporting in, I went with the Ernie Ball Group IIIs. I use these same flats on my old Peavey Fury, just the Stage II variant. Man, these are the highest tension flats on the planet. Sound is nice: big, fairly bright, lots of snap for flats. All that tension tugged Hell out of the neck of my SX Bargain Bass. I have been enjoying truss rod tweaks for the last couple of days. Right now, I have a little too much buzz in the first position, and not enough up around the 15th fret region. I'll be happy to have this worked out.
I'm forever tweaking my truss rod, I like to get the board as straight as possible, low action and some buzz, but you know what it's like too much buzz and the note chokes and can't breath.McFook wrote:Hey Folks-
Just reporting in, I went with the Ernie Ball Group IIIs. I use these same flats on my old Peavey Fury, just the Stage II variant. Man, these are the highest tension flats on the planet. Sound is nice: big, fairly bright, lots of snap for flats. All that tension tugged Hell out of the neck of my SX Bargain Bass. I have been enjoying truss rod tweaks for the last couple of days. Right now, I have a little too much buzz in the first position, and not enough up around the 15th fret region. I'll be happy to have this worked out.
Mcfook, you probably know this already....have you tried tightening the truss rod, to get rid of the extra buzz you're getting?
Yup.
In the full-on Dan Erlewine fashion. You catch that "How to" in BassPlayer a couple of years ago? Worth looking up. Way better than the old "bend iwith your leg/crank the allen key" method.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that the neck adjustment for a fretless is way more complicated than a fretted. Trying to get an even mwah the whole length of the apparatus is fussy business.
In the full-on Dan Erlewine fashion. You catch that "How to" in BassPlayer a couple of years ago? Worth looking up. Way better than the old "bend iwith your leg/crank the allen key" method.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that the neck adjustment for a fretless is way more complicated than a fretted. Trying to get an even mwah the whole length of the apparatus is fussy business.
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FretLessSince68
- Posts: 307
- Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2006 2:29 am
- Location: On an Island, WA, USA
I'm using d'Addario ENR's (Groundwound) on a Conklin fretless Sidewinder 7 and they are excellent. I wish I had discovered them sooner.
Fairly smooth to the touch, not as smooth as flats but not at all rough.
The sound is complex and somewhere between flats and rounds. Good harmonics but not ringingly brilliant. Lows are tight, not flabby. Low mids are very nice, great for fretless.
Groundwounds are an excellent compromise. RotoSound RS77s are also excellent.
EDIT 03/01/2010
D'Addario seems to have changed the grind spec on ENR strings and my most recent two sets were almost as rough as round wounds.
I no longer use ENR strings on my fretless basses with wood fingerboards. Currently I am using RotoSound RS77s. Not as much mwah as round wounds but still a good sound.
The quest goes on.
Fairly smooth to the touch, not as smooth as flats but not at all rough.
The sound is complex and somewhere between flats and rounds. Good harmonics but not ringingly brilliant. Lows are tight, not flabby. Low mids are very nice, great for fretless.
Groundwounds are an excellent compromise. RotoSound RS77s are also excellent.
EDIT 03/01/2010
D'Addario seems to have changed the grind spec on ENR strings and my most recent two sets were almost as rough as round wounds.
I no longer use ENR strings on my fretless basses with wood fingerboards. Currently I am using RotoSound RS77s. Not as much mwah as round wounds but still a good sound.
The quest goes on.
Last edited by FretLessSince68 on Tue Mar 02, 2010 2:24 am, edited 2 times in total.
One good note makes my day.
Damn'it, even if I've always used nickel strings and periodically I clean my fingerboard, I'm starting to have me too little marks on the fingerboard, which on one side means that it's a bass that I've used a lot and gives it that "relic" feeling, and on the other side it's a thing that crashes enormously my b+++s!
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FunkDaFied
- Posts: 83
- Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 1:36 pm
- Location: France
- Contact:
What about Nylon strings 
How it sound
I know that it wont damage the fingerboard , and maybe playable
Did you try them
(I don't have a fretless bas yet, I'm waiting for the dealer's information.
It takes a lot of time
I'm waiting for news from Tune's Guitar Technology.
I saw the Ibanez Gary Willis bass GWB35... Good but only 5 strings)
How it sound
I know that it wont damage the fingerboard , and maybe playable
Did you try them
(I don't have a fretless bas yet, I'm waiting for the dealer's information.
It takes a lot of time
I'm waiting for news from Tune's Guitar Technology.
I saw the Ibanez Gary Willis bass GWB35... Good but only 5 strings)
Yeah, I tried them but I didn't feel at home because they felt so strange under my fingers! I think I will take my bass to the luthier more often, maybe he can reduce the damage...anyway I think it's just a visual thing, the sound of my bass is not changed...
Just a little advice: if you want a good six string fretless, the Tune bass is really good if you can afford it (around 1100 euros); there are also some cheaper six string that are excellent. like Peavey or Cort..
Just a little advice: if you want a good six string fretless, the Tune bass is really good if you can afford it (around 1100 euros); there are also some cheaper six string that are excellent. like Peavey or Cort..
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FretLessSince68
- Posts: 307
- Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2006 2:29 am
- Location: On an Island, WA, USA
I have put Black Nylon Tape Wound strings on fretless basses every so often as long as I can remember. At first I really like them because the sound is closer to URB. After a while I decide that I don't like the feeling of low tension strings and change them out for something like RotoSound RS77, D'Addario Ground Wounds, D'Addario Chromes, or GHS Brite Flats.
The Black tape strings are probably the smoothest and least abrasive string you will find. Flats and ground wounds are next best and there is not much difference in any of these in terms of fingerboard wear.
At this time I prefer the sound of D'Addario Ground wounds over their Chromes. EDIT 03/01/2010 No longer using D'Addario ENR ground wounds.
If it's an upright sound you want, then Black Tape strings are probably as close as you will get. You will need a light touch as they tend to get flabby when you dig in, otherwise great strings.
If your bass has a piezo P/U than there is another solution for the upright sound at this topic Make Your Piezo Fretless Sound Like an Upright http://fretlessbass.com/viewtopic.php?t=31.
The hardness of your fingerboard, and how much time and money you are are willing to invest in resurfacing the fingerboard, are important factors too. If you require the sound of stainless roundwounds on a Rosewood fingerboard, then you also have to accept that you will be digging ruts under the strings.
Personally, once I get a fingerboard the way I like it, I don't want to work on it unnecessarily, so I don't use stainless round wounds on any fretless bass. I use nickle roundwounds on the man made material fingerboards, and flats or ground wounds on the wood boards.
EDIT 3/24/2011
I am using D'Addarios EXL nickle round wounds on my recently acquired Aria Pro II Steve Bailey 6str fretless with ebony fingerboard. This bass was relatively inexpensive so I can always dress the fingerboard when ruts appear without worry of damaging an expensive boutique axe. The issue has become one of getting mwah, so round wounds are preferred. Genuine Gabon (African) Ebony is very hard and more resistant to rutting than most other woods.
END EDIT
The Black tape strings are probably the smoothest and least abrasive string you will find. Flats and ground wounds are next best and there is not much difference in any of these in terms of fingerboard wear.
At this time I prefer the sound of D'Addario Ground wounds over their Chromes. EDIT 03/01/2010 No longer using D'Addario ENR ground wounds.
If it's an upright sound you want, then Black Tape strings are probably as close as you will get. You will need a light touch as they tend to get flabby when you dig in, otherwise great strings.
If your bass has a piezo P/U than there is another solution for the upright sound at this topic Make Your Piezo Fretless Sound Like an Upright http://fretlessbass.com/viewtopic.php?t=31.
The hardness of your fingerboard, and how much time and money you are are willing to invest in resurfacing the fingerboard, are important factors too. If you require the sound of stainless roundwounds on a Rosewood fingerboard, then you also have to accept that you will be digging ruts under the strings.
Personally, once I get a fingerboard the way I like it, I don't want to work on it unnecessarily, so I don't use stainless round wounds on any fretless bass. I use nickle roundwounds on the man made material fingerboards, and flats or ground wounds on the wood boards.
EDIT 3/24/2011
I am using D'Addarios EXL nickle round wounds on my recently acquired Aria Pro II Steve Bailey 6str fretless with ebony fingerboard. This bass was relatively inexpensive so I can always dress the fingerboard when ruts appear without worry of damaging an expensive boutique axe. The issue has become one of getting mwah, so round wounds are preferred. Genuine Gabon (African) Ebony is very hard and more resistant to rutting than most other woods.
END EDIT
Last edited by FretLessSince68 on Fri Mar 25, 2011 2:45 am, edited 2 times in total.
One good note makes my day.
DR Black Beauties
I'm running DR Black Beauties on my fretless G&L with rosewood board.
Low action, easy playing. They sound good, feel good, and don't mark it up so bad.
I have Elixirs on the Peavey Axcellerator, but they look like they need a shave.
Tried the Gary Willis Markleys, but they were like round files.
Low action, easy playing. They sound good, feel good, and don't mark it up so bad.
I have Elixirs on the Peavey Axcellerator, but they look like they need a shave.
Tried the Gary Willis Markleys, but they were like round files.
I wasn't like this when I got here.
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FretLessSince68
- Posts: 307
- Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2006 2:29 am
- Location: On an Island, WA, USA