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Pyramid Ubass strings, anyone tried them?


spinynorman
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I wasn't wild about the standard strings on my Kala Ubass, so I tried a set of Silver Rumblers. They seemed very sticky and if anything I liked them less.

Now I've seen Strings Direct are selling [url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/search/bass-ukulele#page1:infscr8867"]Pyramid Black Tape Nylon[/url] strings for Ubass. Has anyone tried these? They're expensive, but I wonder if they would feel more like "normal" strings.

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[quote name='spinynorman' timestamp='1422725499' post='2676147']
I wasn't wild about the standard strings on my Kala Ubass, so I tried a set of Silver Rumblers. They seemed very sticky and if anything I liked them less.

Now I've seen Strings Direct are selling [url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/search/bass-ukulele#page1:infscr8867"]Pyramid Black Tape Nylon[/url] strings for Ubass. Has anyone tried these? They're expensive, but I wonder if they would feel more like "normal" strings.
[/quote]

Thanks for the heads-up on this. I've been trying a set of white Aquila thunderguts but they feel like cold spaghetti.

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  • 3 weeks later...

They arrived a couple of days ago and I've just strung the U-bass up. So this is my first impression, based on playing acoustic and through a Portflex head with headphones.

They look and feel like conventional strings wound with nylon tape, and that's basically what they are. You can string them like normal strings, rather than the awkward knotting rigmarole you have to go through with other U-bass strings, and they don't stretch, so tuning is much easier. Tension feels better too. Acoustically they seem louder and brighter than the stock set, so some of the double bass vibe has been lost. The acoustic sound is great for noodling at home and I wonder if it would be loud enough to compete with an acoustic guitar. It almost sounds like it might.

I've found two problems with them ....

1. The D and G strings rattled terribly at normal pitch, I've ended up with a piece of business card between the string and the nut.
2. The D and G strings have a lot less presence when amplified than the A and E. At first I was hearing more of the acoustic sound than I was getting through the headphones, but I cured that to an extent by turning up the mids. Even so, I have to hit the D & G harder to get the same volume out of them.

Overall, they're much nicer to play than the stock strings or the Silver Rumblers, but I don't know if I can live with the difference in presence. I haven't played them through speakers yet, but I'm worried the high strings will completely disappear in a band mix.

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More pics in case it helps anyone.





Bigger versions [url="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22047936/basschat/20150301_153509.jpg"]here[/url] and [url="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22047936/basschat/20150301_154226.jpg"]here[/url]

Edited by spinynorman
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  • 1 month later...

Very interesting stuff! I tried the ordinary Pyramid Rounds last year but they only lasted about 4 nights before the E-string snapped mid-set, I wasn't impressed! Acoustically they sounded great(if very buzzy) but plugged in the difference in volume was a bit extreme- the E was far too loud and the G far too quiet. I've been using Aquila Thunder Reds since, they feel closer to tape/flatwounds, much less sticky than Silver Rumblers or Thunderguts and there's none of the buzzing or snappage I had with the Pyramids!

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[quote name='SlapbassSteve' timestamp='1428694521' post='2743934']
Very interesting stuff! I tried the ordinary Pyramid Rounds last year but they only lasted about 4 nights before the E-string snapped mid-set, I wasn't impressed! Acoustically they sounded great(if very buzzy) but plugged in the difference in volume was a bit extreme- the E was far too loud and the G far too quiet. I've been using Aquila Thunder Reds since, they feel closer to tape/flatwounds, much less sticky than Silver Rumblers or Thunderguts and there's none of the buzzing or snappage I had with the Pyramids!
[/quote]

Thanks for that. It's reassuring you had the same problem with the difference in volume. I don't think I can justify the cost of trying another brand, so the whole U-Bass experiment may be at an end for me.

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I haven't had much of a chance to play my ubass since fitting these, but I was having terrible intonation problems with the G and D strings, much worse than usual and worse than I'd experienced on the standard strings and the roundwound pyramids. More investigation required, but I do quite like the feel and sound of these.

For the folk with inconsistent string volumes, try refitting the strings, or loosening them off and tilting the bridge saddle a fraction (assuming you have the shadow combined saddle and pickup arrangement like I do).

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[quote name='spinynorman' timestamp='1429221426' post='2749511']


Thanks for that. It's reassuring you had the same problem with the difference in volume. I don't think I can justify the cost of trying another brand, so the whole U-Bass experiment may be at an end for me.
[/quote]

If you're interested in trying the pyramid roundwounds you can have mine for the price of postage...

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[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1429260193' post='2749693']
I haven't had much of a chance to play my ubass since fitting these, but I was having terrible intonation problems with the G and D strings, much worse than usual and worse than I'd experienced on the standard strings and the roundwound pyramids. More investigation required, but I do quite like the feel and sound of these.

For the folk with inconsistent string volumes, try refitting the strings, or loosening them off and tilting the bridge saddle a fraction (assuming you have the shadow combined saddle and pickup arrangement like I do).
[/quote]
[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1429260321' post='2749696']
If you're interested in trying the pyramid roundwounds you can have mine for the price of postage...
[/quote]

I've got the standard mahogany U-Bass. I don't think the bridge saddle tilts. Another problem is the action is very high and the thing that looks like it ought to be an adjustable truss rod just makes horrible grinding noises when turned and doesn't help. The only other thing I can think to do is file grooves in the saddles. Not sure if that's a good idea though.

Thanks for the offer of the rounds, it's very generous, but I'm really losing patience with the whole U-bass idea, so they'd be wasted.

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The saddle isn't supposed to tilt (i have the same model ubass as you I think), but it does very slightly due to the slight gap between the saddle and the slot and that was enough to give me back my E string which disappeared when I amplified mine.

I've accepted the action as the nature of the beast, but sanding/filing down the saddle may be an option. Could improve the intonation a little in the process if you were careful about it.

I think the ubass is a great idea, it's just been implemented really badly...

Edited by Bigwan
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