Hellzero

Reminds me of Police Helicopter (played live back in the day) by the RHCP.

You could try the Alembic CX3-45L @ped, 3 sets came here rusty, but they sound really great after the rust removal. That's the joy of pure nickel... 🤬

But what if I'd like to buy it by Andrertons ?

I know all this, Russ, that's why I sent that spy cat you're feeding right now .

The first thing to keep in mind is this : Are you dealing with a luthier or an assembler ? If it's a luthier, you are on the right path, but you'll have to exactly know what you want or you'll be totally disappointed by the end result as it won't be what you're waiting for, but the luthier bass he wanted to build at that moment. So at first you need to meet in the flesh and talk a lot. Then tell all you know about the instrument you want and let the luthier explain you the end result step by step. If he can't, he doesn't know his job. If you feel confident, push the start button. If you don't, put the eject (and give me the tape 😉 ). I commissionned 5 basses by (most of you already know the name) Christophe LEDUC and still have 2, the last one still being made, so it'll make 3. The first one was a full maple MNV derived fiver that's been stolen within the week I got it in the late 80's. Yes, stinky poo happens. No remorse at all as I wanted a sixer, so looks like karma did its job here. So I ordered that crazy sixer (I designed the body shape on blue print) with a Vigier Nautilus preamp. I got it 6 months later, but the preamp wasn't reliable at all, so it was removed and turned into a passive with a Brazilian rosewood plate to hide all the holes (and there's a lot). I was quite happy with the bass this way, but wanted a fretless, so ordered a fretless neck (maple and ebony) that was fitted to it. Terrific bass that now belongs to Hadrien Féraud as I sold it, because the maple body on a fretless was too much... Then I ordered my third one with extraordinary AAAA grade woods (called Master Grade tone woods by the classical luthiers, so the best of the best. I know some are going higher up to 15A, but it's just masturbation as it doesn't exist...) : a headless fiver fretless with Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, flamed maple neck, flamed pear tree at the back, flamed maple for the top with veneers of mahogany between each different woods, and the Octavio ramp (a ramp including the pickups). A true masterpiece and fantastic sounding. Hélas, after a year or so I developed a left arm multi tendinitis and decided to sell it to a friend. It took more than a year to get rid of this multi tendinitis and I had to completely stop playing hence the selling of the bass (it was the time when I only had one bass) for health reasons. I tried many times to buy it back, but my friend doesn't want to sell it at all. And I ordered my fourth one : that sixer EUB called Moaï that is still here as it's exactly what I wanted. It took seven (yes 7) years to reach home. The first year was only meeting and talking about the project, then we started to build. I say we, because it was a two deranged minds idea. I'll never sell it. The fifth one is a totally custom sixer U-Basse fretless that I'll keep forever too when I get it. And my main instrument is a sixer headed Masterpiece fretless made exactly at the same time than my fiver with quite the same extraordinary Master Grade tone woods. a tone monster that I'm playing for so many years that it has become an extension of myself. No regrets at all ! I've been chasing the stolen one for decades, but it never resurfaced. The Leduc Nautilus was a mistake, but once turned into a fretless, it was a really terrific sounding one, but the maple body is not a good idea for a fretless... All in all, I'll do it again with that fantastic luthier (and friend) called Christophe LEDUC.

Go for the Cobalt if you want to stick to flat wound strings. They will do what you're asking. Concerning the Fodera nickel you have to try a set to understand what I wrote, but they are dangerous as you won't be able to go back to other brands. And yes Fodera is really making them and I don't like their basses at all, funny no ? 😉

Pickups look like Delano JMVC5 : https://www.delano.de/jmvc_5_fe_m2/jmvc_5_fe_m2_details.html My advice would be to sell it or trade it as whatever you'll do it will remain a Jazz Bass like instrument.

For those interested : https://rayrossbridge.com/

Maybe this article could help, except for the totally wrong prices... https://www.guitarworld.com/amp/features/the-best-flatwound-bass-guitar-strings-how-to-choose-the-right-flatwounds-for-you

The Fodera nickel round wound strings are just amazing, soft touch feeling, lower feel tension for the same gauge, very flexible strings almost impossible to break even when making a sharp angle and they last quite long depending on your sweat, of course. The Kalium hybrid are very good at it too. That's it for the "nickel" round wounds I tend to prefer.

Simply try the Elixir Nanoweb strings as you play fingerstyle. They last for years, but never use a plectrum as the coating will die within the next hours. I'm quite surprised nobody mentioned these strings... That said, I prefer the real raw round wound sound (not coated).

Indeed...