Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

RichT

Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    59

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

RichT's Achievements

Community Regular

Community Regular (8/14)

90

Total Watts

  1. RichT
    Yes, Hofners technically require medium scale 32" strings, so most sets listed as short scale are too short, but those Rotosound and GHS sets happen to be wound long enough to fit. The LaBellas I've linked to are sets made specifically to fit Hofners. The Cobalts are 40-95 gauge and they fit through the tuners no problem, but as they're 34" strings then some of the wound string is also wrapped around the posts. That doesn't bother me, and the sound is exactly what I was looking for so I've stuck with them.
  2. RichT started following Strings for short scale basses - short, medium or full scale? , Hofner Violin bass and Thomastik 324h flats , Recommend a Semi-Acoustic Bass Guitar? and 3 others
  3. RichT
    It's misleading of them to suggest that the bass will only accept Hofner CT strings, there are several LaBella Hofner sets you can buy which will fit it fine, such as these flats, these rounds, and these tapewounds, all of which I'd recommend over the Hofner CT sets. I've currently got light gauge Ernie Ball Cobalt flats on my HCT Hofner (also Chinese) which are long scale strings but crucially fit through the tuners ok, and I've seen other people report putting Pyramid flats on them with no issue. The thing with Thomastiks not fitting the Chinese made models seems to be a deliberate choice, other companies can manage it fine. Edit: Remembered that I've also successfully fitted Rotosound RS77S flats and GHS 7700 Pressurewounds to my Chinese HCT in the past as well. Both these sets are listed as short scale, but I can confirm the winding lengths do fit Hofners correctly if you want a few more options.
  4. RichT
    Several mentions of Ibanez Talmans above, but as weight is one of your concerns I have to say I never found Talmans particularly light. For their size they're often surprisingly heavy. The Ibanez EHB line are more pricey but generally very light for their size. Peach Guitars have a 1505S short scale 5 string on their site currently weighing in at 6lb 10oz although they're not the cheapest option for them. If you're indeed a lefty as your name suggests, you're unfortunately out of luck as far as short scale EHB's go. I believe the only lefty they make is a multiscale 5 string. Still fairly light comparatively though, I have a 1505 34" 5 string which weighs 7lbs.
  5. RichT
    My Club bass is very light and great at what it does, but some important things to be aware of before choosing one. Firstly the string spacing is 14mm, if you've only ever played Precisions this is going to be quite a change; and secondly you're really limited on string choice with Hofners. The tuners have tiny holes which you can only get light gauge strings through, and officially* they take medium scale (not short scale) strings due to the extended tailpiece, which limits you even further. *I've currently fitted standard 34" scale 40-95 EB Cobalt flats to mine, but some people are wary of doing that sort of thing.
  6. RichT
    EB Cobalt flats are my default goto on my short scales now. Traditional flats have never really done it for me soundwise, but as alluded to above there can be something a little odd about the harmonics on the first few frets on a 30" E string when using rounds (probably my brain has just been indoctrinated for years by the sound of 34" harmonics so anything different sounds odd). The Cobalt flats have plenty of bite and life to them but I find they also negate those weird E string harmonics. Fantastic strings, little bit pricey but so worth it.
  7. RichT
    I too discovered short scale 'by accident' when I got a Hofner HCT Club a few years ago after seeing Curt Smith playing a Club bass in a Tears For Fears live video and just loving the look of it. It wasn't a conscious decision re scale length at all, it hadn't really registered with me that it was a thing prior to actually getting one! Although looking back I now realise that the first bass I learnt on in early teenage years was a short scale, I just never knew it.
  8. RichT
    Both my short scale EBMM Stingray and Maruszczyk Jake (P style) have scaled down bodies to keep them visually in proportion with the scale length. I don't know exactly how much but I'd have guessed they're about 7/8ths, which would be in keeping with a figure of 12%ish. I love the fact that they are very obviously Ray and P shaped/sounding because I physically struggle with the full size versions, and this way I don't have to miss out on having those classic looks & tones. I never got on with large bodied basses even before I moved to short scale, so as a result I'd never owned a Fender in the 35 odd years I've been playing. These scaled down shorties are a godsend.
  9. RichT
    Bargains! I already have two A1H, but I jumped straight over to the Vox site and almost immediately bought the A2S... then like a fool I remembered that the reason I never owned a jazz is that I'm allergic to single coil hum. The Aguilar AG 4J-70's sound great from what I've heard but alas not hum cancelling. Somebody's going to get a great bass though, if jazz pickups are your thing that price is ridiculous.
  10. RichT
    @Obrienp Thanks for the detailed run down, the U5 certainly sounds worth a shot, especially given the lack of anything else anywhere near it in price. Jazz width necks are my preference, and amazing to hear that the pickups are noiseless, I just can't do single coil hum! I also saw a Low End Lobster video which indicated that Gotoh GB528 lightweight tuners will fit the U5, so nice to know that option's there if an upgrade is needed. We'll have to see about the 'belly bulge' (there's one of those round here already 😁...) Cheers! 👍
  11. RichT
    @Obrienp I recall seeing on a thread somewhere that you have a Sire U5 fretless? I'm having to come to terms with there being something about the ergonomics of my 34" fretless that leaves my shoulder in pain despite it not being that heavy, so I've been considering the (very limited) ss fretless options out there. How have you found the U5? I hear Sires can be quite heavy generally, how does yours stack up weight wise? It seems to be the only affordable ss fretless I can find, and apparently exclusively available from Thomann with about a 3 month wait time. They don't make them easy to find! More widely, does anyone have any other suggestions for a ss fretless that won't break the bank?
  12. RichT
    Never had one, but in every Youtube demo of a Sandberg I've seen they always have a very characteristic bright and modern 'metallic' top end to the sound. I think of it as sounding 'springy'. It's very distinctive, I always presumed that's just the inherent Sandberg style.
  13. RichT
    Definitely, different basses have different voices which need certain strings to get the best out of them. I don't mind that at all, it's just a pain that the only way to find out which strings suit which bass is random trial and error. Currently have Ernie Ball Cobalt flats on my EBMM ss Stingray, Ibanez EHB 1505, Hofner HCT Club and one Vox Starstream. Got Elixir nanoweb nickels on Ibanez SR500e and the other Vox Starstream. Thomastik Jazz flats on fretless Ibanez Portamento (only ones I'm not sure about yet). And Ernie Ball roundwound slinkys on my Maruszczyk ss Jake (P bass pickup). On my guitars though it's D'Addario XS all the way.
  14. RichT
    I say use whatever strings make you happy in the moment and not necessarily what internet forums think is right. Internet wisdom has told me several times that I must use flats on a P bass and rounds on a Stingray, but after much experimentation, I've found I like flats on my Ray and rounds on my P. And they're both short scale (which the internet says is only for children and people with small hands 😉)
  15. RichT
    I buy short scale strings when they're available, but to be honest I've never actually had a problem fitting long scale strings on my SS basses. Sometimes I'll cut them down (e.g. Elixirs, which have no silks), and sometimes I'll just wrap the full silk length around the tuning post. Nothing's broken on me (yet).
  16. RichT
    As far as these things go it's pretty straightforward 😊 - Knob closest to neck is Volume. - Centre stacked knobs are Treble cut/boost (upper) and Bass cut/boost (lower). - Stacked knobs closest to the bridge are Mid cut/boost (upper) and Mid Frequency sweep (lower). You can also pull up the Treble pot for an instant bright boost One of the great things about this preamp is that if 3 bands and sweepable mids all seems like a bit of an overcomplicated faff, then it can also essentially function just as a 2 band, simply by leaving the Mid boost pot on the centre detente. In this position, the effect on the mids is completely neutral so the Mid sweep knob has no effect on the sound, and you can then ignore the knobs closest to the bridge altogether if you wish.
×
×
  • Create New...