Strings for roots/rockabilly

[thisnameistaken]

My bass is currently stung with Evah Pirazzi D and G, and Spirocore E and A, but they're a bit high tension and zingy for slapping and I'm taking my bass out to do some busking next week so I thought I'd put on something more rootsy sounding.

I was thinking about silver slaps since they're a decent price, do they sound fairly gutty? And does the E work alright? Plenty of volume and bottom end?

[steviedee]

Everybody swears by silverslaps, I had the black tapewound Rockabilly Innovation Strings, they were great for slap but I think they lacked a bit of projection but that might be all non-steel strings.

I restrung the bass with Honeys which sound great but to be honest after the blisters I have from last nights gig I'm thinking of putting them back on!

I'd be really interested in hearing the suggestions as well.

Edited July 17, 2011 by steviedee

[Clarky]

AFAIC, Silver Slaps have plenty of volume and projection - and their ultra-low tension is a revelation for your fingers

[thisnameistaken]

Have you tried them Clarky? Are they quite gutty sounding? Does the E sound as good as the others?

What strings do you use on your Rattlin' Bone gig?

[Clarky]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1307474' date='Jul 18 2011, 09:36 AM']Have you tried them Clarky? Are they quite gutty sounding? Does the E sound as good as the others?

What strings do you use on your Rattlin' Bone gig?[/quote]
Yep, they were my favourites on my now-sold 3/4 Zeller DB. Very gut-sounding and decent volume across all strings. Be aware they are very fat, so the G will feel huge compared to what you are used to with steels

In RB I now use the Ampeg baby bass, which came with some pretty low tension steels on (Jargars I think) and I am happy enough with these so have not changed them.

[thisnameistaken]

Brilliant cheers man I'll give them a spin.

[PTB]

+1 for Silver Slaps.

The only other ones I've tried are Eurosonics which were good but I prefer the feel of the S S.

[Clarky]

[quote name='PTB' post='1307512' date='Jul 18 2011, 10:12 AM']+1 for Silver Slaps.

The only other ones I've tried are Eurosonics which were good but I prefer the feel of the S S.[/quote]
Eurosonics are better known in Europe as Presto Ultralights - they have the advantage compared with SS's of having a metal core, so they can be used with a mag pickup. They are higher tension than SS's though (as well as £30 more a set) and I definitely prefer the latter

[thisnameistaken]

Being a dickhead, I have gone on to look at other strings instead of just buying some Silver Slaps and getting on with my day.

Super Silvers look particularly interesting, given that they are "slightly higher tension" than Silver Slaps but I wondered if anyone has slapped them and how high "slightly higher" actually is?

I suppose I'm looking for something more flexible than a Spiro weich, but not too floppy. I'm worried the Slaps will be too floppy. :/

[slobluesine]

bump the Spiros down, i bump Spiro A&D down to E&A and use D&G Lamberts, great low tension and the E is not too heavy, havn't had a blister in yonks

[thisnameistaken]

I don't really like the treble from the spiros though. It's fine for more modern music but I'm after a more trad sound.

[slobluesine]

they loose that top bumped, try it.. tune your A down to E

[fatback]

[quote name='slobluesine' post='1307609' date='Jul 18 2011, 11:20 AM']bump the Spiros down, i bump Spiro A&D down to E&A and use D&G Lamberts, great low tension and the E is not too heavy, havn't had a blister in yonks[/quote]

Do you find that gives a decently solid E? I'm finding the normally tuned Spiro Weich E a bit weedy.

[thisnameistaken]

Since it all went quiet when I brought up Super Silvers I've ordered some Silver Slaps. Thanks all.

[PaulKing]

A bit late in here - you won't regret Silver Slaps.
Brilliant all round strings, plenty of volume and sustain, lovely feel and response for roots and slap.

Yes, they are fatter than steels (all nylon are .. but you try plain gut, the E is like 5mm across). After a while you grow to prefer the fat string though, steels feel horrible to me now, like cheese wire.
Yes, they are slightly softer, quieter and less punchy than steel ... that's because gut is all those things too.

Super Silvers are VERY similar. The tension is slightly higher, enough to make slapping them all night a bit of a bind, but also enough to add a bit extra volume and sustain, so if you miss the sound of steels you can get a bit of it back.

The only thing to watch is that on SOME basses Supersilver and SilverSlap do sound quite twangy when slapped, especially with an ebony fingerboard. They mellow with age, but if after a few weeks you're still going yuk when you slap an open string you might be looking for an alternative.

I play them on a couple of my basses, but they don't sound uniformly good on them all


,

Edited July 18, 2011 by PaulKing

[steviedee]

Cheers Paul I think I'll go for some silver slaps as well, I have a festival at the weekend and the band plays pretty much all afternoon for two days and my fingers are in quite a bad nick from my Saturday gig, I think it was a combination of steels and a really hot sweaty club, my drummer suggested talcum powder to stop my fingers getting tacky but a bit late now!

[slobluesine]

[quote name='fatback' post='1307795' date='Jul 18 2011, 01:23 PM']Do you find that gives a decently solid E? I'm finding the normally tuned Spiro Weich E a bit weedy.[/quote]

yes!!! that's what i like about the bumped Spiro A, silver slap/presto E is just too 'dull'
just try it, very easy, tune your ADG down

[thisnameistaken]

Thanks Paul my bass is pretty dark sounding so hopefully I won't have too many issues with twanginess. I tried a friend's bass that is strung with Rotosounds the other night and his G sounded very twangy and artificial so I think I know what you mean. They were a nice set to play, but only the A and D sounded good, IMO.

[PaulKing]

[quote name='slobluesine' post='1308211' date='Jul 18 2011, 06:41 PM']yes!!! that's what i like about the bumped Spiro A, silver slap/presto E is just too 'dull'
just try it, very easy, tune your ADG down[/quote]

I can imagine that sounds pretty punchy John ... just don't slap it eh?

[teej]

Not much to add really, beyond a big fat vote for Silver Slaps - love 'em!

[slobluesine]

[quote name='PaulKing' post='1308316' date='Jul 18 2011, 07:45 PM']I can imagine that sounds pretty punchy John ... just don't slap it eh?[/quote]


sure does, Lamberts get better and better the more you play em hey. i found it was hardly playing anything on the E string with Silver Slaps/Prestos because it just didn't cut through.
then again i aint a slapper roots and rockabilly are different strokes AFAIC

Edited July 18, 2011 by slobluesine

[PaulKing]

[quote name='slobluesine' post='1308530' date='Jul 18 2011, 10:38 PM']sure does, Lamberts get better and better the more you play em hey. i found it was hardly playing anything on the E string with Silver Slaps/Prestos because it just didn't cut through.
then again i aint a slapper roots and rockabilly are different strokes AFAIC[/quote]

Depends how you play. I know it's not for everyone but I love the slap sound of those blues players like Larry Taylor, Bill Stuve, Roy Kedar, and going back to Willie Dixon, Ernest Crawford.
Any of that great stuff by Hollywood Fats, Junior Watson, William Clarke, Rod Piazza, Lynwood Slim ... it's not rockabilly, but the set up and string characteristics you need to get that thunk are pretty much the same. Steels just sound too noisy on most basses. That said, I've got a detuned Innovation Solo E on my Mortone.... synthetic core but steel wrap.

[thisnameistaken]

Well I got the Slaps on just now. First impressions - how weird they are! The finish is very odd, feels like playing shoelaces, do they get less fabric-feeling eventually?

I think I like the tension but it's taking some getting used to, I keep missing the A on my way down from the D.

I recorded my bass this morning (using a pickup and mic) before they arrived so I could do a decent comparison once I'd restrung it and I got a really good sound from the evahs and spiros, made me wonder why I was bothering to be honest! These definitely sound better slapped than the steels did and they are much easier to slap too, but they will also need to produce a great pizz sound to stay on the bass. I'm going to thrash it a bit to settle the strings in and then go record with the same setup and see how an A/B test sounds.

[Clarky]

Its just unfamiliarity as you are used to steels with skinny D/G strings and these are fat old plastic strings. Give it time and you will find them incredibly comfortable and much easier on your hands due to the tension, especially with prolonged playing (didn't you have a tendonitis problem?)

[thisnameistaken]

Yes I did, I've spent the last 12 months very slowly and gradually recovering from it an I still get the occasional mild flare-up and I have to be careful about over-use. I hadn't considered that benefit actually, very good point.

The weird thing is the surface of the string though, it's not at all smooth, feels very weird under my fingers. Hopefully they'll smooth off over time as I play them?