xilddx Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 I have a Hohner Jack and boy am I having problems getting decent strings with short enough wraps. I tried Rotos and the wraps are too long, tried Elites and the 105 E was too thick to fit in the head slot. I spoke to Hohner USA who said "[i]The Jack bass ships with LaBella S100S double-ball strings, from 45 to 105 gauge. The headless slot should be identical to the Steinberger, as it is licensed through them[/i]". Got these and although they fitted perfectly, they were really horrible, even compared to the original LaBellas when I bought the bass new. They look and sound dull, the E is much duller than the others too. They also feel rough and sticky. This is a real problem for me because I dance and jump about a lot live and sweat makes them even stickier which causes me to miss notes occasionally during the faster bouncy tunes, makes swing very difficult too. And I tried two sets from different suppliers just to make sure I didn't get a set of duffers, they were the same. [b]I REALLY HATE THEM!! [/b]But I cannot find any alternatives. I recently tried Warwick yellows on my Jazz and they feel smooth and slippery and lovely to play with a rich, warm and bright tone. They are nickel. I dream of finding some correctly fitting double ends like this but Warwick don't make 'em, and I can't seem to find others despite trawling the www. Have any of you found anything better or got any suggestions? Sorry for the long rant. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backwater Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Have you tried Status Graphite's Double Ball Strings? [url="http://www.status-graphite.com/"]Status Graphite[/url] D'Addario also do a double ball nickel set (the ESXL I think) Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 Ah, no I haven't. I would be concerned they would not fit Steinberger hardware though. The D'Addarios might be worth a try actually, I've been using them on my guitars for years and like them and I guess they have Steinberger in mind with their design. I'll talk to Rob at Status about their strings too since I hope to be getting one of their Streamline basses within a few months. Thanks for the tips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 (edited) Just ordered two sets of D'addario ESXL170s from [url="http://stores.ebay.co.uk/MyMusicStuff"]http://stores.ebay.co.uk/MyMusicStuff[/url] They reckon they're designed for Steinberger and their licenced hardware so they should fit. And they're NICKEL!! I'll let you know how I get on. Thanks so much for the advice! Edited June 6, 2008 by silddx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted June 12, 2008 Author Share Posted June 12, 2008 [quote name='backwater' post='213844' date='Jun 6 2008, 01:27 PM']Have you tried Status Graphite's Double Ball Strings? [url="http://www.status-graphite.com/"]Status Graphite[/url] D'Addario also do a double ball nickel set (the ESXL I think) Andy [/quote] Andy, you are a very bright star! I got the D'Addarios today and they are bloody spiffing! Exactly what I was after. Smooth, bright, easy on the fingers and a pleasure to play. The tensions are much more even too so a lower action is on the way. Thanks again, I will dedicate a song to you at the next show ;-) Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnt Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 (edited) [quote name='silddx' post='213852' date='Jun 6 2008, 01:34 PM']Ah, no I haven't. I would be concerned they would not fit Steinberger hardware though.[/quote] Well, I can confirm they fit nicely in my "Stainbergers" (Hohners). The Status webpage for them says "They will also work perfectly on all Steinberger and many other headless basses", and I have no reason to disbelieve them. They did me some custom 25-105 sets for high C use. edit: just remembered that I may have had a similar problem at some time in the past, with a thick B string not fitting in the headpiece of my 5-string. If I did, well, I have needle files in my toolbox. Edited June 15, 2008 by bnt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 [quote name='silddx' post='213823' date='Jun 6 2008, 01:03 PM']I have a Hohner Jack and boy am I having problems getting decent strings with short enough wraps. I tried Rotos and the wraps are too long, tried Elites and the 105 E was too thick to fit in the head slot.[/quote] If it's any help in future, I've got a 5-string Jack and the Elite 40 set (100 E) fits with no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I use Elites DBE 40-60-8-100 sets on my Hohner B2A and they're fine, last ages etc. £13.50 a set from Stringbusters too! Worth a try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathode Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 ive got the hohner the jack bass and i use either the elites stadiums or the rotosound swing bass strings i may look into the d'addarios Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted June 20, 2008 Author Share Posted June 20, 2008 [quote name='cathode' post='223103' date='Jun 20 2008, 05:14 PM']ive got the hohner the jack bass and i use either the elites stadiums or the rotosound swing bass strings i may look into the d'addarios[/quote] Rotos didn't fit mine, used to play Elites on my Jazz, don't like the way they feel anymore. I am very happy with the D'ads. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretlessguy Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I had a five string Jack Bass and encountered the same problems. Try at these U.S. sites: www.juststrings.com www.bpstrings.com Both have doubleball string sets of different gauges and types. Best of luck, Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fraktal Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 (edited) I had a Jack bass long ago (actually I had 2 of them LOL) back in those days when the internet was a rarity, and since it was almost impossible to buy double ball strings from my local retailer, I modded my Hohner to be able to install any standard set of strings. I contacted a professional. I dont have a clue whats the english name for this profession, but in spanish they are called "Torneros" and basically they manually craft custom screws, the pieces where the screws fit with their tiny spiral grooves, and all related stuff. As I said, I just contacted one of these professionals and asked him to craft a little and very simple piece for my bass. I made a very crappy schematic with MS Paint, attached to this post. Its a .jpg image at the bottom of the post, please click it. The piece is meant to be a rectangular prism (made of bell brass to improve tone and sustain) with 4 horizontal holes to pass your strings through, and 4 allen screws holes in the top to be able to press against the strings and force them to stay in place. I placed this piece at the "headstock" of my Jack bass, and since the metal piece up there has a slight angle, the tension of the strings just forced the piece to stay in place very firmly, I really had to hit the head of the bass very very hard to detune the strings. A few tips though: The horizontal holes to pass the strings through are meant to have a very similar caliber to your strings, so they dont move inside and you wont have tuning problems. The vertical holes for the allen screws MUST NOT pass through the whole piece vertically, only until they reach the horizontal strings holes, or else you will cut your strings when pressing them hard with the allen screws to fix them in place and allow tuning. If the professional lacks the tools for doing a "half hole" and he needs to perforate the piece completely for the vertical holes, then he will have to fill the bottom of the hole with soldering metal, or make a bottom plate or whatever. I just hope you can understand what I mean with all this crap! It was very nice to use any string set/brand with my Hohner! Edited June 26, 2008 by Fraktal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Subsonic Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Hi, I am a long time Steinberger fan and another good source for doubleball strings is XL2XL. They stock D'Addario, Elites and their own Nickel Signature, which are excellent. Dr S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted July 9, 2008 Author Share Posted July 9, 2008 [quote name='Dr Subsonic' post='235526' date='Jul 9 2008, 09:57 AM']Hi, I am a long time Steinberger fan and another good source for doubleball strings is XL2XL. They stock D'Addario, Elites and their own Nickel Signature, which are excellent. Dr S.[/quote] Excellent! Thanks for that, I'll check them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 anybody got any up to date info on double ball strings?? - recommendations from Status owners?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mog Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 (edited) [url="http://www.strings.ie/categories/Strings/Bass-Guitar-Strings/"]http://www.strings.i...Guitar-Strings/[/url] 3 sets in stock (about halfway down the page, right under the halfwounds). £33ish plus postage. Edited January 26, 2012 by Mog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 (edited) [quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1327584762' post='1513731'] anybody got any up to date info on double ball strings?? - recommendations from Status owners?? [/quote] Status strings fit my Hohner B2A no problem. Rounds, flats and halfwounds, I've used them all and they have a great tone. Good long life too. I swap flats and halfwounds on my Status S2 for different uses. Change over takes no time at all. Can never understand why some people don't like the headless tuning system. So stable. You can also order in bulk and get them even cheaper. They come in bulk as six sets. Edited January 26, 2012 by BassBus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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