Fretless fingerboard wear / string choice?

[tauzero]

1 hour ago, NickA said:

Vibe ... By "up and down" I meant like a double base IE up and down the string. E basses being on their side I guess my terminology was wrong! 😂

 

Having learned cello first and then fretless bass I use the same up and down the string on all my instruments ( cello double bass fretless and yes even my 2 fretted basses ..).  May be wrong but saves fingerboard wear.

 

I thought that was what you meant - rolling the finger rather than crosswise as you would with a guitar or fretted bass. I sometimes find myself doing that, force of habit from so many years mostly playing fretted and my only violin experience being 50 years ago.

[BigRedX]

Your choice of string should be entirely down to the sound you want to get. I've used round wounds, fait wounds and tape wounds and they all have their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to sounds I could get out of them.

 

If you are after that early 80s fretless "mwah" there really isn't any alternative to round wounds IMO.

 

The biggest cause of fingerboard wear on a fretless is using the wrong kind of vibrato. Roll along the string rather than pushing the string up and down across the fingerboard. However I found that tales of fingerboard war from round wounds to be over-exaggerated, and if you do get wear that affects the playability you can always get the fingerboard reshot smooth. No different to getting a refret.

[Maude]

If you want to try flats then the Olympia ones on eBay are cheap and I think they sound great. I think I prefer them to my D'addario Chromes. 

With an offer you should be able to get them for £15.

[PaulThePlug]

^ Or the Adagio's...

Olympia are Stainless Steel, Adagio's are Nickel.

[Musicman666]

i'm really impressed with the longevity and feel of phenolic, prefer it over ebony, rosewood or epoxy..all used with roundwounds or groundwounds. 

Edited December 12, 2023 by Musicman666

[NickA]

23 hours ago, Musicman666 said:

i'm really impressed with the longevity and feel of phenolic, prefer it over ebony, rosewood or epoxy..all used with roundwounds or groundwounds. 

Ebony and rosewood will be unavailable before long ... like elephant ivory.  Anyone tried that "ebonium" stuff ( made from compressed and cooked paper fibres I think).

[NickA]

PS: re strings and mwah.  Yes rounds probably work best, but it's partly setup and playing method.  My DIY sortof Jazz Bass does it in spades with those EB Cobalt Flats on.  I tried the same strings on the Wal too, but their sound is a bit too distinctive if you want your wal to sound like a wal .. raterh than  "a bass with cobalt flats on"

 

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPJ_c2In-e7JCvPELaoAyCs726J5P2vgtJuVpKR

[MOSCOWBASS]

You need rounds for "that"sound. DR Sunbeams are good for fretless, I'm currently using DAddario NYXL's on my fretless Xotic Jazzbass.

[JoeEvans]

My fretless bass has clearly visible wear from round wound strings (from a previous owner, I use flats on it). You can actually see the marks of the windings. 

[NickA]

50 minutes ago, JoeEvans said:

My fretless bass has clearly visible wear from round wound strings (from a previous owner, I use flats on it). You can actually see the marks of the windings. 

My ebony boarded Wal got that ... after heavy use over 25 years, mostly with super hard rotosound or elite stainless strings on.  A bit of wear actually improved the sound, but eventually it started to buzz and I got Electric Wood to plane it flat again .. no biggie.  Go rounds IMO, but some flats (EB Cobalt, Thomastic Jazz) work pretty well.

[Linus27]

I fitted rounds to one of my fretless basses the other week and it lost a lot of that mwah compared to the LaBella Low Tension flats and LaBella Black Nylon Tapes my other basses have. It doesn't sing or have as much mwah at the the flats. I was going to put the LaBella Black Nylon Tapes back on but its nice to have one of my fretless basses with rounds on for a bit of a change so I'll keep them on. I used to run rounds on this bass for about 10 years but the flats just sing and mwah way more.

[TheGreek]

On 06/12/2023 at 10:22, Maude said:

If you want to try flats then the Olympia ones on eBay are cheap and I think they sound great. I think I prefer them to my D'addario Chromes. 

With an offer you should be able to get them for £15.

 

On 06/12/2023 at 10:58, PaulThePlug said:

^ Or the Adagio's...

Olympia are Stainless Steel, Adagio's are Nickel.

 

I haven't been able to find a set for a 5 string with either.

[Maude]

51 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

 

 

I haven't been able to find a set for a 5 string with either.

 

That's because they're endorsed by Jaco. 🤦😁

[OliverBlackman]

On 14/12/2023 at 13:24, Linus27 said:

I fitted rounds to one of my fretless basses the other week and it lost a lot of that mwah compared to the LaBella Low Tension flats and LaBella Black Nylon Tapes my other basses have. It doesn't sing or have as much mwah at the the flats. I was going to put the LaBella Black Nylon Tapes back on but its nice to have one of my fretless basses with rounds on for a bit of a change so I'll keep them on. I used to run rounds on this bass for about 10 years but the flats just sing and mwah way more.

How weird, usually it is the complete opposite! I think the less tension the better whether flat or round

[Linus27]

2 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

How weird, usually it is the complete opposite! I think the less tension the better whether flat or round

 

I wonder if it's because my flats are low tension and my black nylon tapes are even less tension where as my rounds are Rotosound rounds and from feel, do feel higher tension. Also, with flats being smoother, it's easier to generate vibrato.

[OliverBlackman]

15 minutes ago, Linus27 said:

 

I wonder if it's because my flats are low tension and my black nylon tapes are even less tension where as my rounds are Rotosound rounds and from feel, do feel higher tension. Also, with flats being smoother, it's easier to generate vibrato.

If the Rotosound rounds are anything like their flats (which were like pulling a bus with one finger) then I suspect that’s it. 

[Linus27]

5 minutes ago, OliverBlackman said:

If the Rotosound rounds are anything like their flats (which were like pulling a bus with one finger) then I suspect that’s it. 

 

They're not too bad and one of my basses is strung with Rotosound flats so I know what you mean but they are higher tension than the LaBella's.