SICbass Posted January 10 Posted January 10 Hi All, I recently acquired a cheap and cheerful Harley Benton Beatlebass for an Amy Winehouse tribute act. I love it, but it's currently strung with some no-name roundwounds. I've tried looking through a couple of threads here on flatwounds, and frankly my head is spinning. I've used Fender Flats in the past, and they're fine, but I'd like to try something with a bit less tension, vintage sounding, short scale. Any recommendations? Cheers, Paul Quote
ezbass Posted January 10 Posted January 10 Built for the job: https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/product-category/strings/?_string_scale_length=hofner-beatle-bass 1 Quote
pete.young Posted January 10 Posted January 10 I have just put a set of Labella Low Tension Flats on my short scale Epiphone Century and I'm very happy with the results. Lower tension than the standard Labellas, vintage sound, not massively expensive. (Technically I have medium scale because of the tailpiece, for a Violin bass I think you'd need the short scale set.) 1 Quote
SICbass Posted January 10 Author Posted January 10 1 hour ago, JJMotown said: You want tapewounds. Hmmm, that's an interetsing idea. I've listened to a couple of vids, and they sound like they have a tiny bit more bite than flats. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just something I noticed. One more question: I was looking at the La Bella 760N-S Black Nylon Tape. La Bella don't seem to offer anything lighter than 60-115. Is it right that tension is generally lower in tapewounds compared to flats? I usually play roundwound 40-95, but I'm not exactly a virtuoso player, so it probably won't bother me that much, would it? Quote
SICbass Posted January 10 Author Posted January 10 1 hour ago, ezbass said: Built for the job: https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/product-category/strings/?_string_scale_length=hofner-beatle-bass Thanks for that, it gives me some ideas to follow. I'm in Germany, so I'll probably have to try and source them here. I recently got banged by German Customs for about 30% VAT and Duty when buying an item from the UK. Brextit, anyone? Quote
ezbass Posted January 10 Posted January 10 1 hour ago, SICbass said: Hmmm, that's an interetsing idea. I've listened to a couple of vids, and they sound like they have a tiny bit more bite than flats. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just something I noticed. One more question: I was looking at the La Bella 760N-S Black Nylon Tape. La Bella don't seem to offer anything lighter than 60-115. Is it right that tension is generally lower in tapewounds compared to flats? I usually play roundwound 40-95, but I'm not exactly a virtuoso player, so it probably won't bother me that much, would it? Don’t be put off by the gauge on those LaBellas. I normally use 45-100, but my 35” Rob Allen is fitted with the 760n set and they feel no tighter. I have a set of 750n on another bass and they feel a bit too thin; weird. Quote
SICbass Posted January 10 Author Posted January 10 3 minutes ago, ezbass said: Don’t be put off by the gauge on those LaBellas. I normally use 45-100, but my 35” Rob Allen is fitted with the 760n set and they feel no tighter. I have a set of 750n on another bass and they feel a bit too thin; weird. Good to know. Thanks. Quote
gjones Posted January 10 Posted January 10 Rotosound Tru Bass is what McCartney had on his violin bass. I've just put a set on my Precision and they have a nice attack, which means you don't get lost in the mix. The only problem is they come in one gauge, which is gigantic. I'm not a fan of flatwounds as I find them too woolly and indistinct when they're new. Quote
SICbass Posted January 11 Author Posted January 11 Thanks gjones, I did take a look at them. I think I‘m going for the LaBella Deep Talkin Black Tapewound for medium scale. They don’t seem to offer a short scale per se. Quote
Hellzero Posted January 11 Posted January 11 @SICbass, your bass is a short scale, not a medium, if you try to put some medium scale strings, there's 80% chances that they will break at the tuner's post as they are not meant to be at a ... broken angle (no pun intended). Quote
Hellzero Posted January 11 Posted January 11 You can buy the Rotosound RS88S here: https://www.muziker.de/rotosound-rs88s And the LaBella 760N-S at Thomann: https://www.thomann.de/de/la_bella_760n_s_black_nylon_tape.htm Quote
SICbass Posted January 11 Author Posted January 11 25 minutes ago, Hellzero said: You can buy the Rotosound RS88S here: https://www.muziker.de/rotosound-rs88s And the LaBella 760N-S at Thomann: https://www.thomann.de/de/la_bella_760n_s_black_nylon_tape.htm @Hellzero Aaah, they DO have short scale. I‘d only found medium at Thomann until now. Thanks. 1 Quote
Hellzero Posted January 11 Posted January 11 I reckon that the Thomann website is quite a mess. 😉 If you don't have the exact reference, you may spend hours trying to find what you're looking for... Quote
EssentialTension Posted January 11 Posted January 11 Are you sure you wouldn't need this set ... https://www.thomann.co.uk/la_bella_760nhbb_beatle_bass_set_bn.htm?glp=1&msclkid=2baf733867f6132cabc514ba2814f420 Quote
JJMotown Posted January 11 Posted January 11 2 hours ago, EssentialTension said: Are you sure you wouldn't need this set ... https://www.thomann.co.uk/la_bella_760nhbb_beatle_bass_set_bn.htm?glp=1&msclkid=2baf733867f6132cabc514ba2814f420 No, because they are medium scale, as discussed above. Quote
EssentialTension Posted January 11 Posted January 11 29 minutes ago, JJMotown said: No, because they are medium scale, as discussed above. I read the discussion above and felt it didn't give a full picture of what strings are, or may be, needed for this style of bass. Short-scale Hofner Violin and Club basses, and copies there of, often require medium scale strings to allow for the distance from floating bridge to trapeze tailpiece. Maybe that's not an issue on the Harley Benton Violin bass, I don't know for sure. But the OP deserves to hear all the possibilities. 1 Quote
ezbass Posted January 11 Posted January 11 2 hours ago, JJMotown said: No, because they are medium scale, as discussed above. I think the text added by Thomann is incorrect there, as the packaging says for Beatle Bass. I’d just buy them from Bass Direct to avoid any confusion, same price IIRC. Quote
SICbass Posted January 11 Author Posted January 11 5 hours ago, Hellzero said: I reckon that the Thomann website is quite a mess. 😉 If you don't have the exact reference, you may spend hours trying to find what you're looking for... I‘m so relieved to hear someone else say that. I thought maybe I was just too dumb. The number of times I‘ve “stolpert” around in there wondering why I can’t find stuff. Thanks again for your efforts. 1 Quote
SICbass Posted January 11 Author Posted January 11 There does appear to be conflicting information on the Thomann site regarding scale length. Both on the strings and on the bass (a Harley Benton Beatbass). However, as I said, I live in Germany, which after import duty etc. makes buying from Bass Direct a bit of a non-starter. 3 hours ago, JJMotown said: No, because they are medium scale, as discussed above. 1 hour ago, ezbass said: I think the text added by Thomann is incorrect there, as the packaging says for Beatle Bass. I’d just buy them from Bass Direct to avoid any confusion, same price IIRC Quote
SICbass Posted January 11 Author Posted January 11 2 hours ago, EssentialTension said: I read the discussion above and felt it didn't give a full picture of what strings are, or may be, needed for this style of bass. Short-scale Hofner Violin and Club basses, and copies there of, often require medium scale strings to allow for the distance from floating bridge to trapeze tailpiece. Maybe that's not an issue on the Harley Benton Violin bass, I don't know for sure. But the OP deserves to hear all the possibilities. Ooh, you have a point there. See pic… Quote
ezbass Posted January 11 Posted January 11 (edited) 9 minutes ago, SICbass said: However, as I said, I live in Germany, which after import duty etc. makes buying from Bass Direct a bit of a non-starter. Sorry, missed that. I’d maybe contact Thomann just to confirm that they are the Beatle Bass length strings, although I’m pretty sure it’s the text that’s wrong, it would not be the first time that their own, added descriptions are off (lots of cut & paste methinks). Just Order them and if they’re the wrong length, send them back. This is a section from the Thomann page for the HB Beatle Bass recommendations, albeit a different gauge… Edited January 11 by ezbass Quote
SICbass Posted January 11 Author Posted January 11 Thanks so much to all of you. You really have gone out of your way to be super thorough, and I’m very grateful for all your help. 2 Quote
ezbass Posted January 11 Posted January 11 12 minutes ago, SICbass said: Thanks so much to all of you. You really have gone out of your way to be super thorough, and I’m very grateful for all your help. You’re welcome. It’s what BC is probably best at. It’s either help out a fellow player, or actually play some bass . 2 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.