Fretless Bass String Comparison: Which Ones are the Best for You?
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Hey friends! Which strings do you use on a fretless? Flats, rounds or half rounds? Today we’re doing a fretless bass string shootout with all three. We’ll listen to some demos using some popular fretless bass hits and find out which sound (and feel) the best. Thanks to @daddarioandco for making such great strings for many decades. Also a big thanks to @chicagomusicexchange for the great Sire P7 fretless bass.
Links to the strings used in this video:
https://www.daddario.com/products/guitar/bass-guitar/xt-nickel-bass/xtb45100-xt-bass-nickel-plated-steel-regular-light-long-scale-45-100/
https://www.daddario.com/products/guitar/bass-guitar/xl-half-rounds/enr71-half-rounds-bass-regular-light-45-100-long-scale/
https://www.daddario.com/products/guitar/bass-guitar/xl-chromes-bass/ecb81-chromes-bass-light-45-100-long-scale/
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Website:
https://daveporterband.com
Timecodes
0:00 Intro
0:56 String Theory
2:30 Pino Palladino Demos
11:28 Tony Levin Demos
16:00 Tony Franklin Demos
19:52 Slap Demos
22:00 Final Thoughts
#daveplaysbass #fretlessbass #daddario
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#Fretless #Bass #String #Comparison
Originally posted by UCHwa0ixBPmyiZUsgRHh1dXg at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9WOlzIYRnU
A very informative video. I'm just restarting my fretless journey and I think I like the sound of the roundwound strings the best. Flatwounds feel nice, but they lack that pop and accentuated "mwha" sound. I plan to go with a set of D'Addario EXL220 40-95. I normally play a medium gauge of 45-105, but I read somewhere that light strings will make it a little easier for me when trying to develop my technique.
what about tape wound
I play a Warwick Dolphin fretless. And I started with DAddarrio half wounds 100s and was very happy with them. Then I went to GHS pressure wounds. They were ok. A little too bright and finger noise for my taste. ( I come from the Percy Jones, John Giblin school of bass playing) Very similar to round wound feel. There is a distinctive warmth with Warwicks which I love. I even went to med gauge 105s. They were fine but had too much tension. So I came back to the half wound 100s and very happy. I have my warmth and less tension /bow on the neck with lower action which gives really good mwah at the top of the neck especially with the A and E string. A lot of folks don't seem too happy with the half wounds. I don't understand that but to each their own. Not to mention round wounds wear the fingerboard if not treated. The half wounds do also a little. But with an occasional 000 steel wool on the fingerboard keeps it from wearing too much. Thanks to Tony Franklin's video.
you missed pressure wound
I have settled on Elixirs for my FL basses, the coating is smooth…
Round!????
"Every time you go away, you take a piece of meat with you" ????
Its all about transients and attack to me. Flats dont have much
Parrick O’hearn was/is everything Jaco was, and more! Check out his work with Frank Zappa’s mid-late ‘70’s lineup. None of Patrick’s work was done on a fretted ax… listen to “Zoot Allures”. I bet you would never think this music features fretless bass, unless Pat wanted the listener to hear the “mwah”…
I prefer flats on my fretless
4:42 – are you sure the rounds have more tension than the flats?!????
Stainless steel flats sound as punchy as rounds but with that swell
Tape wounds deserve consideration too. They might be my favorite. Would be very interesting to see in a side-by-side like this (we don't usually get this kind of controlled comparison, so thank you). Also worth considering that there are some flats that defy these generalizations. I use Thomastik Infeld jazz flats on both a fretted and fretless bass. They are amazing and quite unlike other flats. I might even prefer them on the fretted.
About Pino: those were Rotosound RS66LC 40-95 rounds on his all but not signature fretless Stingray which he bought occasionally. There is a thread on TB or BS about it.
I think I like the Rounds better , ive used GHS pressure wound a lot on fretless .
Roundwound grind up the fretboard. Flats produce a dull sound. Half Rounds are the worst of both world — they have drag and no tone. The best string for fretless are the nickel compression series. They're oval shaped roundwounds that have clarity but aren't as abrasive.
Thanks for this video. Ive been playing bass since 1963 but I just bought my first fretless (not counting double bass). While waiting for its arrival in 2 days, I've been wondering about the best strings for it. This is a huge help.
Round wound on fretless for me. I use Dunlop extra light 30, 40, 60, 80, 100.
The flatwounds give the best thump-attack, which I like. I've used many years roundwounds on my fretless, but the last 10 years I went back to the roundwounds (after flattening the fretboard to get rid of the roundwound-damage). Just like the thump and the silkyness of sound and feel.
GHS Pressure wounds and D'Addario Black Nylon on a fretless P bass and Ernie Ball 40-95 Cobalt round wounds on a fretless Stingray.
I am going to convert my first bass (Yamaha RBX170) into a fretless and start learning fretless from it. So far I'm pretty sure I'm going to start with flatwounds, your video also confirmed this. Although this was the first time hearing halfwounds, I will come back for them.
BTW my fretless hero right now is Dominic Forest Lapointe of the metal band First Fragment
With all steel-core strings*, the diameter of the string's central 'core' wire (that the string is wound around) is the main factor determining the amount of tension a string produces. this means that you can have different strings with the same outer diameter (the same 'gauge'), which nonetheless have very different amounts of tension. For example, GHS strings typically have relatively thick (larger gauge) core-wires, whereas Thomastik-Infeld 'Jazz' series have have extremely thin core-wires – these strings couldn't be more different, in both sound and feel.
*There are a small number of strings that do not have a single steel core wire – these strings use either 'rope core' construction (with a group of extremely fine steel wires collectively taking the tension of tuning the string up to pitch), or with a synthetic 'plastic' group of threads, which take the string's tension. These are mostly guitar strings, but a very few bass strings are made this way – Thomastik-infeld acoustic bass guitar strings are one example of this type of construction.
You do realize that Mick Karn is the designer and engineered the concept of the frettless bass? He’d decided one day that the removal of the fretts would give him more of a branding and assist him in creating his own style and sound during his early years in the 70’s.
Wow! I’d never realized that there was a frettless bass in that Paul Young track “Every Time You Go Away”. I’d always hated that track. Very contrived and commercial. It doesn’t reflect the 80’s music scene very well.
Mick Karn from Japan and Dalis Car is THEE BEST!❤❤❤
Rounds on fretted or fretless sound superior
Nice really thorough review ???? I have Elite grounds on my fretless P bass they sound mwah ????
Do you have a sealed fingerboard? If so, with what? Just curious (not sure who even does that work). My Lakland has ebony and I love mwah, but think I have plenty even though I've thought about looking into having it epoxied or whatever.
Why no tapewounds? Otherwise good video…
Groundwounds are hideous
Flats sounds the most apropriate and tasteful and blenda the best with the music. Rounds almost sounds like a Trombone player with a wah-mute. It is simply too expressive and demands too much space and attention. Good for Jaco, but all around Jacoing is usually not a good strategy.
Mick Karn
I put LaBella White Nylons on my fretless bass. They are fantastic.
This is excellent. Thank you.
Jaco 1st Pino 2nd
Yea "Chromes" ARE the the Ish!!
Great playing , great comparison .