Chiliwailer

I had the low tension set on, but in the past have not clicked with the regular tension sets either. It’s annoyingly as they are great strings, I still use them on my Steinberger Spirit, they just don’t suit me on other basses.

My LaBella love/hate relationship continues, took them off the bass this morning. The old school vibe was excellent but the lack of volume and weight was bothering me. Will probably put them up on the for sale section soon.

I've now got the low tension LaBellas on the Ray, I'm liking them a lot. The Chromes were great too, but I had an old school vibe in mind and the LaBella nail that. I suppose the Chromes are more hifi, they have more volume, punch and top end. My other Ray has roundwounds so the LaBella are a better opposite for me. The Chromes tension doesn't bother me on my other basses but just didn't feel right on the Ray, too stiff for that particular bass. The LaBella are just like Thomastiks, and suit the bass. Its an Old Smoothie Stingray, and the LaBella definitely make it a smoother bass to my ear, and exactly what I had in mind when I heard it with rounds and bought it.

Still on the hunt...

Cheers Andy, I'll send him an email.

still looking... any ideas?

Pm’d

SORTED - just needed some switch cleaner! Hi, has anyone here bought a replacement on/off switch, in the UK, for an old DOD FX25? Cheers

I’ll post how I get on. I should have mentioned earlier that the Chromes sounded good on my 3 band Ray, I use that bass with the mids down a bit and they were well matched so there wasn’t an issue. But Old Smoothie is a very different Ray in sound and feel so I’m looking forward to trying the LaBella low tension.

Excellent I’m hopeful, though I never gelled with LaBella on my Fenders I do like them on my Steinberger Spirt and reckon they are just what my 2 band Stingray needs. It’s weird because the Chromes sounded great on my 3 band...different animals and all that.

What the heck, just bought these...

Yeah, like others I’ve found TI’s are great on one bass but bomb on others. I’m pretty sure I once tried TI’s on a previous Ray and didn’t like them, not sure. Same with Cobalts, which I loved on Fenders but didn’t like on my old MM Sabre. Im learning towards trying low tension LaBella or TI again, but have discovered that the Chromes I have when used with the mutes sound great, so I’ll let the Chromes bed in for now.

Thanks for all the responses, good stuff. EB Group - definitely a front runner, but I’m concerned that if my memory is correct, they are familiar to Chromes? Is the tension similar to Chromes? Any thoughts? TI’s - I’ve had them before on my P and J’s, great strings but I just prefer Chromes these days. I’d love to try them on the Ray, but it’s a gamble. LaBella tapewounds - never tried them but would love to. Urgh, risky again though! EB Cobalts - awesome strings, I’m a big fan and have a set under the bed. For the Ray I’d like something less bright but might give them a try again this weekend after reading the thread. Roto’s - used them years back on a P, but not what I after for the Ray, Looks like I’ll be taking a risk soon with Group or TI’s, LaBella too if I really go for it. I’ll give the Chromes a week or two to settle in first and keep my eye on the BC classifieds.

...and why? I'd appreciate your thoughts please. I have Chromes on mine. I like Chromes on my Fenders, but on the Ray I think the high mids may too strong for me (would be interesting to see how they break in over time though). LaBella's rarely seem to suit me, so maybe TI's, GHS, EB Group...? But at £40-ish a set I'm stuck to decide what to try next. Cheers!

Do you find much difference between your two? 8.8lbs is a lovely weight for one. Mine came from Bass Direct stock, I'm wondering if they are still available too. I left it late to get one so will be counting my lucky stars if they are not.

Sure was a long burning itch too. Old Smoothie and Young Growler...

Well Warren, you never bought yours over so I was finally able to justify one by buying a 40th anniversary bass for my 40th birthday Stating the obvious - it's a completely different animal to my 3 Band Stingray, yet undoubtedly a Stingray. I put some Chromes on it, just need them to wear in now. I've noticed the mint and butterscotch versions don't have the 40th decal. I wonder if they are close to stopping production of the chocolate sunburst version?

I sold some pickups to @nord1 After some email chatting it's clear he's a really nice guy - so it was a smooth and friendly interaction.

I worked in guitar retail from 1993 - 2009, back then the potential mark up for new gear was: 55% if you sold it at full price. 30-35% was about average after discount 20% was your typical bottom line in order to "make it worth opening the shop". So one reason for the 15%-20% commission is that if someone wants to buy a new Fender P and you can make 30%, you'd be silly to sell the second hand one at just 10%. That's just one example, I'm aware there are other factors such as bird in the hand etc.

Lovely gesture. Im pretty sure Apple do student discounts, so might be worth taking that route. That’s about as far as I can help!

I had the pleasure of buying some pickups from Jonny, would definitely do so again. Cheers pal.

I get what you mean by that. I for one can’t fault my Ray, and I like that it’s the tried and tested classic. So because I own a nice Ray I wouldn’t go out to replace it. I wonder what people without a Ray, but buying one, would decide if they got to try both? If the new ones are as good as the potential then I reckon that in and ideal world me, and others, would love both.

The more I see of them, the more I’m prepared to be very impressed. Can’t wait to read your posts in July!