chimp_spanner

Hmm, I dunno - the nut might need a little tweaking but could it be responsible for making the string entirely unmusical? The actual thickness of these strings is so similar to my B tuning; I mean B through to D are sitting exactly as my E through to G normally would. Didn't even have to re-intonate, which was nice Likewise the F# itself sat in the groove of the nut much as my B would do. All of that said, the string is so much tighter it's bound to behave differently, so I dunno. Hopefully I won't butcher the replacement. Anyone fancy coming to my house and putting it on for me? I'm scared! I'll pay you in hugs! And petrol money. Spose it's only fair...

Hey again! Yeah I got your message as well dood! Figured I might as well reply on here. Well first of all the other 4 strings are fantastic - the tone and feel are just fine, and having a slightly thinner low B makes it perfect for faster picking, even muting. So that's cool. And Neil, the guy I've been dealing with at Newtone, has been very helpful. We're going to give the 138 another try after my coming to the conclusion I probably damaged the core in the process of forcing it through the hole and up over the saddle. When I took the F# off (it was just getting in the way), I had to remove the saddle and sure as anything it just slid right through the hole. So a damaged core would explain the lack of tonality from the string...and the massive kinks in it when slack! He did offer the option of a 145 but I think I'll run into nut and fret clearance problems, and I'm a little sketchy about filing my bridge. Bit of a wimp! At least this way if it doesn't go to plan, I can just put my bass back in B and live with it until I can afford something else. Like a Warwick Or a cheapy toploading Rondo. Gotta love shopping on a budget!

Hey again - cheers for the replies all. Yeah Si, I sent 'dood' a message on the ol MySpace, so hopefully he won't mind me pestering him! That Darklord bass looks just incredible. I guess ultimately the best solution is to buy a bass built for the task. £1000 is a lot of money (about £902 than I currently have ) but I managed to get the cash for my 8 string...nothing is impossible. In the meantime, I'll admit I'm looking for a fix on a budget. Peted; that's interesting about the Darklord strings. My bridge at the moment looks like [url="http://www.gitarhuset.no/Images/2008/schecter1big.jpg"]this[/url], so even with a tapered end, I'd still need to replace it as the actual body of the string wouldn't physically fit through the hole, short of me making some destructive and irreversible changes. But that would definitely be cool if I could find the right bridge. Speaking of which, on that image of the silver bridge, do they slide down the gaps and then across into place? If so that'd be perfect for the tapered ends. Now to see how I play with a completely redundant string on the top of my bass *sniff* Oh and just for giggles, I uploaded a sample of how bad it sounds. If you listen closely in the background you can hear me sobbing.

Hey all - newcomer here *waves*. I'm not primarily a bassist but, writing/recording kinda dictates that I need to play it. And so that's how it goes. I'm trying to match up my bass with my Ibanez RG2228 (great guitar) and, as you might expect, I'm running into some serious issues. Currently on a Schecter Diamond Series 5 string (Stiletto I think). Nothing to write home about, 35" scale length, not too shabby. Purely functional. The bridge on it is pretty crummy and won't take anything above a 135-ish gauge. To tune to F# would take seriously thick strings (170 and beyond). Now, I got Newtone to make up a multi core F# in a 138 gauge but, it's just not working. The first 5 frets are useless. The tone is disgusting. It's just not cut out for it. B to D are just fine (even moved down a position) but the F# makes me do a cry. So first solution - a new bass. What kind of bass am I gunna look for that'll be able to handle F# tuning? Does such a bass exist or will any production instrument need modifying? Second solution - new parts for my old bass. I'm thinking a bridge that'll accomodate thicker strings. Any suggestions? Thicker strings still might not work on the lower frets so I'm also thinking a custom-made neck too, 37" perhaps? Sorry for the long first post. I'm just a little bummed out that my strings have arrived and it just sounds horrendous. I know the sound I want in my head, but getting there with this bass just might be impossible... Cheers, - Paul