Pinball Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Hi, I have a fretted Crafter elecro/acoustic 5 stringer that plays very well. It has nice bright phosphor bronze strings on it, that are maybe a bit too bright for me. Are there any other options equivalent to flats/half rounds or nylon? Will nylon work with a fretted bass? I have only ever seen them on un-fretted basses so assumed they would wear out to quick? Also would they be too quiet? Any advice would be much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Thomastik flats are very nice, but acoustically very quiet - great sound if you use the pickup (as I'm sure you do!). Might need to raise the action, as they are very floppy. I've got D'Addario black plastic flats on mine (fretted Martin four string) and they are the best compromise I've found for fullness and warmth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinball Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 Thanks for the pointers, I'll check em out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon1964 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I use nylon strings on a fretted acoustic (the Rotosound ones I think). They sound great - much nicer than the bronze strings acoustics tend to come with. Very nice thuddy, upright sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Both nylons & flats sound great on fretted acoustic basses. Unamplified there is a loss of volume but they sound so much more authentic to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 [quote name='BurritoBass' timestamp='1350846014' post='1844228'] Both nylons & flats sound great on fretted acoustic basses. Unamplified there is a loss of volume but they sound so much more authentic to me [/quote] ^This. ... and the loss of volume hardly matters since with any other instruments you'll need to amplify anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinball Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 Thanks everyone, sound quality has to be the no.1 concern I think. When I need to change them I'll try something different Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee650 Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 I've got labella. black nylon strings on my washburn ab10 , they have a lovely warm upright like tone and very clear too" and I find they have plenty of volume unplugged for practice, but most acoustic basses need s bit of help anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinball Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 Thanks, Re: Volume? There seems to consensus that acoustics need a boost! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philparker Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 (edited) I bought an acoustic about 20 years ago with the notion that I could accompany my mate(s) on his acoustic guitar, but it's just not loud enough. It kind of worked amplified when accompanying other acoustic players and gave a false authenticity to the whole 'unplugged' scene, when everybody played acoustic sets - plugged in! (Eric Clapton has got a lot to answer for) However, I now prefer electric fretless to accompany acoustic sets - and very soon I will be trying my best to keep up on the DB - plugged in! Nylons always work for me. Edited October 27, 2012 by philparker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretlessguy Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Lets just face it. Acoustic bass guitars are simply not loud enough to work for pure acoustic settings. They were meant to be used in those semi-acoustic settings where everyone plugged their acoustic instruments in the system. If you are playing in a pure acoustic setting buy an upright bass or at the least one of those Mexican guitarrone or old Guild B3/Ernie Ball bass guitars. As far as ABGs go, I cannot tolerate the bright phosphor strings. Too much finger noise and way too twangy. I prefer light gauge flats or tapewounds for less stress on the soundboard. Be sure, especially with the tapes, that they can fit through the bridge if that is how they are installed on your bass. The acoustic basses with the big bridge pins are not usually a problem for thick tapewounds, but you might need to enlarge the slots in the nut. My current acoustic bass is a Carvin AC40 fretless with Fender tapes. Sounds wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinball Posted October 28, 2012 Author Share Posted October 28, 2012 (edited) [quote name='fretlessguy' timestamp='1351368243' post='1850644'] As far as ABGs go, I cannot tolerate the bright phosphor strings. Too much finger noise and way too twangy. I prefer light gauge flats or tapewounds for less stress on the soundboard. Be sure, especially with the tapes, that they can fit through the bridge if that is how they are installed on your bass. The acoustic basses with the big bridge pins are not usually a problem for thick tapewounds, but you might need to enlarge the slots in the nut. My current acoustic bass is a Carvin AC40 fretless with Fender tapes. Sounds wonderful. [/quote] Good advice I hadn't thought about strings fitting an acoustic style bridge. Nice guitar you have there. I have only ever seen it in pictures. Edited October 28, 2012 by Pinball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mottlefeeder Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Pinball - you have a PM David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 The D'Addario black plastic strings are pretty much "normal" sizes..a lot of that type are bigger (La Bella, Pyramid, Roto). That's the main reason I opted for them, so I didn't have to open up the nut and bridge slots and mess around. Having fitted them, they are just as nice as any other I've tried, and much nicer than the Rotosounds..which never sound in tune to me! The LaBella's have a bit more edge, the Pyramids are the softest and warmest sounding. But the D'Addarios are pretty much in the middle, nice medium tension as well, so haven't needed any truss rod tweaks in over a year of use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinball Posted November 1, 2012 Author Share Posted November 1, 2012 Thanks, I inherited those on my fretless bass and like them a lot. I'll be sticking with them on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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