Strings - The Importance of Being Ernest

[discreet]

[b]Strings - The Importance of Being Ernest[/b]

More accurately, the importance of being Ernie - Ernie Ball, that is. Just scored myself a sexy Squier Jazz V, which - lovely though it be, I won't bang on about any more as the NBD thread is here:

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/237134-nbd-squier-vintage-modified-jazz-bass-v/"]http://basschat.co.u...ed-jazz-bass-v/[/url]





Now as any fule kno, Squier are often stereotyped as being inferior to Fender so one reasonably begins to imagine that Squiers must be ripe for modding as the stock pups and hardware are crap, aren't they?

This is not the case with the Jazz V, but even though I'm very pleased with it I did have a nagging doubt in the back of my mind - and thus started looking at pupgrades and the possibility of adding an aftermarket onboard preamp... like you do...

Frankly I felt entitled to a bit more of that Jazz 'growl' everyone on YouTube seems to be getting (yes, I know) and thought that its lack may be down to budgetary considerations and corner-cutting.

Long story short - while I was thinking about this, I fitted a new 5-set of Ernie Ball Super-Slinky Rounds. Ooh.

Ahhh... OK, there's my 'growl' - and then some. And listen, there are my harmonics, my great big piano-like ringing boingy thump-thump rumpy-pump... fin-tim-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim bus-stop F'tang F'tang Olé Biscuit-Barrel...Eurgh! Aeiough!! *Has seizure and collapses - thud of body hitting floor*

Ohh... Edinburgh... what are all you people doing in my room? *confused* Nurse!

Anyway, the point I'm making is that if you buy some decent strings first you could well save yourself about three hundred quid by NOT buying high-end Jazz pupgrades and NOT buying a John East preamp (Sorry, John)*.

Turns out the stock strings on the Squier Jazz V, or at least MY Squier Jazz V were actually as dead as something that's been dead for a long time, probably smells quite a bit and is very nasty.

Now I'm having a lot more fun, and the new strings mean that I can keep the bass stock and make any necessary EQ adjustments with my amp - which after all, is what I bought it for. Total cost = £26 including postage. This has saved me at least £274, which I will put towards another Fabergé Egg. Thank you, please. *

*OK, I'm a total dick and have pulled the trigger on an Audere Audio Pro JZ3 Preamp, thus rendering this thread inaccurate at best and an irrelevant waste of time at worst! But strings ARE still very important. And at least it's not a John East...

Oh come on - it was an offer I couldn't refuse and it's SO, SO very SHINY!!
[url="https://www.audereaudio.com/Pro_JZ3.htm"]https://www.audereau...com/Pro_JZ3.htm[/url]

The inevitable gushing review to come. I'll try and be objective folks, honest.

Edited May 25, 2014 by discreet

[fretmeister]

Massively agree.

When I got my Marleaux Consat it sounded great through my little Roland but sucked with my Genz rig.

The bass had a spare set of strings with it, so I used them - still sucked.

I was very close to gutting the pickups and preamp but then put on a set of my favourite D'addarios Pro-Steels. All of a sudden - there it was. The sound I expected. Couldn't be happier with it.

[discreet]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1400583609' post='2455064']
All of a sudden - there it was. The sound I expected. Couldn't be happier with it.
[/quote]

Eureka! Also, the E. Balls are much more consistent and the B string now sounds like all the other strings, which it didn't before. And as I like to fit my strings without cutting them, I get more of the string round the tuner post from top to bottom and now have a much better break-angle on the B which is much tighter and has more note definition. Pretty good upgrade for the price I reckon.

Edited May 20, 2014 by discreet

[mcnach]

Nice strings, yup

[LiamPodmore]

It's surprising the difference a good set of strings makes. I recently put a set of Elixir Nanowebs on my Jazz V Deluxe and it sounded exactly as i'd always hoped it would. Admittedly it did have an almost 2 and a half year old set of Ernie Balls on there beforehand.

Liam

[Lozz196]

Wholeheartedly agree, many a time I`ve bought a new/or used bass, got it home and been rather disappointed. I now know the cure, remove the strings that came with it, and put a set of Rotosound on. Doesn`t matter whether new or used, the Rotos then make my bass sound like it`s now "mine".

[discreet]

Glad I'm not the only one.
Thing is you'd expect a brand new bass to have halfway-decent strings on it, wouldn't you..?

Obviously I haven't bought enough brand-new basses to know this isn't the case!

Edited May 24, 2014 by discreet

[discreet]

I'm not a great believer in the tonewood thing, but received wisdom has it that maple results in more 'top end' or whatever you want to call it - I don't know about that but I can reveal that the Squier Jazz V is all-maple and with the new Balls the result is almost [i]too much[/i] snap and top - I have to have the tone control at full treble cut just to get a 'normal' Jazz tone and avoid a shitstorm of string noise and clank! Nice to know it's there if I need it, I suppose! [size=4] Maybe I'll try some flats next up...[/size]

Edited May 24, 2014 by discreet

[paul_5]

or 'ground wounds' - best of both worlds...

[discreet]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1400959391' post='2458653']
or 'ground wounds' - best of both worlds...
[/quote]

Hmm... any recommendation as to brand or gauge for a 5-string..?

[paul_5]

The D'Addario half rounds worked for me when I played a 5.
http://www.daddario.com/DADProductDetail.Page?ActiveID=3769&productid=178&productname=ENR71_5_Half_Rounds_5_String_Bass__Regular_Light__45_130__Long_Scale

lots of folks on here swear by the Status Hotwires though.

[discreet]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1400963712' post='2458714']
The D'Addario half rounds worked for me when I played a 5.
lots of folks on here swear by the Status Hotwires though.
[/quote]

Thanks for that. I'll give 'em a go.

[JapanAxe]

+1 to all this. Some people buy an instrument with upgrades in mind, I just imagine how good it will sound with some Chromes* on.

*or substitute the name of your favoured brand.

[Thunderbird]

I have been experimenting with strings I have tried lots of sets of cheap strings with varying results some good and some really awful I have also tried brands like Ernie Ball which I liked and D'addaio nickels which I really hated I am using good old Rotosounds at present and love the sound I get from them I am not so keen on the feel of them but I will soon get used to it also I tried Picato strings and thought they were fantastic but they have gone up over a fiver a pack in recent months. I think I am going to try Warwick red label strings next time I buy some so I think that strings really make a huge difference to a bass and that they are also a really personal thing

[mcnach]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1400955451' post='2458589']
I'm not a great believer in the tonewood thing, but received wisdom has it that maple results in more 'top end' or whatever you want to call it - I don't know about that but I can reveal that the Squier Jazz V is all-maple and with the new Balls the result is almost [i]too much[/i] snap and top - I have to have the tone control at full treble cut just to get a 'normal' Jazz tone and avoid a shitstorm of string noise and clank! Nice to know it's there if I need it, I suppose! [size=4] Maybe I'll try some flats next up...[/size]
[/quote]

Just use them a lot. After a couple of weeks the initial zing will go and although still have a lot of treble, will be a lot more tame. I hate new new strings too.

[discreet]

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1401001502' post='2458869']
...I think that strings really make a huge difference to a bass and that they are also a really personal thing
[/quote]

True. I have also experimented with lots of different brands, but relatively slowly, over a number of years... I don't change strings every few gigs like some do, but I don't leave them on for years on end, either.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1401007330' post='2458914']
Just use them a lot. After a couple of weeks the initial zing will go and although still have a lot of treble, will be a lot more tame. I hate new new strings too.
[/quote]

They are certainly getting a lot of use already so hopefully the initial zing won't be too much of a problem.

[Rumple]

FYI Mark the bass of mine you played last week has Status half wounds on it.

[discreet]

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1401017042' post='2459100']
FYI Mark the bass of mine you played last week has Status half wounds on it.
[/quote]

Wow thanks Dave, I did not know that! They felt just like flats to me... where did you get them from?

[Rumple]

Direct from the Status website, they are reasonably priced.

I know some people have had issues with a dead string in a set, not something I've noticed but worth knowing before making a decision on whether to buy a set or not.

[discreet]

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1401018584' post='2459125']
Direct from the Status website, they are reasonably priced.
[/quote]

Thank you, sir... duly ordered.

Edited May 25, 2014 by discreet

[mcnach]

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1401018584' post='2459125']
Direct from the Status website, they are reasonably priced.

I know some people have had issues with a dead string in a set, not something I've noticed but worth knowing before making a decision on whether to buy a set or not.
[/quote]

I did, and Status were not helpful whatsoever about it, therefore I never bought their strings again.

The flats were nice, in a very "old school" kind of way. The half-wounds or ground-wounds or whatever they're called were promising but my set had at least two very dead strings and two bright ones, and I got rid off them. Hopefully that was a one off incident, but their response means I won't try again.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1401018584' post='2459125']
Direct from the Status website, they are reasonably priced.

I know some people have had issues with a dead string in a set, not something I've noticed but worth knowing before making a decision on whether to buy a set or not.
[/quote] I bought a set of status strings years back and had a dead one... one call to Dawn and she put a replacement in the post the same day.



Back to the topic...
Do you ever wonder how many of the basses for sale as the owner wants something different/better, would not be for sale if they spent the $$ on new strings?

[discreet]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1401095119' post='2459867']
Do you ever wonder how many of the basses for sale as the owner wants something different/better, would not be for sale if they spent the $$ on new strings?
[/quote]

I think the importance of strings is certainly overlooked, particularly if you're one who doesn't change them regularly, like myself. You assume you like the sound of old strings, so don't do much experimentation. Other old strings may sound different! But of course as I said before this kind of experimentation happens in slow motion.

[discreet]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1401093885' post='2459854']
The half-wounds or ground-wounds or whatever they're called were promising but my set had at least two very dead strings and two bright ones, and I got rid off them. Hopefully that was a one off incident, but their response means I won't try again.
[/quote]

That's a shame. I'm taking a gamble with mine then, it would seem.

[Greggo]

I really like my status half wounds. I did get a dead E, but they sent a new one after I emailed them so if you do get a dead E deal with confidence.

They are great for having a flat feel but a tonality of a round that has bedded in nicely.