HarryPotter Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 (edited) Santa got me an Epi one of Xmas. Lovely thing to play if you have pigs tits for fingers (big hands but short fingers), a swine to set up right. I'm not overly struck on the strings though, I like flats or half flats so do you guys have any opinions on what to try? If it starts sounding to muddy when I get it through my proper base rig (Ashdown ABM) I may be looking at a pup change as well (and rewire according to the original Gibson schematics) so just as a thought is anything obvious for the swop? TIA Edited December 29, 2008 by HarryPotter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewart Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Try some Tru Bass Rotosounds (though you just might to ease out the nut a bit, as they're quite chunky) Otherwise, I'd always go for TI Jazz flats now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 I'd be tempted to try TI Jazz Flats (TIJF324 set) on that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redstriper Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Nice Xmas present - I bought one of these last month and replaced the strings with rotosound short scale tru bass black nylon covered flats from stringbusters for £24.00. They are great for this bass if you want deep growl and they feel smooth and fast to play. There was no problem fitting them and they stay in tune and look cool. I'm happy with the original pup which is powerful and quiet and mine was well set up with just a little intonation tweaking required. The sound was a bit uneven across the strings and I adjusted the pup height slightly to compensate. I find it very playable and well suited to reggae or old skool rock, probably not the best choice for Jaco cats though. I tried a 60s Gibson EBO in a vintage guitar shop in London and it was nicer than this copy, but not 2 grand nicer! I'm looking for a cheap but decent quality gig bag for mine since the fitted case costs almost as much as the bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilLordJuju Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 (edited) [quote name='redstriper' post='365846' date='Dec 29 2008, 10:50 PM']I tried a 60s Gibson EBO in a vintage guitar shop in London and it was nicer than this copy, but not 2 grand nicer![/quote] If you pay £2k for an EB-0 you've been robbed. Depending on age and condition they should go for £500-£1000 max (except maybe for the really old Les Paul Junior shape, or a stupidly mint one). I like the Labella flats Edited December 30, 2008 by evilLordJuju Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryPotter Posted December 30, 2008 Author Share Posted December 30, 2008 Thanks guys, I am very much a rock player, no jazz stuff from me I'm afraid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 [quote name='evilLordJuju' post='365958' date='Dec 30 2008, 02:17 AM']....If you pay £2k for an EB-0 you've been robbed....[/quote] If you pay £2 for an EB-0 you've been ropbbed! This was the worst sounding bass I ever owned. It had 2 tones, muddy and very muddy. IME, IMO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 I used LaBella rounds on mine. I'm sure that Stringbusters do their flats in shortscale as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 [quote name='HarryPotter' post='365964' date='Dec 30 2008, 03:24 AM']Thanks guys, I am very much a rock player, no jazz stuff from me I'm afraid [/quote] I'm not sure what you mean there but if you're referring to the Jazz Flats I don't think anyone was suggesting you play jazz. TI Jazz Flats is just the name of the string. As a reviewer at Stringsdirect says: 'Don't be fooled by the name! I use these 'jazz' strings to play hard punk rock - and nothing beats 'em! Worth every penny.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Be aware that both the Rotosounds and the TI flats will require you to make some fairly major truss rod adjustments. The Rotos are very high tension (personally I hate them - they feel like fence wire) and the TIs are very low. For reference a standard set of 45-95 roundwounds are roughly in the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryPotter Posted December 30, 2008 Author Share Posted December 30, 2008 (edited) I never thought that anybody thought I played Jazz, I just don't slap or do jazzy things blah blah bah I've ordered some of the rotos, I noticed they were thicker than usual and I have no issues with truss rod adjustment (I'm unhappy with how slack the truss rod felt to get the right amount of neck relief with the standard strings). Also if they sit a little higher in the nut it should help to confirm my feelings that the nut has been cut too low. I also have very strong (just not very flexible) fingers so hopefully it should cancel out in my case, thanks for the caveat though. Edited December 30, 2008 by HarryPotter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redstriper Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 [quote name='BigRedX' post='366394' date='Dec 30 2008, 04:54 PM']Be aware that both the Rotosounds and the TI flats will require you to make some fairly major truss rod adjustments. The Rotos are very high tension (personally I hate them - they feel like fence wire) and the TIs are very low. For reference a standard set of 45-95 roundwounds are roughly in the middle.[/quote] I couldn't disagree more - I have not adjusted the truss rod since fitting the rotosounds and don't see any difference in neck relief from the standard strings. I find them to be quite low tension and smooth to play, (nothing like fence wire) pretty much the opposite of your opinion. I'd be interested to hear how HP gets on with the rotos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilLordJuju Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 [quote name='chris_b' post='366252' date='Dec 30 2008, 02:29 PM']It had 2 tones, muddy and very muddy.[/quote] Yes, that's right. These basses are for people that actually like 'bass', rather than a weedy trebly clank Not suitable for every band line-up or every style of music, true, but when you want serious bass, not many instruments can compare. I usually play the two pickup versions (EB-2D, EB-3 and Epiphone Newport Deluxe) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alun Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 LaBella do nice short scale "Beatle Bass" flatwounds - I have them on my violin bass copy. Cheers Alun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redstriper Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 [quote name='evilLordJuju' post='367082' date='Dec 31 2008, 02:01 PM']Yes, that's right. These basses are for people that actually like 'bass', rather than a weedy trebly clank [/quote] Good point Juju - well made BTW - The '64 EB-O I saw for 2k was on the Kings Road and the same colour as yours - they offered me £800 in PX for my 1963 Fender Jazz - well the rents are high on the Kings Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 [quote name='redstriper' post='366527' date='Dec 30 2008, 07:23 PM']I couldn't disagree more - I have not adjusted the truss rod since fitting the rotosounds and don't see any difference in neck relief from the standard strings. I find them to be quite low tension and smooth to play, (nothing like fence wire) pretty much the opposite of your opinion. I'd be interested to hear how HP gets on with the rotos.[/quote] My fretless Gus G3 came with Rotosound flats fitted (Simon has some arrangement with Rotosound so that's what you get unless you specifically ask for something different.) I had to slacken the truss rod off over half a turn to compensate when I replaced them with Pedulla Nickel Roundwounds (my favourite fretless strings). This is on a bass with with carbon-fibre exoskeleton body and neck. The TI flats are even lower tension... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redstriper Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 [quote name='BigRedX' post='367125' date='Dec 31 2008, 02:55 PM']My fretless Gus G3 came with Rotosound flats fitted (Simon has some arrangement with Rotosound so that's what you get unless you specifically ask for something different.) I had to slacken the truss rod off over half a turn to compensate when I replaced them with Pedulla Nickel Roundwounds (my favourite fretless strings). This is on a bass with with carbon-fibre exoskeleton body and neck. The TI flats are even lower tension...[/quote] I'll have your rotosound tru bass flats if you've still got them - I could swap them for a new set of rotosound custom light gauge roundwounds if you're interested (although they remind me of chicken wire). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 I had one of these basses , I strung it with ernie ball flatwounds , gauges 100-45 , sounded awesome , the shortscale really added to the thumpiness of the strings , would recommend these strings to anybody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryPotter Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 I went with rotosound 88's and used it in anger today - my got it's got some bass to it very different voicing to a P etc. May end up looking at a PUP change if I end up being unhappy with the definition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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