The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Gibson Basses => Topic started by: Blackbird on December 17, 2013, 07:17:03 AM
-
Gang - what are the strings that come on the Gibson basses of recent years?
-
E, A, D & G, except on 5-stringers ...
(ducking ...)
It used to be Epiphone strings (wherever these were made) and it might be D'Addario these days. They have used/use D'Addarios on their guitars. The bass strings feel D'Addario'ish to me, but I'm not ruling out GHS either. The packaging of the Gibson own brand guitar strings certainly looks suspiciously GHS'ish.
-
Some of the basses on Gibson's website do name the strings as "genuine Gibson strings." Years ago I believe Gibson had their strings made for them by Sterlingworth in the Kalamazoo area. Sterlingworth is now American Winding (parent of Dean Markley), they also make a number of private label strings but no idea if they make 'em for Gibson.
-
Nice one, Uwe. But I use C#, G#, C# and A# :P
I'm asking because I actually like the feel of them, I have D'addario Pro Steels as replacements but I don't love'em. Roto's are cool, but like Pro Steels.
Are they nickel? The feel smoother overall.
-
Fairly easy to tell nickel plated from stainless. Even the finest stainless rounds are like little files.
-
The last 2 Gibsons (an SG Faded & the TBIV) bought in the last year actually both had a little round plastic washer attached to the 3 Pt said "genuine Gibson Strings". They were rounds. I put GHS flats on the short SG and these new model DR Vintage flats on the Boid and both come up trumps.
-
Fairly easy to tell nickel plated from stainless. Even the finest stainless rounds are like little files.
For sure Dave, I just don't have them anymore - only the D'Addarios on the two birds now. Maybe I'll try a nickel set to see if I get closer to that feel.
Files is right!
-
Phew... for a minute there I thought the Police were endorsing Gibson...!
-
Phew... for a minute there I thought the Police were endorsing Gibson...!
LOL - oops...an underedited overedit!!
-
Well, Sting at least played an Explorer Bass in mid-period Poice for a while, albeit an Ibanez one. Probably the only non-hard rock or -metal bassist who ever did.
I find Gibson's factory strings merely ok, neither junk nor of the quality you would find on, say, Ibanez or many boutique basses. Unless one of them sounds significantly less bright than the others in the set (which happens more often than it really should), I keep them on and wait for the next string change.
-
Hamer 8 string fretless...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v2GDbEmjGE
-
Dang(doodada), all four things I did not know:
- that it's a Hamer,
- a fretless,
- an 8-string to boot AND
- it doesn't go out of tune in the cold!!!!
-
They're both using Hammers - endorsement deal or what? ... also, I've never heard a (studio) Police song that made me think - "yep, he's using an 8 string." Sting's tone was never anywhere near as unmellow as that.
-
Summers was a Hamer endorser early on, they even built a signature model for him in the early eighties which was first called the "Prototype" and then some other name that never stuck in my memory.
Sting was always willing to try new things as a bassist, disenchanted with Police's limitations as a trio (don't tell ME how he did his best music in that format, TELL HIM!!!), he was always looking for new colors: From fretted to fretless, from passive to active, from bass guitar to electric double-bass, I don't doubt for a minute that he would have tried an eight-string fretless in the studio or live as well - eight-string AND fretless, even I haven't come up with that combination yet! I assume that Hamer used some of their know-how from Tom Petersson's eight-strings in the process.
-
eight-string AND fretless, even I haven't come up with that combination yet!
Mark "Surf Rat" Rowe who runs 12stringbass.net and his fretless 12er.
(http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae241/cata1d0/ME/Surf-Melba2_zps0a0157db.jpg) (http://s976.photobucket.com/user/cata1d0/media/ME/Surf-Melba2_zps0a0157db.jpg.html)
-
It makes sense in so far as fretting chords on a fretless can be tricky if you are not hellishly accurate. 0n an 8- or 12-string you are always fretting a "chord", yet you won't sound out of tune.
-
When I saw the Ghost in the Machine tour, Sting played the Steinberger. He played keys on Invisible Sun, and a roadie played the white Spector. Next tour, the Spector was his main bass.
-
Now that you mention it, I do remember the Spector. His first battery bass was the Ibanez Musician.
-
Summers was a Hamer endorser early on, they even built a signature model for him in the early eighties which was first called the "Prototype"
Yeah I remember that thing. Triple coil pup like an Ibanez ATK bass. Always thought they were kinda cool (for a Hammer; generally a pretty looked down upon brand around here).
-
Our guitarist had one back then - the Prototype right off the Frankfurt Musik Messe. It was an ill match, Thomas was really a "Hiwatt and Telecaster"-guy, hardly any distortion (and only from the amp) and no effects at all, a (very good) rhythm guitar player with little solo aspirations. He sold it off decades later to someone with an effects-laden sound who almost fell to his knews for that thing. I "arranged" the deal when I heard that guitarist's mouth water about the "original Hamer Prototypes".
I've always been suspicious of guitars without a neck pup.
-
EXL165 Nickel Wound Bass do the trick nicely. Much nicer.
-
Anybody tried those new D'Addarios that are supposed to have near to equal tension on E, A, D and G? Interesting concept, not that I ever bothered about the unequal tension (with D being the tautest and consequently suffering a bit on scales in excess of 34").
-
Anybody tried those new D'Addarios that are supposed to have near to equal tension on E, A, D and G? Interesting concept, not that I ever bothered about the unequal tension (with D being the tautest and consequently suffering a bit on scales in excess of 34").
I did Uwe. I used the 120E set, super heavy. We were dropped C on my T-bird, and they were actually quite good for that and I liked them. I'd say give a set a try, D'addario's are not expensive - here anyway.
-
Anybody tried those new D'Addarios that are supposed to have near to equal tension on E, A, D and G? Interesting concept, not that I ever bothered about the unequal tension (with D being the tautest and consequently suffering a bit on scales in excess of 34").
Grrr. I blame that tin-eared idiot at Zachary Guitars for this trend.
The reason we have various combinations of string sizes is because they sounded good to numbers of people. We didn't know what the tension measurements were, we just knew they sounded right to us.
If you choose strings based on having equal tension instead of whether or not they sound good together, then IMHO there's something wrong with your thought process. Not that these sets necessarily sound bad or out of balance, I'm sure some of them are fine. But it's not the right way to choose strings.
-
Grrr. I blame that tin-eared idiot at Zachary Guitars for this trend.
The reason we have various combinations of string sizes is because they sounded good to numbers of people. We didn't know what the tension measurements were, we just knew they sounded right to us.
If you choose strings based on having equal tension instead of whether or not they sound good together, then IMHO there's something wrong with your thought process. Not that these sets necessarily sound bad or out of balance, I'm sure some of them are fine. But it's not the right way to choose strings.
For me at the time was using a nice heavy E set for dropped C tuning, and it did a nice job.
-
I'm just curious, I give any new string idea a try, hex or round wire, coated, colored, neon, cobalt, if they had ones sanctified by the Vatican (for the saintly bassist like me), I'd buy those too - variety is the spice of life! D'Addarios are cheap and ubiquitous in Germany too. The most prevalent string brand even ahead of Rotos, GHS or Warwick.
Why has no one yet come up with strings made from salvaged parts of the Titanic, Hood or Bismarck? For those really deep sounds.
-
today I grabbed some nickel Rotos for the NR. My Ebony bird, which I've had for 7 years, has never been gigged. She gets her first go this Saturday.
-
...
Why has no one yet come up with strings made from salvaged parts of the Titanic, Hood or Bismarck? For those really deep sounds.
Wouldn't surprise me. Someone's always coming up with a new gimmick, and some others will follow. It's all snake oil to me.
-
I also wondered if this might mean Sting had started playing Gibsons. I wouldn't be surprised, since Gibson is so known for snatching famous artists to endorse them.
-
Why has no one yet come up with strings made from salvaged parts of the Titanic, Hood or Bismarck? For those really deep sounds.
Hey, That's illeagle! :o
-
Plumbing the depths, more like...
That's a new low round here... :vader:
-
I also wondered if this might mean Sting had started playing Gibsons. I wouldn't be surprised, since Gibson is so known for snatching famous artists to endorse them.
He's still popular and playing at big venues. That's too high profile for a Gibson bass endorser.
-
He's still popular and playing at big venues. That's too high profile for a Gibson bass endorser.
LOL, so true.