Cheap Bass Strings

[Freuds_Cat]

Jamerson would be proud Pilgrim. 

[Dave W]

What Pilgrim hasn't told you is how many years that bass sat without being played. 

Come on, Al, fess up.

[Pilgrim]

Geez, I'm proud n'humble.  But Dave has a great memory - the bass mostly sat in its case between 1973 and 1997.  I know my younger brother played it a bit in the 70's, but how much I dunno.

I will say that since I like the sound of this bass with these strings, I've decided that strings are forever until they break.  If I like 'em, I just keep 'em on.

Here it is. 



Here's the headstock - and yes, you purists, it's not a '63 neck, it's a '72 neck because the truss rod broke in the original neck, and I had to re-neck it for a gig the next day.

Anyone know what brand of flats used this color of silk wrapping back in the late 60's / early 70's?  They seem to last pretty darn well!

[Dave W]

Could they be GHS Precision Flats? They've had purple silks for years, but I don't know if they did back then. Company's been around since the mid 60s, IIRC.

No matter what kind or brand, I keep strings on until I think they sound bad or until they won't intonate properly.

[Pilgrim]

I think I have some GHS flats on a Lyle SG-style...I'll take a look.

[Highlander]

Strings may come and strings my go but flat-wounds just don't do it for me...

I've errr... broken quite a few... but I always keep any halfway decent old strings, just in case...

[exiledarchangel]

I have never broke a string, how do you achieve that guys? I mostly use fingers but sometimes I use a pick. Should I start using knife blades or something?

[Dave W]

I've never broken a bass string either. Guitar strings are a different story.

[Freuds_Cat]

I used to break either an A or an E about once a month for ages after I bought the Jazz before finally learning that the guy who had filed the grooves in the Badass saddles had made them too sharp. Had them modded and haven't broken a string in more than 20 years.

[Highlander]

I led a dubious life playing mostly in three piece with vocals, playing a lot of chords to fill in during solos (the Hiwatt is handy for that as she has a built in volume switching circuit) and tended to be a bit rough so they tended to deteriorate quite quickly... that and the Tequilabird had a Badass bridge and pointy saddles...

My last band in the 80's (now re-formed) was/is much more restrained and I mostly play with my fingers these days...

I also discovered some oddball Rotosound strings which had the core exposed to go over the saddles - exceptionally bright but highly fragile - don't use them now although the Hohner still has three... as I said, I don't change them unnecessarily... though nothing as old as Pilgrim Al's ... 

[Pilgrim]

I checked the bass with the GHS strings (as far as I can recall). The silks are a dark purple and the windings on the old flats on that P-bass are closer to blue.  I don't think they have been exposed to enough light to fade to blue, so either GHS changed colors or it's some other brand on the P-bass.

[Dave W]

If it's any help, all sizes of LaBella flats had royal blue silks back then.

[Pilgrim]

AHA!!!  Justified or not, that would reinforce my faith in LaBellas, my favorite flatwounds.