So I ended up with a 1957 Kay.....

Some guy I didn't even know told me he would trade me his 1957 Kay upright bass for a guitar lesson. The deal was if I could show him how to play patience from Guns n roses he would give me his Kay..... and now I have this bass. I have done a lot of work on uprights but I dont know what brand of strings I want.

This bass by the way is in Excellent Condition no warping of the F holes the neck is as straight as an arrow 3 scratches on it. I know I must be the luckiest billy alive.


I want flat wounds. I hate my current bass players gut strings

Any bass players have opinions? What Brand? Gauge? Jelous?

O.k. Here's a good Site, but it's german. Listen to the Soundfiles, there are examples for some different types of strings.
Maybe it'll help you!

http://www.slap-strings.de/slap_strings_sound.html

Greetz:
Paul

from alot of players i talk to, the consensus is jargar or rotosound strings, can get both at lemurmusic.com

I get my double bass players strings, and in 15 years of playing together, i have bought him 1 (yes ONE) rotosound 'd' string. Unlike guitar strings, they don't need replacing for what we play, as they are mainly percussive, but rotosound is what we put on there first and replaced one string with another. Don't go for the catgut ones, they sretch out of tune perpetually.

Mikey ( oh so suddenly i'm an expert on bass strings now then?) Drucker

Mikey wrote:

Mikey ( oh so suddenly i'm an expert on bass strings now then?) Drucker

From what *I* hear, you're an expert on a lot of things...

Hey guys and gals,
Our bass player got some "weed wackers" from ebay recently and they sound fantastic. They come in a variety of silly colours if you want to jazz up an old bass. They have a more gut sound but they're made of plastic. They're a lot easier to play/slap than steel (as that's what he used in the past). Even I can play it for a while without my fingers hurting. They're also exceedingly inexpensive so to try them out doesn't cost a lot. They do take a while to stretch out and stay in tune.

It really depends on what you want to do with that bass. If you want to play rockabilly, you really should consider a gut setup. Most of those great records you love, are gut strings. If you really want to play steels, prepare for alot of pain. The string of choice for most steel players is The Jargar Dolce Solo set. MAKE SURE YOU GET THE SOLO SET. these are a slightly lower tension than the standard set, which for slapping is invaluable. The Rotosounds are not a bad string but they are Flatwound on nylon (e and a) and a nylon hybrid D and G), I don't much care for their tone. Other options are the Innovation Rockabilly Strings, or the Innovation Silver Slaps (both reasonably priced medium/low tension nylon based strings), or the LaBella Supernils (very inexpensive, but not really great on tone, and they tear up your fingerboard.).

I wouldn't recommend using weed wackers. they don't really produce much sound unless you are amplifying them, and they can really contribute to poor intonation and technique.

my 2cents worth.

g

WildCat wrote:

Mikey wrote:

Mikey ( oh so suddenly i'm an expert on bass strings now then?) Drucker

From what *I* hear, you're an expert on a lot of things...

Hey Wildcat

No offence intended!!! I've just work with double bass players since '82, and you pick this info up. My specialist subject is SFA!

Love

Mikey x

Yeah so I played a Bass with inovations and the moment I felt them I was sold its been a week with my inovations. I love them I cant set the bass down. thanks for all the suggestions I am posting a picture of her soon.