Fretless and flats!

[ptg]

Recently ordered bass 'o my dreams, a MM SR fretless. I was told of the customary 4-6 month wait as it's semi-custom. Y'know, we build them in batches...

We started talking about string preferences and my salesperson told me that the factory would only string with rounds. But it's a fretless! You mean I have to wait all this time and the first thing I have to do is buy strings and change them out?

I don't get it.

 

[armybass]

Or you could try it with the strings that come with it first and see how you like them. I actually prefer rounds on the EBMM frettless basses. I like flats of fretted basses but rounds on fretless and you might be surprised. I bought my last upright for quite a bit of money too and the first thing I did was put a new set of strings on it. Not altogether and uncommon occurrence if you think about it.

 

[bovinehost]

I have rounds on my Bongo fretless and it sings like.....um, a Bongo fretless.

(I almost said 'like a guitar hummin' because that damned Neal Diamond is on the radio.)

I'm with BarmyAss. I may eventually change to flats on the fretless, but rounds sound really great for now.

 

[ptg]

Okay, I get it. There are some folks who like rounds on a fretless. I'm gonna go out on a limb, though, and say most like 'em with flats. (This may be a good idea for a poll.) But shouldn't you have a choice either way?

 

[bovinehost]

I have no idea what comes on a fretless from the factory, but you do have a choice.

Changing strings is not really a big deal, and if you're convinced that you won't be happy with what comes on the bass, have the dealer change 'em when it comes in.

 

[silverburst]

Hopping over from the other fretless thread. The only reason I changed to flats was because the rounds were chewing up my fretboard. They sounded awesome. The flats sound good too, though.

 

[Aussie Mark]

Flats on all my fretli here.

 

[maddog]

Fretless come from the factory with rounds. I like 'em.

Like Jack suggested, wrangle it so your dealer changes them out.

 

[armybass]

Should we also be given a choice of wanting flats or rounds on fretted basses too? I don't get the line of thought but I work in a shop and if a guy tells me that he will buy a guitar or bass if I change the strings on it, I would promptly ask him what he wants on the instrument as I am taking off the old ones.

 

[bovinehost]

Should we also be given a choice of wanting flats or rounds on fretted basses too?

Good point. It's just more efficient to put Slinkys on and ship 'em out. Even the Flaming Biff Bongo came with Slinkys!

 

[KennethB]

Rounds: essenstial on fretless to me. I have epoxy on the fingerboard to prevent wear. It "improves" the sound slightly as well. A fraction brighter and a tad more sustain, if that is what is desired.

 

[Kirby]

My fretless has flats on it, but it is not an EB. It has a graphite neck that compensates for the loss of brightness of the rounds. Depending on how much you bend, I could see rounds tearing up a fretboard after a while.

Flats remind me of my old stand up so it may be a bit of a nostalgia thing too.

 

[MingusBASS]

I use rounds and I don't care that it leaves grooves. I'll just have the fingerboard replaned when the time comes. Besides, you'll get grooves with flats also. I bought my fretless to play and play a lot.

 

[Straight UP]

Well there is another way to look at the string thing.
That is in the way of damage to your bass that different strings cause..
It has been my experience that just about all round wound strings even ground wound cause some kind of damage (ware ) to basses.
The ware if you round wound guys look at your basses will show up as lines scored into your frets.. Fretless guys your ware shows up on your fret board..

I have round wound from the factory on my bongo two gigs one last night (the bongo was just a singing) and a bunch of practices and the score lines are appearing..
This over time is going to cause the frets to ware out and you will be looking at some maintenance on the neck..Fret wise..

The Flat strings are in my experience a little easier on the frets.. They do not cause as much ware (I'm not saying no ware ) but a heck of a lot less ware than rounds.. I've been using flat wound strings for years and have not required a fret job on the basses that have them.. But if I had been using rounds the story would have been a lot different.

The rounds are coming off my Bongo in another week or so and it will probably never see another set of rounds as long as I own it..
EBMM makes mant different sets of flat wound strings that can give you what you like to hear.. You just have to find the right set.. In the process they will save a lot of ware from happening to your frets there by saveing you repair bills in the long run.
But everyone likes different strings for what ever reason..There are always opinions.. These comments again are bassed on what I've seen happen to basses with round and flat strings on them..
Just thought you might like to hear some more ramblings from an old guy that still rocks..

 

[armybass]

No, I agree. Rounds do damage to all basses over time. And there are so many wonderful options today if you are into flat wound bass strings. I understand the OP's intent but I just think it is not really reasonable to expect EBMM or any other large scale instrument manufacturer so send an instrument out with your particular choice of strings but I do think it reasonable to expect it from the retailer you purchase from. That is good customer service and would be done on the right level of the transaction. If EBMM had to put different sets of strings on each bass ordered it would become time consuming and costly when it could easily be handled at the retail level.

 

[ptg]

You have a point...

If EBMM had to put different sets of strings on each bass ordered it would become time consuming and costly where it can easily be handled at the retail level.

I do agree that you can't expect EBMM to change strings for every instrument, i.e. light gauge, heavy gauge, but I thought since they were already doing a certain color and pickguard that they could do the strings as well. But you do make a good point.

I'm sure the dealer I had to go to is not going to throw in strings, much less put them on for me. I just, y'know, wanted that factory fresh take it out of the case and play it experience.

I did learn something, though. I never knew so many people played with rounds on their fretless. I know Jaco did but I am surprised. By the way, I prefer the old fashion darker sound of the flats and I love playing with them.

Cheers!

 

[Father Gino]

The answer to this dilema that I know BP would aprove of… Get another fretless SR5 and put flats on it, leaving the rounds on this one.

Nickel wrapped rounds will wear less. Ditto for lighter gauge strings. Your technique probably affects fretboard wear most of all. My technique stinks. I've got to plane the board down every 5 or 10 years. There are fretted players who wear their frets out as fast or faster. The little grooves in the neck perpandicular to the strings don't affect playability or tone at all. Eventually you'll wear a groove parallel to the strings deep enough to make a difference. It'll take years. The brakes on my car wear some every time I step on the pedal, but it doesn't keep me from using them.

Roundwounds are super uber cool on a fretless bass.

Flatwounds are super uber cool on a fretless bass.

They sound very different, try both.

 

[Straight UP]

Like I said
There are always Opinions on what string works best for an individual with plenty of reasons to go with it.
But I wouldn't expect any one to put a set of new stings on a new bass except myself, when buying a bass. The bass is hanging there already strung. You pick it you buy it.. You don't like the strings on it you replace em..
Not all of us can afford more than one of these basses..fretted or fretless..

Just more ramblings from an old man that still rocks

 

[bassmonkeee]

I do agree that you can't expect EBMM to change strings for every instrument, i.e. light gauge, heavy gauge, but I thought since they were already doing a certain color and pickguard that they could do the strings as well. But you do make a good point.

I'm sure the dealer I had to go to is not going to throw in strings, much less put them on for me. I just, y'know, wanted that factory fresh take it out of the case and play it experience.

I did learn something, though. I never knew so many people played with rounds on their fretless. I know Jaco did but I am surprised. By the way, I prefer the old fashion darker sound of the flats and I love playing with them.

Cheers!

What you have to understand is that EVERY Musicman instrument is "custom." Don't spend too much time on the strings that ship with the bass.

BTW--I currently use flats on my fretless Bongo. But, I've also used rounds quite a bit on it. Both options sound completely different, and both are equally valid.

 

[bassgod0dmw]

I have flats on my fretless. It came that way when I bought it. I don't really plan on changing them either...they feel pretty good. Maybe I'll experiment some...but not yet!!!