Bass Emporium Newsletter - Volume III, No. 5 Bass Guitar String Design Tips New LOWER String Prices Owners Manuals Missed a Newsletter? New Bi-Monthly Contest
Hello LowEnders!
What's in this issue:
Bass Guitar String Design Tips
New LOWER String Prices
Owners Manuals On-Line
Missed a Newsletter?
New Bi-Monthly Contest
When the electric bass was popularized (not invented) by Leo Fender in 1951, bass strings that would "drive" the magnetic pickup in the original Precision Bass did not exist. Leo had to hand-wrap iron wire around gut strings with the winding concentrated on the part of the string located over the pickup pole magnets to make the pickup work (I wish I had some of those old bass strings now -can you say "vintage value"?). Leo later contracted the V.C. Squier company to make strings for the Fender company which were nickel- or chrome-plated steel ribbon over a round core and this was the beginning of the electric bass string as we know it.
Flatwound strings were the only type available throughout the '50s and into the early '60s. If you are trying to get a vintage tone there is nothing better than a Flatwound. In 1963 James How invented a new type of string in England called a Roundwound string. This set, the original Swing Bass JS66, was much brighter with more sustain and punch than the Flatwound strings. The early adopters are John Entwhistle and Chris Squire to name only a couple.
Wrapping a round Stainless Steel wire around a steel core typically produces the Roundwound string. This string construction can often be rough and can be far more abrasive on your fingerboard and your frets, but with the added benefit of volume, clarity and punch! To reduce the abrasive effects of the Stainless Steel wrap, string manufacturers are now using other wrap materials made of softer alloys as well as nickel-, copper-, and even gold-plated steel. The result is often a less bright string, and often these strings do not last as long as their Stainless-Steel counterparts. This is due in part to the use of a softer alloy and part in due to the plating wearing off the wrap portion of the string. The Thomastik-Infeld "Superalloy" string is the only string currently on the market that is a Nickel-Alloy wrap and this string will not suffer from the loss of plating as all of the other nickel strings on the market. It is a bit more expensive, but its longer life and vibrant, warm tone easily justify the price increase.
Groundwound strings (also known as Half-Round strings) are constructed like a Roundwound string with the outside surface ground to a flatter contour. The idea behind this string is to reduce the string "zip" when you play the string and to create a smoother surface to reduce wear on the fingerboard. I have found that some players prefer this string to reduce fret-wear on vintage instruments and fretless players use this string to try and save their fingerboard from excessive wear over time. I still prefer to use whichever string (be it round-, flat-wound) that gives me "the sound I am going for" and deal with the consequences later, but, to each their own.
Compression wound strings are put through rollers that flatten the Outer wraps against each other, providing a smoother feel and also allowing a string to contain a bit more metal than a regular roundwound string of the same gauge. That's the reason a compression-, ground-, and flat-wound string seems heavier to play is that while the diameter is the same as that of a roundwound string, more area (i.e. mass) is filled with metal rather than air.
Across these string construction methods there exist three general string topologies; (a) Conventional Construction (i.e., your standard Roundwound string, often called a "full-contact" string), (b) Taper-Core strings (where the Outer Wrap ceases and only the Inner Wrap passes over the bridge saddles) and (c) Exposed Core strings (where only the core of the string passes over the bridge). Often Taper- and Exposed-Core strings will use their unique design on only the 'B' string, but some sets taper all of the strings. The design philosophy behind the Taper-Core (really this is a Taper-Wrap) or the Exposed-Core string is that this will improve string articulation and on some basses helps dramatically with string intonation. On some basses the Taper- and Exposed-Core strings sound disembodied and sloppy, so the trick is to match your playing style to the bass and the string to produce the sound that you want to hear.
While materials can make a difference between string brands, most string makers agree on this - the biggest modifiers seem to be the core shape and the wrap versus core ratio. All Bass strings above a certain diameter must be wrapped to vibrate with a true overtone series. So they are constructed of three basic parts; (a) the core of the string (either a hex or a round core), (b) the Inner wrap (which is first wrapped around the core) and finally (c) the Outer wrap (which is either a Round, Half-Round or Flat-Ribbon) which will be made of different materials. The more pure iron in the bass string alloy, the better its magnetic properties. The better its magnetic properties, the better its interaction with magnetic pickups. The better its magnetic interaction, the bigger gain and output and the better the signal-to-noise ratio. One drawback to higher iron content is the increased stiffness (less flexibility) of the string. So, you have to balance tone and fell to reach "your" sound. The Thomastik-Infeld "PowerBass" series of strings are the loudest string available. They have tremendous punch and drive pedals with a passive bass better than any other string, however, they are quite stiff.
A small core and a large cover wrap wire will produce a brighter sound, but there is a trade-off. With a smaller core-to-wrap ratio, you get more brightness and flexibility, but you lose volume and sustain and the string goes out of tune sooner. The core-to-wrap ratio also affects the feel of the string (i.e. tension, stiffness, etc.). A heavier core string is stiffer and therefore offers more resistance than one of the same gauge with a smaller core. The shape of the core wire is also a factor. The Hex-core string is a bit stiffer, (and also believed to produce a bit brighter sound), while the Round-core string is a softer string (i.e. lower tension, less stiffness). One good example of string variations within a brand would be to look at DR. DR makes Nickel Lo-Riders and Stainless Lo-Riders - they both have a Hex-core so, they will be somewhat stiff, but you can choose between a Nickel plated string Outer wrap (a bit warmer, darker sound) and the Stainless Steel Outer wrap (brighter with more "zing"). Or, you can choose between DR Sunbeams and Hi-Beams (both with a Round-core which is more flexible) with the Sunbeams being a Nickel plated Outer wrap and the Hi-Beams being a Stainless-Steel Outer wrap.
There are fewer string winders than there are brands of strings. Not every brand label will even have their own designs for strings and there is a bit of duplication in the string business. The larger companies (D'Addario, DR, Rotosound, LaBella, GHS, Thomastik-Infeld, Pyramid, etc.) wind their own strings with their own designs, but some of these will wind strings for other companies (some small and some large) with unique designs and different materials. If you've ever bought private labels string or gone to a grand opening where you get 6-sets for the price of 1, you have purchased a string wound by one of these large companies with, in all probability, the cheapest materials and wound using the fastest techniques (read, very loose tolerances). In strings you often really get what you pay for. Outside of a unique design, the only other parameters are the materials and the winding process (typically the slower the better). Just because the larger string winders will make strings for smaller companies don't kid yourself into thinking that these are just "re-packaged" strings. Most companies enter into agreements, which restrict both design and materials.
In the end it's all about getting the sound and feel that you want to achieve and this often requires a great deal of experimentation I have a lot of basses and it seems that I use a different string set on every bass that I have. I have my preferred brands, but sometimes I just have to try new things and often they work tremendously well - better than I would have guessed. So, go for it and experiment some - you may be happily surprised!
We have started looking at the string survey that many of you have already taken part in and have reassessed our string selection and pricing. We have lowered almost all of our string prices and we now feel confident that we are the LOWEST price that you can find for quality bass strings. The shopping cart has been updated and all pricing information is current. We are still evaluating whether to add more brands and models of strings, so if you haven't done the survey yet, now is the time to stand up and be counted. String sales have been increasing quite a bit, so if we run out of something, please be patient while we restock. Go to http://www.bassemporium.com/catDetail.php?1090076928 to check out our string offerings. Remember, free shipping with order of $100 or greater!
Some of our customers were not aware ouf the collection of owner's manuals and specification guides that we have on our website. If you go to http://www.bassemporium.com/manuals.php you will see 275+ owner's manuals, specification sheets, wiring diagrams and brochures. This is a great resource and we are adding to this repsoitory all the time. If you can't find what you are looking for, please let us know and if we can find it, we will add it to the site!
All of our back-issue newsletter (excpet for the New In Stock information) is archived at http://www.bassemporium.com/newsletters.php. So, take some time and go back through and see if any of this information is informative or helpful in your quest for tone!
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Let us know if you have anything that you would like to see in the upcoming issues of our newsletter. Thanks and let us know how we can serve you!
John