Author Topic: My Bass Sounds better as the strings age.... (Read 827 times)

that_sustain · « **on:** April 17, 2013, 04:00:23 AM »

I'm getting a better sound on my Alembic as the strings(Ernie Ball Slinky extra lights) age. I hear the bell tone of the bridge much clearer without the additional grind tone. I usually like that grind, but the tone I'm getting now is a whole new thing in my world. Anybody else experience this? Maybe I've just been partying too much.

slawie · « **Reply #1 on:** April 17, 2013, 04:10:53 AM »

Maybe you have a hankerin' for some flat wounds?
slawie

xlrogue6 · « **Reply #2 on:** April 17, 2013, 08:37:29 AM »

That's impending middle age talking--and Slawie's right, you're about due for the flatwound epiphany. Soon you'll be questioning the need for high frequency drivers in your bass cabs. You may also find the word whippersnappers creeping into your vocabulary.

5a_quilt_top · « **Reply #3 on:** April 17, 2013, 11:40:14 AM »

Alembic pickups and electronics are sensitive and reproduce high frequencies really well.

I actually have to dial out some treble when using new round wound strings.

This made sense to me after reading that flat wound strings were originally used as reference when Alembic pickups and electronics were being developed.

hammer · « **Reply #4 on:** April 17, 2013, 01:28:23 PM »

Middle age or old age. A guitarist friend of mind just asked everyone in our band (25-50 yrs. of age)to take part in a frequency sensitivity test. It's amazing how quickly our ability to hear the high frequencies fade. From the limitation knowledge I have: (a) age affects high frequencies more than low, and (b) men are more affected than women. Even the 25-year old had lost some of his ability to hear tones above 17 kHz.

that_sustain · « **Reply #5 on:** April 17, 2013, 04:59:45 PM »

I'm only 38 lol. I hear about well aged flats all the time. Maybe somebody makes them in light gauge..

jet_powers · « **Reply #6 on:** April 17, 2013, 06:17:33 PM »

I noticed the same thing on my Persuader when the strings started getting old and I became hesitant to change them as I found I was kinda liking it! I cured it by getting myself a Fender P for that kind of sound....

that_sustain · « **Reply #7 on:** April 17, 2013, 08:13:07 PM »

The Fender's low E can be hard to blend in with the sound mix of a band. It's a little too much bark and power...harder to control. Or, it's just that I'm still adjusting to the new(to me) 32' scale length.

mario_farufyno · « **Reply #8 on:** April 18, 2013, 04:41:38 AM »

Thomastik Infeld makes some light Flats, Daniel. You could try them sometime...

funkyjazzjunky · « **Reply #9 on:** April 18, 2013, 05:57:40 AM »

I love Pyramid flats

VMG

xlrogue6 · « **Reply #10 on:** April 18, 2013, 08:12:18 AM »

@hammer: Interestingly, it seems with age that a lot of us lose not only our ability to hear high frequencies but interest in doing so. As the kids say, wassup widdat?

5a_quilt_top · « **Reply #11 on:** April 18, 2013, 09:55:51 AM »

Losing interest in hearing high end - not me!

At 52 +, I love it all from Entwistle's ringing clang to Flea's punchy snap to Phil & Jack's complex thunder to Jamerson's rhythmic thump.

Bright and round or smooth and flat - whatever the music needs. It's ALL good, baby!

And, for me, Alembics are the perfect vehicle to deliver it. The widest range of musically usable, touch-sensitive low end tones available - all wrapped up in a world-class visual package.

gtrguy · « **Reply #12 on:** April 18, 2013, 10:29:05 AM »

HUH?

Actually, I do not like the sound of new strings, especially on a guitar. I always think of the opening guitar line of Play that Funky Music where the guitar is so tweaky sounding and I go, Ah ha, they put new strings on that puppy to go into the studio with. Nothing like strings that have had a little time to settle down and mellow.

Lately I have been gigging with a Fender Deluxe P bass and dialing out some of the highs to get a more fat full bottom end that sits well in the mix.

that_sustain · « **Reply #13 on:** April 18, 2013, 12:24:29 PM »

If it's a one guitar band..I need newer strings on a regular bass(haven't tried old strings with a band yet on Alembic). There isn't enough going on tonally when the guitarist solos, otherwise. I guess an example of what I'm mentioning would definately be The Who.

5A got me thinkin' about that.

stout71 · « **Reply #14 on:** April 18, 2013, 12:37:00 PM »

To add to the hearing thing, high frequencies will always go before low ones (for most people) because the mechanisms used to transmit high frequencies to the brain are closer to the outer ear. High frequencies are directional and travel in relatively straight lines. In layman's terms, high frequencies whack those mechanisms over time before low frequencies whack the stuff in the inner ear.

Sue me, but I love my roundwounds and I still have my hearing. Of course, I don't have my Alembic yet. I may change my tune (no pun intended) when I receive it.