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Bass Strings - 4 string BEAD sets?

  • Thread starter Thread starter swarfrat
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swarfrat

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Ok, a brief search while my computer was busy is not looking good but:

Does anyone sell a 4 string set for BEAD tuning that doesn't cost more than a 5 string set? It's crazy, but it appears the most economical route is to buy D'Addario 5 string sets and throw one away. It just rubs me the wrong way to do that. Use the G for bracelets?

Seriously - does anyone sell a decent 4 string set under $20/ set that goes to 130ish?
 
I suppose, if you want to spend $30+ a set. Yikes, I thought buying strings from those string places was supposed to be cheaper. Huh?
 
swarfrat said:
I suppose, if you want to spend $30+ a set. Yikes, I thought buying strings from those string places was supposed to be cheaper. Huh?
Click to expand...


Carvin sells 5-string sets for 18 bucks, or three sets for 45, nickel or stainless steel.  You still have the discarding-the-G-string problem, but it's a good price.  Not sure who actually manufactures them, but there it is.
 
LaBella, or so says the website.

Mitt Romney sells D'Addario XL165-5's for $17.81 + $0.56 shipping via the UAV air drop company.  I've probably already wasted 1/5th of that worth of electrons worrying about it, but it still disturbs me to buy something planning on throwing it away.
 
I guess I'd rather throw away the extra string than the extra $5-10. Once I got my head around that aspect, I calmed down a bit. Thanks guys.
 
You don't have to throw G strings away. (There must be a joke about this somewhere.) There are people that would gladly accept donations. Specifically, there are a couple of programs out there that encourage used string donations for schools and such. Or you could offer them up on a forum. I've donated used sets before, and people were glad to accept them. I'm not sure how desirable single strings would be, but it doesn't hurt to offer them up.

Either that, or take up bracelet crafting and put your creations on Etsy. :blob7:

Better yet, take up bracelet crafting and start a product line meant to improve tone. Something about the cryogenic freezing process giving off tone auras that improve blood circulation, aiding in playing speed and articulation.
 
Actually, thanks to D'Addario finally getting around to marketing their Balanced Tension sets now: D'Addario Electric Bass XL Balanced Tension, .050 - .120, EXL160BT looks like an excellent  candidate - particularly if it's not going all the way down to B (I keep my Baritone acoustic strung 14-60 and tuned to C#).  Extra bonus - they're $13.85 @ JustStrings.
 
After weighing a bunch of factors and listening to a bunch of videos, I went totally contrary to my initial bent and just ordered a set of:

da_prod_etb92-5_main_2.jpg


TAPE?!?! Really ironic, considering the man who played bass on about 98% of the stuff I grew up listening to was Abe Laboriel (session work, I didn't discover his band and solo work till later). Still, they can be surprisingly bright for tapes, and "articulate thud" seems to be an apt description.

It didn't hurt that tapewounds are probably about as close as you can get a string to being drool proof. (I'm hoping once he gets a full set of teeth in, the faucet will turn off and my son will quit putting stuff in his mouth.)  Until then, drool is a fact of life and killer of strings. (But he absolutely loves playing instruments with me, and I'm not about to stop doing it over a few sets of strings.)
 
Delicious!! Or I should say C-licious, since its tuned up a half step. I'd rather give up that half step if it means all the notes on the string suffer for that extra half step. I need to recut the nut, but the bridge saddles caught me off guard. Will stock 4 string saddles handle a 135?  The truss rod appeas to be maxed out though, even with stock strings at standard tuning. Can I shim the neck at an angle to get the action back in line?


I LOVE the tone though. Tape wound, pick, tone control wide open. Yehah! Old school but with some articulation in ye olde thud.
 
swarfrat said:
Does anyone sell a 4 string set for BEAD tuning that doesn't cost more than a 5 string set?
Seriously - does anyone sell a decent 4 string set under $20/ set that goes to 130ish?
Click to expand...

Late to the party here, and it looks like you found a solution ... but for future reference, should you be looking for a BEAD set in nickel or stainless feel welcome to drop me a note with your preferred gauges and I'll get a quote from the shop that custom winds the strings we ship with.

Min order is size 10 'sets' (sets meaning that each string size is packaged in a tube of 10 strings)

unfortunately this supplier doesn't offer tapewounds, flats, or coated string options

R
 
If I ever need 20 years worth of bass strings I'll keep it in mind. Now for guitar that's more like 2 years and a lot more practical.
 
swarfrat said:
If I ever need 20 years worth of bass strings I'll keep it in mind. Now for guitar that's more like 2 years and a lot more practical.
Click to expand...

they offer guitar gauges strings as well, bundled in tubes of 12
 
swarfrat said:
If I ever need 20 years worth of bass strings I'll keep it in mind. Now for guitar that's more like 2 years and a lot more practical.
Click to expand...

You've already got 20 years of strings w/the tapewounds!  I've used only tapewounds for a decade, and I LOVE them.  I have a set of them on my old Carvin that's been on there since sometime in 2007, and they still feel perfect - just played it last night, in fact. 

And:
- they look cool
- they sound a little brighter than flatwounds, but still avoid finger noise.
- they have a smooth wrap and lower tension than flats or rounds, so you can play them for hours without shredding your fingers.
- they have a short break in period, after which they sound the same for literally years at a time.  Unless something happens to that bass, I don't foresee ever changing them.  I only broke the previous set after some experiments with different tunings.
 
They're surprisingly bright, yet the brightness is very carefully controlled.Quite tasty. Can't wait to hear em in context.
 
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