Quote:
Originally Posted by davidseidel
I recently saw a bass strung following a theory that the lowest string should have the longest distance at the pegbox. Therefore i think only the A stays in normal position, the E goes where the D usually is etc. A pro player here who is also a luthier was working in Paris a few months back and visited a shop where he found all the basses even the cheap ones sounded and played so well and he noticed that they were all set up like this. He tried it when he got home and swears his bass sounds and plays better than it ever has. Haven't tried it myself - anyone else?
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Actually, I think whether this orientation will work or not depends from bass to bass.
On my bass, the A string in its "normal" position sounded pretty weak and flabby, while the E string had more bite to its sound but felt too tight. But in their current positions, (E on the A-peg, and A on the E-peg) they sound much better. The A string feels much tighter now and sounds more direct with more bite, while the E feels much looser and sounds more sonorous with a nice low end. I've mentioned all this in my post above.
So basically, you
can string your bass in the manner you described above; it will probably improve your sound overall. But I think the best way to decide if this is right way for you is to listen to your current setup and figure out which strings need improvement and how.
I find that a shorter after-length combined with a sharper angle where the string crosses the nut leads to a brighter sound that has more bite, as well as a tighter feel to the string. A longer after-length with a gentler angle leads to a more sonorous and richer sound, as well as a looser feel. However, a longer after-length can also lead to a weaker and flabbier sound, so be cautious about that.