Bass Set-ups

[BobWankowski]

Burner Nickel Medium Tapered 6 for me on both fretted and fretless.
Just the tiniest hint of relief on the neck and low action (no buzz) with the strings following the radius of the board. Bridge strobe tuned at the 12th and 24th (no problem on Smith basses ) then good to go.

I stick with the same strings now (after much trial and error) and so my set up stays consistent season to season.

[Tim Bishop]

Originally Posted by BobWankowski

Burner Nickel Medium Tapered 6 for me on both fretted and fretless.
Just the tiniest hint of relief on the neck and low action (no buzz) with the strings following the radius of the board. Bridge strobe tuned at the 12th and 24th (no problem on Smith basses ) then good to go.

I stick with the same strings now (after much trial and error) and so my set up stays consistent season to season.

Bob, I'm curious: What is your reasoning for choosing Nickel's? Can you tell me what you like about them?

[BobWankowski]

Originally Posted by Tim Bishop

Bob, I'm curious: What is your reasoning for choosing Nickel's? Can you tell me what you like about them?

That's easy. Specifically the "Smith" Nickels sound clear and warm right from the start. On my fretted they sound wonderful and jazz guitar-like up high, clear and piano like down low and have a great slap sound. My BSR6G is a bright bass to begin with so that may have something to do with it. There is no break in period with these so the tone is pretty consistent for the life of the string.

On my fretless they give me any fretless sound I want depending on pickup/eq settings and they are pretty easy on the Ebony board.

I really like them better than the other Nickel or stainless strings I've tried and I've pretty much tried them all. Funny how my whole string experiment took me right back to the Smith Burner's I liked to begin with.
It's likely I'll use them on my 3rd Smith whenever that happens though since I saved all the strings from my experiment I'll likely test again as the wood variations do make a difference and when I get my fretted bolt on Walnut I may prefer a steel string.

Best,
Bob

Post script:
Actually just got my CR6GF (fretless) back from my Luthier Savant after having the fingerboard redressed and am giving a set of TI Jazz Flats a whirl.
I had them on a Pentabuzz but they were not a player in my "6 string test". I'll keep the post up on how they fare after a little break-in period.

[Bob Faulkner]

I play mainly fretless. I've honestly never changed the setup on my Smith at all. Everything was pretty much perfect. Ken had adjusted the G string to run with much lower action than the rest of the strings which makes the fretless growl from that string really stand out while the other strings have a much more moderate growl but stronger fundamentals. I've found I really enjoy that setup. I'm not a big fan of over the top fretless growl down low but a nice warm, moderate growl accenting the fundamental is a sweet thing. On the higher pitch notes the bright growl really stands out and is perfect.. I've setup all my fretless basses along these lines now.

I use both Smith slick rounds and compressors on my fretless basses. I currently have compressors on my Smith.

[Tim Bishop]

Originally Posted by Bob Faulkner

I play mainly fretless. I've honestly never changed the setup on my Smith at all. Everything was pretty much perfect. Ken had adjusted the G string to run with much lower action than the rest of the strings which makes the fretless growl from that string really stand out while the other strings have a much more moderate growl but stronger fundamentals. I've found I really enjoy that setup. I'm not a big fan of over the top fretless growl down low but a nice warm, moderate growl accenting the fundamental is a sweet thing. On the higher pitch notes the bright growl really stands out and is perfect.. I've setup all my fretless basses along these lines now.

I use both Smith slick rounds and compressors on my fretless basses. I currently have compressors on my Smith.

Bob, why do you like these strings over, say, the Stainless Steel Taper Cores?

[Bob Faulkner]

Originally Posted by Tim Bishop

Bob, why do you like these strings over, say, the Stainless Steel Taper Cores?

Well, I like to maintain the integrity of my fingers and my fingerboard as much as possible. Rubbing something that could take the finish off my truck over my beautiful ebony fingerboard is not something I would enjoy doing.

I've found the slicks, and especially the compressors, are much easier on the fingerboard and my fingers while still retaining most of that round wound zing. The compressors are a little harder on the fingers than the slicks, but the gain in tone makes up for it.

The slicks are probably my favorite for pure feel. They make doing slides and deep vibrato on the fretless more comfortable, and also dramatically reduce finger scrape noises. The compressors aren't as comfortable and quiet as the slicks on slides and deep vibrato, but are much more comfortable than round wounds.

Ken shipped my fretless to me with taper core rounds on it. I played it for exactly 5 minutes before I saw the carnage they were releasing on my fingerboard (that 5 minutes was more wear on the fingerboard than the next 5.5 years with slicks) and then went straight to the store and bought the only pack of flats they had in stock. I then spent about 6 months testing different brands and types of flat and compromise strings before I settled on Smith slicks as the best feel and wear vs tone. I've recently started using the compressors and they're great, but I still like the slicks in general. I'm still kinda undecided on which type to stick with.

[Tim Bishop]

Originally Posted by Bob Faulkner

Well, I like to maintain the integrity of my fingers and my fingerboard as much as possible. Rubbing something that could take the finish off my truck over my beautiful ebony fingerboard is not something I would enjoy doing.

I've found the slicks, and especially the compressors, are much easier on the fingerboard and my fingers while still retaining most of that round wound zing. The compressors are a little harder on the fingers than the slicks, but the gain in tone makes up for it.

The slicks are probably my favorite for pure feel. They make doing slides and deep vibrato on the fretless more comfortable, and also dramatically reduce finger scrape noises. The compressors aren't as comfortable and quiet as the slicks on slides and deep vibrato, but are much more comfortable than round wounds.

Ken shipped my fretless to me with taper core rounds on it. I played it for exactly 5 minutes before I saw the carnage they were releasing on my fingerboard (that 5 minutes was more wear on the fingerboard than the next 5.5 years with slicks) and then went straight to the store and bought the only pack of flats they had in stock. I then spent about 6 months testing different brands and types of flat and compromise strings before I settled on Smith slicks as the best feel and wear vs tone. I've recently started using the compressors and they're great, but I still like the slicks in general. I'm still kinda undecided on which type to stick with.

Oh well, given the subjectivity of my question, I would expect varying responses on this one.

I personally will stick with the Taper Cores since they bring it all. I'm not concerned about fretboard wear with them; I don't think my playing style would lend itself to the type of abuse you reference. But again, that's why there are all types of flavors out there.

I would love to hear from others about this topic.