E&A strings reversed..

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Anselm Hauke

my alfred meyer

The Bass Scroll I pictured above is not a Meyer Bass. It is an older instrument that was cut smaller in the early 20th century. The label inside says 'repaired by..." (not sure of the exact wording in German). Meyer cut the original Top smaller all around and made new Ribs and Back. He also installed the new Tuners which are not as well matched to the Scroll cheeks as would be if the brass plates were original.

I have seen a few basses by Meyer over the years and they all have the lower gears reversed with the E longer than the G.

[Michael Harrison Jr.]

Well, gonna go with the E/A swap today, I'll let y'all know how it works out on my el'cheapo bass

XD

[Michael Harrison Jr.]

E-A Swap has been performed! I like it. E didn't change very much in my opinion, although I do think it sounds a little cleaner. My A string however is LOVING the change. The A, which before on mine seemed to be "lacking" and dull, has great new life. It's bright and edgy, without being obtrusive. It really makes me want to try this on my D and G now. Here is some pics. Warning, the are fairly large. And please no laughing at my el cheapo ; ; One of these days I'll get to upgrade to something decent. http://www.dakpluto.net/pictures/ae1.jpg http://www.dakpluto.net/pictures/ae2.jpg http://www.dakpluto.net/pictures/ae3.jpg

[Drake Chan]

Originally Posted by Michael Harrison Jr.

E-A Swap has been performed! I like it. E didn't change very much in my opinion, although I do think it sounds a little cleaner. My A string however is LOVING the change. The A, which before on mine seemed to be "lacking" and dull, has great new life. It's bright and edgy, without being obtrusive. It really makes me want to try this on my D and G now. Here is some pics. Warning, the are fairly large. And please no laughing at my el cheapo ; ; One of these days I'll get to upgrade to something decent. ......

The same thing happened to my A string. It just had a really wimpy sound and feel to it before, both pizz and arco. I really had no idea it would affect it so much. Honestly, I did the switch only to get a looser feeling and more sonorous E string sound, since it felt sort of like a bridge cable before. I never really imagined that the switch would cure the weak A string as well. It sounds and feels like the D string now: tight, punchy, yet warm.

The G string has been improved with the Pirastro rubber tone filter, but it will still squeak under hard bowing. A lighter touch with the bow as well as a quicker stroke will prevent that from happening.

[Michael Harrison Jr.]

ok, it's 2 Weeks later so good time for an update on my swap.

I still LOVE the swap. It has produced a lot of new spark in my el cheapo bass. I was debating the switch of the D and G, but as I've been playing it more I've decided all 4 strings are now sounding great to each other.

So overall, I'm really glad this topic came up as I feel it breathed some great new life into my bass.

[Richard Prowse]

I'm very close to changing over the E & A on my cheap bass too... here's hoping!

[Richard Prowse]

It's 11pm, I'm tired after a very long day but, I've just made the change. Too tired to be subjective, although I think I notice a difference. My funny Ab, just below the octave A on the A string, is still there... so no magic. I'll look forward to tomorrow and hope the change is for the better!