Vision Music

[corky4strings]

just wondering if anyone ever used nylon strings on a bass. i have a 1964 silvertone hollowbody bass, and my friend that sets up my basses said i should put nylon strings on it because there's less tension on the neck. just looking for some input. thanks
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corky




let your fingers do the walking i do

[nylenny]

Hi Corky, I've seen nylon strings used on stand up electric bass. I associate this setup with early rock, but I'm not sure if it's used in other styles.

[Mark]

[corky4strings]

thanks mark and len
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corky




let your fingers do the walking i do

[nylenny]

Hi Corky,

I recently picked up a Rick Turner Renaissance bass. It is supposed to be the type of design that is the closest you can get to a stand-up sound (in the fretless iteration at least).

The bass uses only a piezo pickup, which is not dependent on magnetism for its signal (instead, piezo crystals work on pressure fluctuations). Rick strings these with Thomastik Infield "Acousticore" strings, which have a nylon core (to produce more of an upright sound). They take a while to get used to, but they do have a great sound.

The Acousticore strings only work well with Piezo pickups.

[nylenny]

Corky,

There are several types of strings to which you may be referring.

There are many string choices for double bass. Although most players use steel, flat wounds these days, you can also get strings made from other materials, including gut, nylon, perlon (a type of nylon). Nylon strings are usually wrapped with metal.

For bass guitar, there are many choices as well.

I have a Rob Allen bass guitar that I string with LaBella black tapewound strings. Some folks think of these as nylon strings. They are really steel strings wrapped with nylon tape.