Greetings to those joining my debut blog!
First and foremost, I want to thank you all for joining my colleagues and I on this new adventure. We all look forward to sharing our thoughts and views with you all.
I want to start out with what I believe to be a subject that is very polarizing and devisive; more so, I believe than politics and religion:
Bass Guitar Strings
First off, there is the brand loyalties, some that rival the Eastern Bloc nations through the 60's and 70's: Thomistic-Infield, GHS, La Bella, Rotosound, the list goes on beyond measure.
I believe there has been no discussion more heated, more passionate than 2 bassists discussing their brand of string. I think I may have even seen a weapon pulled once...
Then there is the type of string: Roundwound, Flatwound, Half-round, Tapewound, Ground Rounds...it's worse than going into Starbuck's to pick a drink, and way more controversial. There are many who swear the ONLY allowable string on a proper bass guitar is flatwounds, unless, of course, it's a fretless, then it must be Roundwound. Or not...
Last, but most importantly, is string Age. In the ideal world, you would have a Fender Precision Bass from the 1950's (with a Tort pickguard of course) with the factory original strings on it. There must be no life in them AT ALL.
If you must put new strings on your bass (say, for fear of getting tetanus) that bass must not be played publicly for the next decade at least.
My view on the matter however, differs from the accepted norms.
I play with Rotosound Roundwound nickle plated strings on my fretted basses. (hmmm, the neighbors have more pitchforks than I remember, and why are they carrying torches?) On my fretless, I put Flatwounds for smoother glissandos while playing. I also typically change my strings every few months (Hey, it looks like there burning a big doll or something, and it kinda looks like me).
Well, someone is pounding on the door really hard right now, so I guess I'll talk to you guys next time...
In all seriousness, while my fellow bassists do express their views in forums like www.Talkbass.com, the discussions are usually more civil, but there are many on there that will jokingly state their views as cardinal law.
So, any fellow bassists (or even guitarists) that have their views on strings that they would like to share? I would love to hear it!
Ken.
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