Roundwounds on fretless?

robcollins · Post by **robcollins** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 9:26 am

I have just got my new 4003 fretless and was a little suprised to find .45-.105 roundwound strings had been installed at the factory.
I have never owned a fretless before , but I understand that flatwounds are much kinder to the fretboard.With this in mind I could do with some recomendations for flatwounds (or Nylons) that preferably wouldn't require any truss-rod and bridge adjustments.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 12:33 pm

Hi Robert,
I'm surprised also, I've never seen a Ric FL with RW's, I did it once and got buzzes the same night, unless they have changed the surface on the neck it could have been a mistake. Good flat wounds: Thomastik-Infelds light like the original strings, sound good also. Pyramid flats, little heavier, also sound good. D'addario Chromes come in various gauges, not bad for the price. The first two, TI's and Pyramids sound better and feel better to me, are probably the best at least that I know of. A lot of people swear by LaBellas, I've never tried them. Fender SS flats med-lights, a real high tension old school type sounding string, got that old sound if you are into that, I use all of these at different times depending on the bass, sound or feel that I want. There are many others and I've tried most of them, these are my favorites. Pyramids and TI's are the best out of the bunch and also the most expensive, but flatwounds last a LONG time, is easy to get at least a year out of a set, I've had Fenders on for two before and they still sound good. Flats also get that growly sound much better than RW's on a fretless. For that you want an almost perfectly straight neck.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 12:36 pm

Oh, just about any string change is going to probably require some adjustments, it's actually pretty easy if you are patient, lots of tips around here on set up. You'll probably want to adjust the truss rods before you adjust the bridge if you like the action now.

robcollins · Post by **robcollins** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 11:03 pm

thanks, I think I will try some Thomastik flatwounds and see how I get on.
This unlined fretboard is going to take some time to get used to!

wints · Post by **wints** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 3:03 pm

I,ve just thrown a set of light gauge D,addario chromes on my 73 FL after it had been wearing very old rounds. It sounds just gorgeous....

byu · Post by **byu** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 4:32 pm

I prefer rounds on my fretless but like all Ric fretless's, they will eventually eat through the finish. I had the finish plained off of mine and coated it with 6 coats of Patit's Poly Poxy (ala Jaco). It's been like this for about 12 years and still shows no signs of wear. The stuff is tough & the bass sounds great.
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rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 5:41 pm

I saw a nice 4001FL mapleglo once in a store that had deep grooves dug into the fingerboard from RW's and I mean into the fingerboard itself, broke my heart. I epoxied a 4001FL once and it changed the sound and not for the better. I played a 4003FL that had been epoxied and it had the same dull sound that my 4001 ended up with. I leave them stock and put flatwounds on them, you get more growl like that. I like the traditional fretless growl. Sounds more like an upright, I think these basses are more capable of an upright-like sound than any other electric bass guitar fretless I've heard or played.
Robert, after a while you'll hate lined fretlesses. I can't stand them. When you've been playing it for a while you'll forget about the lines and trust your ears more. I learned on a 68 P bass fretless with no lines and a dot for 3rd. 5th. etc, that's really what I'd prefer actually or no dots even.

byu · Post by **byu** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 6:16 pm

I've seen 4001fls that were eaten through too. However, I'm very pleased with the sound of mine. It has a very pronounced bwaaa sound. I also have a Bartolini in the bridge position which may account for the sound.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 5:40 pm

I guess they're shipping them with RW's now, I'm surprised, I've been checking into a new Blueboy FL and was told that they now come with them, I have just asked if they are now coating the necks with something different. I'll let you know the answer, might be nice to have that option as long as they still sound the same.

robcollins · Post by **robcollins** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 10:48 pm

I have just put the set of Thomastik jazz flats on my 4003fl and I now hear the sound that I imagined in my head when I ordered the bass.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Thu Jul 22, 2004 6:03 am

I put some old TI's on my 72 4001FL a few weeks ago and they are great for fretless basses, I took off light gauge Chrome flats which were nice also but a little too bright for me.