Re: Round wounds without CLANG?

"S&y" <peek@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:m3Rag.400$SX5.246@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
Three months has gone by since my last attempt to use round wounds. It's
that time again - I'm just not cutting through the mix which, in this
case, is defined as a drummer who thinks all the cymbals should be used
at once, all the time. The last set of strings were GHS Bass Boomers.
Monster sound, probably just the thing for someone with 387 piercings in
his face and satanic posters in his bathroom, but WAY too much clang and
insane overtones for me. I'm currently using D'Addario Half Rounds - nice
strings, but not quite crisp enough. I need some balance! I've got plenty
of tone & EQ adjustments available, but something else is needed here.

I've seen some great reviews of Thomastiks. Anyone tried them? Any other
suggestions?
Over & over I see it posted here. It's not the strings, it's in your hands
(& the tone knobs on the bass). Try this:

Play over the bridge pick up, balance toward the bridge pick up, roll back
the treble boost & roll up the bass boost. The punch should please your
ear & have a distinct sound over the other instruments. Add a bit of
treble &/or take away some bass to get a sound that works.

Soften the effect by moving your hand toward the neck.

Put the volume way up & lighten up your right hand, so you play
consistently in a long rehearsal or set.

Playing near the bridge is an uncomfortable hand position, for me. Digging
in is even more tiring. I make more mistakes when I get tired. Look for
ways to relax the muscles you don't need, to play.

On my bass, there's pretty much no room to play near the bridge for any
length of time. That keeps me honest.


Change the battery in your active bass once per year (like a smoke
detector). It will always give you a clean sound.

I'm finding I have to change them about every 6 weeks, when each 9v battery
gets down to about 7.5 volts. I once asked a Peavey tech about the time
intervals between changes, and he said the thing should play fine until the
batteries were "really low", but he couldn't be specific. The preamp is
designed to work at *some* optimal voltage, but he was unsure of a number.
When the bass begins to sound dead, I change them.


.

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