Knobs, Bridges, Tuners, Truss Rods and Strings for you Bass Guitar
It’s common knowledge that a lot of bass players take offense to those who use a pick when playing, claiming that it’s the “wrong way” to play a bass (even though the “right way” is whatever way you feel comfortable with.) The standard complaint from the No-Plectrums-Allowed Club is that use of a pick does … Read more
The short scale bass is an interesting animal because there are times you have to take certain things into consideration to solve issues with them. On a bass BBG worked on recently, an inexpensive Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Special SS (the SS meaning short scale), there was a peculiar issue where fretted notes played on … Read more
(Tip before beginning: It is typical that on most bass guitars, a properly intonated bass that does not have octave strings will have string saddles that look like a small flight of stairs as seen above, with the thickest string being the first “lowest stair.” This means that when shopping around for bass guitars in … Read more
This is not an article about string brand, although some will be mentioned. You most likely use a very specific brand because you like the sound and feel that the string provides. Instead we’re just going to talk about hex-core and round-core, and why it matters when making your string choice. Hex-core Hex-core is literally … Read more
Recently we received an email asking to poll the audience (you) on what strings you use and moreover why, so before continuing, the goal of this article is simple: Please comment with what you use and why you use it. Tips on making a good comment that’s useful here: 1. Do you prefer new or … Read more
I call this weird-but-true because bass players who encounter this issue usually have no idea they’re allergic to nickel at all and just “tough it out” when in reality there’s no reason to do that. Being allergic to nickel is in fact a real thing and is normally associated with jewelry, such as having to … Read more
Yeah, I know, there are a whole crop of bass players out there who are very anti-pick (or plectrum, if you prefer). If you’re one of those, don’t do one of those “real bass players don’t use picks” things. Some players use picks and it’s not a sin to do so. Picks are made from … Read more
You may have noticed lately that a few model names for strings from the D’Addario brand have “BT” at the end of it, such as EXL160BT. What does BT mean? It means Balanced Tension. In a nutshell, what this is supposed to do is provide greater control and better playing comfort. And what does that … Read more
With bass guitar strings, there is no question that roundwound is always the most-available. No matter where you shop for strings, roundwound will always be there and always outnumber any other string type you could buy… …but that’s not to say you couldn’t experiment with a different type of string such as flatwound or halfround. … Read more
Ray-Lin asked on Facebook: I was wondering if you could talk about the difference between standard strings, taper core strings and exposed core strings? “Standard” means “conventional construction”, which means “roundwound” (or “full contact”) string. Taper-Core is where the outer wrap ends at the bridge, leaving only the inner wrap left, and that inner wrap … Read more
