One particular set of RotoSound brand strings BBG carries is the Tru Bass 88, available in 4, 5 or 6 string in scale lengths of short, medium, long and extra long in a variety of thicknesses.
What makes the 88 set stand out is the fact the string is black nylon flatwound.
What is the purpose of this string?
The original purpose when these were introduced back in 1962 was to emulate a double bass sound.
As the video below will explain however, the string is very good for reggae and pretty much any music style that requires a “deep, boomy” tone to it.
Video demo
Video demo on a fretless bass
The 88 set sounds great on a fretless too!
Ready to try a set for yourself?
If you have a few basses, try a set of these RS strings on one of them. Aside from delivering a unique flavorful tone, they are super comfy under the fingers. They will also be kind to your fretless fingerboard and fretted bass alike and like flats will last a very long time.
Paul McCartney used these strings on his Rickenbacker when he played with the Beatles. He also used a hard felt pick.
I read it on the internet.
😀
The very first bass I owned came with black nylon flatwound strings and I absolutely hated them. The sound wasn’t at all deep & boomy, but more of a dull thud. It didn’t help that the instrument was a chea.. er, “inexpensive” Hoffener knock-off. Okay, it was a cheap piece of junk.
I should give these another try. They certainly sound good here.
Okay, Ed, gotta ask: when and where did you get your Hoffner knock-off? Because these are the strings that were on my Univox Hoffner knock-off when I sold it. And, I think I recently saw the very same bass (I recognized a crack in the finish) hanging at Guitar Center.
I should add that I currently have these strings on my Kramer Ferrington acoustic bass and I’m happy with the sound. They’re the same color as the bass, so that’s a plus.
If you use these on a regular electric bass, you should be aware that being nylon wrapped they’re not grounded like regular strings usually are. If your bass tends to buzz when you’re not touching the strings then it’s going to buzz all the time with these. That’s the problem I had when I put them on my crummy no-name Japanese bass back in the 70’s.
In reply to EB, surely the ball end of the string is ‘bare’ where it’s anchored at the bridge, if it’s still buzzing, then I would suggest a bridge grounding problem……. in my humble opinion!!
I have used these since the 80s on a custom Fretless with Alembic pickups. I get loud and clear rock and jazz tones, not at all the sound on these two clips. Too many times people have thought wrong about my sound and have been amazed by what I do with these. Maybe I will do a clip of my own when other projects clear up. My advise is not to let anyone pigeon hole your sound by what you use.
Just for an aside – is the Fender used & photo’d above – best looking Fender you’ve seen ?
Fender must make the worst looking basses available. Just look at the fretless Ibanez in the second video or any of the bass specialists’ models
I’m looking forward to trying these strings on the bass I’m planing to give the granddaughter.
I’m in the process of buying a dearmond starfire loaded with these strings. Really interested to know how they will sound being put through a boss sy300 synth pedal. The non clanky properties of these strings can only help eliminate unwanted glitches and harmonix, one would surmise! . whilst giving other synth driven sounds a punchy staccato edge to them. But then I’ll have to plug said dearmond starfire into aforementioned sy300 and see what my trace Elliot burps out
I put a new set of black nylons on my p bass the D string buzzed adjusted the neck the action still buzzing no other strings buzzed after I decided to try it on another bass yes it still buzzed us3d a different D string on both basses no buzzing.Dissappointed