Buying an Upright Bass: The right strings can make all the difference.

What are the best Upright Bass strings?
After you have chosen the right bass for you, the next most important step is how you have it set up to play your music. The right upright bass strings can make all the difference. The right strings for you depends on the style of music you play and your playing technique.

All upright bassists experiment with different string brands, gauges, and even hybrid combinations, looking for “their sound.” Strings are a very personal thing so if you ask 10 bass players, “What are the best strings?” you’re likely to get 10 different answers. That’s why there are so many different types of strings and manufacturers. Here’s just a few: Corelli, D”Addario, GHS, Jargar, Kolstein, La Belle, Pirastro, Rotosound, Eurosonic, Super-Sensitive, Thomastik-Infeld…

Here, we give some general string advice in relation to how you have your bass set-up. We encourage your comments and questions on this subject.

Playing styles:
For Orchestral you want strings that resist rolling under the bow as you change directions or start a stroke. This is part of what makes them good orchestral strings. Helicore, Belcanto and Spirocore are all good orchestral strings along with numerous others that resist rolling. They all have different tonal characteristics, tensions and feel. Helicore Hybrids are good for orchestral and pizzicato playing and are generally cheaper so are probably most commonly used.

For Bluegrass you need strong sounding strings. Metal is most commonly used, but you can get by with nylon core strings depending on the sound you are looking for. Avoid orchestral strings as they don't sound off well enough when plucked.

For Jazz you'll want strings with good sustain and definition. Spirocore are most widely used but there are many other good jazz strings including Helicore Hybrids, Pirastro Obligato, etc.

For Rockabilly you want short sustain strings you can slap. This playing technique requires a non-metal core. Weedwacker strings are very popular for Rockabilly and Psychobilly Slap Bass. They are solid nylon with a Kevlar core and are your least expensive option. As with all nylon strings, they need time to stretch out and for the tone to settle in with the E & A strings taking the longest. If you are used to steel strings they are weak sounding un-amplified but they work great amplified with mic or piezo type pickups (of course, they don't work with magnetic pickups because they don't contain metal). The new Weedwacker Pro's have a bigger better sound and the break-in period is down to a day or so. These days a lot of rockabilly slap bass is played on Weedwacker strings. Brand name louder upright bass strings, in order of increasing cost are Supernil, Rotosound, Innovation, Eurosonic and, if you have the money, gut strings.

Again, this is general advise and I encourage your comments and questions on this subject.

Upright Bass Fiddles for Sale: Advice on Buying an Upright Bass

Here we answer some important questions that come up when shopping for an upright bass and trying to decide which upright bass is right for you.

Let's start with the 3 most asked questions we get.

Laminated vs. Solid Carved woods:

Solid carved woods give the best sound properties to a bass and are always more expensive than a laminated bass. A carved instrument is carved into shape from thicker blocks of wood until the final shape of each piece is reached, then the instrument is fashioned and glued together.

Solid top basses always have a solid spruce top, usually carved into the arched shape they are. A "solid top" bass can be made of flat sheets of solid wood that are steam pressed into the arched shape. This is not as good for sound production. Still better than laminated wood though. "Solid carved wood" is always best.

"Solid Carved wood" in descriptions always means the wood has been carved from solid thicker wood into the shape it now is.

"Solid wood” in descriptions of basses and other stringed instruments means it has been steam pressed into its arched shape.

The idea is: "if it isn't written, it isn't true", so look for "carved" in descriptions of instruments that should have a carved top or back for best sound.

Laminated wood means plywood, which are at least 3 layers of wood pressed and glued tightly together. This makes a stable VERY hard to crack wood. Some laminated woods used in basses in the past have come apart in extreme climate changes, especially very humid conditions, but this is not happening now days to my knowledge. I believe heavy lacquer finishes on today’s basses protect the wood better so it is very stable and strong.

Laminated upright basses are best for taking to high elevations, as they will not dry out and crack like solid carved basses can. (Do not take a solid wood bass to high elevation without hanging "damp it" tubes in it to keep it moisturized.) They are also not affected by temperature and humidity changes when playing outdoor gigs then back inside. The plywood bass is very stable and tough. Laminated basses can take hard knocks against things without cracking too, great for use by youngsters and in school situations.

Spruce vs. Maple top:

A solid spruce top is the best wood to make a bass top with. No other kind of wood is used to make a solid top bass, not maple, not cedar - just spruce for solid tops.

Spruce or maple may be used to make a laminated bass top. Spruce is the best wood to make this plywood of as it is the most flexible and gives the biggest warmest sound to the bass. Maple is used in some basses and still makes a good bass but not quite as good for volume or warmth of sound as a laminate spruce top bass.

The Merano bass is an example of a good bass made with a maple laminate top. The maple has an attractive grain that spruce does not and the Merano bass has an orange color that some find very attractive. So the Merano bass is an acceptable economy bass with a maple top, the only other one that I know of is the Cremona SB-2.

The actual performance characteristics of a spruce or maple top bass can vary according to what quality of woods are used, how well they are dried, how the plywood is made and exactly how the bass is sized and shaped. Some brands will outperform others.

Christopher and Eastman basses are the best in their price range by far according to my experience and that of many bassists. They consistently out perform much more expensive basses

Cremona and Milano basses are next in value for lower cost basses with Cremona always being laminated basses and always being great sounding great value basses for so little money.

Ebony fingerboard vs. other woods:

Ebony:

Harder and more resistant to warping than Rosewood and Hardwood etc. Best wood to make a fingerboard out of for sure.

Naturally black all the way through, often with brown streaks in it.
You can see a very fine grain in it. A painted fingerboard will not show this grain.

Rosewood:

2nd best wood to use for fingerboards, very hard and stable wood too.
Is usually a darker brown, can be painted black or left natural.

“Hardwood”:

“Hardwood” is the next best wood, hard and stable but not quite as good as ebony or rosewood as it can vary in color/shade and is always painted black and needs special care. Hardwood” is great for keeping cost of bass down but can warp if you live in environment where moisture and temperature shifts a lot.

Pro's and Con's of Ebony, Rosewood, Hardwood:

Ebony is best for stability and staying naturally black. If an ebony fingerboard needs Luthier work to plane it and get the arch proper to get rid of buzzing strings, it won't need re-painting to look black again.

Rosewood/hardwood is great for keeping price down and can be a great fingerboard indefinitely. Planing a rosewood or hardwood fingerboard can be done well to good results. These woods will need painting to get them black again after the planing and sanding.

Just because it's not ebony does not mean it can't be good or even great. If you can afford ebony go ahead and get it as it is best. If you can't go the extra money for an ebony fingerboard go ahead with the other kind but be more careful to keep it out of extreme heat and moisture changes. Tons of these basses have been sold and are serving their players quite well.

What size Upright Bass should I buy?

The simple answer is that you should get the biggest bass you can handle. For other stringed instruments, violins. violas & cellos there are guidelines but for upright basses there is no standard size for your size body. The bigger the better. The "Standard" upright bass is the 3/4 size. 90% of the basses on the planet are 3/4 size.

We encourage you to comment and ask us more questions about buying an upright bass.