We have a lot of topics about bass strings, but I did not find one about U-Bass strings.
My Kala Journeyman came with roundwounds, but I would like to try the rubber strings. I find rubber/polyutheran strings for prices from ~15 to 60€ and would like to know if someone has a recommendation or advises against a specific product.
I’ve never played them but the rubber strings I have heard on them sound amazing, a whole lot like an upright. Looking forward to hearing what you think.
Seems the Road Toad Music Pahohoe are the only polyutheran product (there are other rubber materials from different brands) and as far as I can tell those were the strings reviewed in videos I saw.
I have a Kala P bass with these on it.
Yes, they are really the only ones you want to get.
They are great
They sound absolutely amazing.
A couple things to note…
they take forever to settle in, they are rubber after all you have to retune a lot for a long time. In this case, you do need to pre-stretch these a lot BEFORE you put them on. They literally wont fit and you will struggle trying to get them on. Enjoy the workout
there is an odd little snap/snip sound when you pluck from the surface tension of the string, it bothers some people, just know its ok. Some suggest putting resin etc on your fingers, I think its a little much, its part of the sound.
You really get a wonderfully warm, upright thud.
Here’s a cover I did with them.
I tried the steel strings on my Hutch Hutchinson signature but the action was still too high so I switched to Aguilar red thunder gut. They are quite awesome. Ended up putting them on the sold body as well. A lot less finger noise than pahoho.
So I just ordered a set of Aquila Silver Rumblers to put on my Oscar Schmidt.
It started out having the standard white Aquila Thundergut, but I wanted to try the Thunderbrowns. So I got them on and although I LOVE the fell and tone, there is an awful buzz in the body when playing in the lower registers on the E string. My Luthier friend couldn’t figure it out either! Happens on both of my UBasses.
So back on the journey. Hoping these Rumblers will sound/feel good. A lot of love out there for them. I’ll report back here once I get them installed and give them a workout.