[paulrpotts]

I'm looking at a used fretless Synapse 5-string bass in black -- will check it out tomorrow, and perhaps buy it.

LaBella does not seem to offer a double-ball-end set of flat-wound strings for this fretless. Is it more difficult to use single-ball strings? Any caveats?

Do they ship with flat-wound strings? What kind, if anyone knows?

I'm considering using LaBella black nylon tape-wound strings -- anyone tried this?

This would be my first fretless bass. Thanks for any feedback.

[joenoone]

Anyone have an answer for this? I just got a fretless and was wondering where to get replacement strings.

[Paul K]

I dunno what they ship with, but expect it's roundwounds since both used ones I've played had rounds on it. (I bought the second one....) I've re-strung with single ball strings on my Synapse and on my Hohner headless ( I had bought the music yo string adapter while they still had them awhile back). It's easy to do, and easier with the Synapse since you can trim the string so that the sharp ends don't poke out. More important is that string saddle height isn't adjustable on each string. Not an issue unless you want to use a low B string with a tapered end; they'd all have to be from a tapered set or your B string will be too low.

Tapewounds. I had a set awhile back, and the guage was too floppy. I researched them recently on juststrings.com and the carvin site. IIR, they come from two companies; buy the one with the heavier guage which is, I think, LaBella. They recently changed the gauge of their C strings from a wimpy .030 or .027 to a decent .037. If you buy a C string, instead of a B, make sure it's the newer stock of the thicker guage. The nylon doesn't add as much mass as a normal metal outer winding does, so the thicker guage is way needed, or else you need to play with a really, really light touch. They're very hip, though, since your fingertips won't hurt after a 4 hour gig.

Fretless is the way to go. The side dots at every fret on the Synapse is, IMHO, way too confusing. I blacked out all but the usual 3-5-7-9-12 fret dots. But that's just me. Liness fretless have the side dots at the fret instead of between, so are more useful at-a-glance. Good luck with it!
Peace
Paul K

[Paul K]

If you read the Synapse thread about truss rod woes, you know I sent that Synapse back. Got a brand new one today. FWIW, they ship with flats on the fretless model. According to Gibson, the fretless model is discontinued, so get'em while there are still a few around. Don't know about the other Synapse models.

[tim1281758317]

Flatwound strings for Spirit fretless.After 2 yrs searching, I found Juststrings.com.
Very helpful on phone, sent set of 4 LaBella, & a low B to make up the set. They've just gone on, and seem to be the answer to my 5 string fretless prayers. Not cheap after VAT is added, but worth it!! Fret markers seem to be set at the middle of the 'frets',making it not bad to position, especially if the bass is held with its 'head' higher than its body when played. But how does one intonate the thing using the adjustable bridge.......

[joenoone]

I took apart the headstock and looked at the adapters - they're numbered (high to low) 1,2,2,3,3. I tried a set of D'Addario Chrome Light flat strings, but I had issues with the (low) B and the A string fitting through the adapter.

Anyone else check their headstock? Is this the sizes they're supposed to be?

Oh, and I called Gibson to ask about this but first thing they asked is where did I get it and then they told me since it wasn't an "authorized" dealer they wouldn't honor the warranty. NICE.....

[paulrpotts]

La Bella black nylon tape wound strings for the vintage Steinbergers won't _quite_ fit the Synapse 5-string fretless. The winding isn't quite at the right point going over the bridge, and the B string is slightly too fat to fit in the channel at the top where they are secured.

A warning about juststrings.com: they will not accept returns on any open strings, _at all_, even completely unused ones that were never wound on to the instrument tuning peg. This is their policy. I tried to argue my case, but they are very firm about this. Because of this I"m not shopping with them any more. It's one thing if I can't return a $4 set of Ernie Balls 11s or something, but some of these bass strings are very pricey.

I had a conversation with one of the head honchos at La Bella. He was very friendly though, and said he would take the strings back even though juststrings.com will not. Basically, he said that whatever I decide to do, I won't have to eat the cost of unused strings I can't use. He suggested that if I sent them the Synapse they would make a set of strings that would fit it exactly.

However, then I dropped the ball -- got very busy, we had a new baby and all that! But I may yet do that, since I have a hard case to ship it in. It is possible then that they would have the specs so that they could easily make a set for any other fretless 5 or 4 synapse owners, or even list them in the catalog. I have been too busy recently with a new baby to get the thing shipped out but if/when I do, I will add a note.

[paulrpotts]

Of course, the main reason for the black strings is basically to have a bass with black strings on a black body! Although it sounds like it makes it easy on the fingers; that would be a bonus.

[headlessguitar]

www.GuitarSend.com carries the string adapters, might try looking there.
cheers,
Tim

[paulrpotts]

Tim, from what I can glean from the store page, those adapters are for Newburgh or Spirit or older Steinberger copy instruments and will not fit the Synapse bass.

I've been playing bass more often so the topic of strings for the Synapse is on my mind again -- I will speak to LaBella again about the tape-wound strings. It seems the flatwounds on my Synapse are getting older and now when I play them and do slides my fingers wind up feeling burned -- literally burned, like they've become more abrasive. That's no fun, so I have an incentive to solve this!

[joenoone]

I had the same problem and looked everywhere. I finally found a great variety of double-ball string sets (round-wound, half-wound, flat-wound, black nylon) from Status Graphite (http://www.status-graphite.com). I have a set (5-strings) of their flat-wounds on my Synapse right now.

Go to On-Line Shop -> Bass Strings -> Double-Ball and choose your type.


They also make GREAT graphite basses (remember when Steinberger was famous for that?) - I love the look of their Streamline bass :

[paulrpotts]

@joenoone thanks for the suggestion. I still have not gotten new strings for this bass -- they are something like six years old now. But I'm going to try to order some from Status and maybe I'll try the black tapewound and the flatwound and see which works better. It may have to wait until my next paycheck though...

[paulrpotts]

Well, I got two five-string sets from Status Graphite, a flat-wound set and a nylon tape wound set, and both sets do NOT fit the fretless 5-string Synapse. They have two problems: the low B string is too fat at the headpiece, and the windings on all the strings does not extend far enough on the bridge side, so the un-wound part would be sitting on the bridge (chewing up the bridge, not seated at the right height, possibly making it impossible to tune). I am going to get in touch with Status Graphite and see if they can make a custom set.