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Hey gang, I’m Kevin “Kebo” Borden and I would like to welcome you to the first installment of the “Talking Bass with Kebo” series here on the Dunlop blog. The goal is to educate and enlighten bass players, make suggestions about maximizing tone, offer maintenance tips, discuss playing techniques and recording ideas—if it involves a bass, we’ll discuss it here.

I highly encourage you to use the comments section of these posts to weigh in with your opinion! The point of this blog series to facilitate discussion about bass, not just tell you what to play or how to play it. We are here for you, we are here for your tone, and we are here to increase your enjoyment and love of all things bass, and we know from experience that maintaining an ongoing dialog is the best way grow and share knowledge.

A quick note about Dunlop bass products and their role in this blog series: The Dunlop product line is not just picks and polish. We manufacture world-class bass products, from strings to stomp boxes, and all of our products are original—designed, developed and manufactured in the USA. We offer quality products aimed at working musicians, at affordable price points. Naturally, along with general conversation about bass, this blog series will discuss our products, their usage and applications.

So who is Kebo?

Many of you might know me from a column I used to write for a major music magazine. Others may know me from my shop, Kebo’s Bass Works, in New Jersey. I have been involved with music retail since Christmas of 1975, when I started cleaning the bathroom and sweeping up at a music store just to get my foot in the door. I’ve also been a bass player since that time. I’ve seen every gimmick, every gadget, every “innovation” come and go, and I can tell you that—other than amplification getting smaller and more efficient, and the advent of multi-string basses—the basics are still the same, and we’ll be covering those basics from picks to pedals to accessories and everything in between

So let’s jump right in with our first topic: Strings.

There are multiple components to making up your tone—bass and amp, hands, soul and brain—but the most often overlooked items in a signal chain are the strings, which have an immediate, noticeable effect on the tone and playability of your bass. There are two main components to take into account when deciding on a string: the gauge, and the metallic compound. Basses come in 4-, 5-, 6- and multi-string variants; for the sake of this discussion, we’ll be talking about 4-string basses, but the same principles apply to all basses.

String Gauges…

Light Gauge (40-100) string sets can be used in multiple applications. These are ideal for 30” short scale basses because the tuning tension is lighter. With a smaller neck, the nut width is diminished and this gauge provides proper spacing across the fretboard while maintaining a strong electronic signal and good tone. On long scale basses, this gauge provides an open, airy tone while providing a strong bottom end.

Medium Light Gauge (45-100) are my personal preferred string, and when preparing basses for retail sale at my shop, about 50% of them are restrung in this gauge. The light medium gauge generally works fantastically well on long scale basses with a 1-1/2 or 1-9/16 width nuts. The higher strings (D and G) are very pronounced while maintaining a strong but not booming bottom end. This gauge also lends itself nicely to some models of vintage basses with 1-11/16 nuts, which are usually strung with standard medium 45-105 strings. However, some vintage basses occasionally have a very slight rise at the butt-side of the neck and, as a result, the standard medium 105s “plink” or choke out a bit. Light medium 45-100s can remedy this. I’ve also heard basses strung with standard medium gauge strings in a live setting, where the low end starts to “moo” at high volume; the light medium gauges can alleviate this issue as well.

Medium Gauge (45-105) is the standard workhorse string size for many bass players. The D and G strings are very pronounced, but the A and E strings have additional low-end booty that many players desire. These strings generally work extremely well on good ol’ vintage basses or vintage reissues with a 1-11/16 nut width, and switching back and forth between medium light and standard medium gauge strings can usually be done without any adjustments to the setup. If a touchup is required, it’s usually little more than an 1/8 of a twist on the truss rod.

Heavy Gauge (50-110) strings provide strong, tight mids and a very deep bottom end. I know players who will go this route instead of using a 5-string bass. The lows are not as deep or as loose as on a 5-string, but it gets the job done. Heavy gauge strings also can provide proper relief to a bass where the truss rod is completely loose and it still has a mild back bow.

Metallic Compound…

Strings typically come in two traditional make-ups: nickel or stainless steel. The more you know about how the material reflects tone, the more you’ll understand now it affects your overall sound.

Nickel strings provide a rounder, punchier, more subdued, less zingy tone to your bass. Every vintage bass at my shop is restrung with Dunlop Electric Bass Nickel strings for that smooth traditional tone without getting muffled or lost in the mix. These strings also excel on active basses, where the preamp has some shriek or shrill to the high and/or mid tones. For example, I’m an endorsee for a major boutique bass builder. The preamp on my bass is super hot, and while I love the focus, the bass’ overall sound is too pronounced. Again, nickel strings to the rescue.

Stainless strings are bright and zingy by design. They provide that articulate piano type tone. On a vintage, passive or traditional bass the strings can brighten up the personality of the bass and lend additional snap to pull-offs and slap techniques. On an active bass, steel strings can help your preamp tone sound even more alive, and provide additional tonality.

It’s amazing what the combination of gauge and metallic compound can do for the tonality and playability of your bass. I’ve had guys ask me to swap out pickups in cases where all that was required were the correct strings and a good set up.

See you next time, tonally yours! Kebo

Kevin “Kebo” Borden can be reached at kebobass@yahoo.com, www.kebosbassworks.com.