Unlike any other basses I've tried
Review by Steve B. on 5 Dec 2022 review stating Unlike any other basses I've tried Here's my philosophy on strings: if you have a responsive hand-built instrument and you're happy with its bass response, the door is wide open on string choice. If you have an intermediate factory-made instrument that is overbuilt or has a thick or laminated soundboard, you need to let your guitar pick the strings that have the best potential to maximize her tone and projection and then adjust your technique accordingly.
My guitar picked La Bella Extra Hard Tension basses paired with Savarez Alliance trebles. Extra Hard Tension...really? I'm sure the very term is off-putting to many. So much of right-hand technique is about minimizing tension. Why would you tempt repetitive-stress fate by starting out with EXTRA hard tension basses? Well, if you have a stiffer soundboard, there are only two ways to excite those stubborn plates to the degree necessary for adequate projection: play more forcefully or play with strings that have a harder tension. I find the latter to be the less tiring of the two.
There are two ways for manufacturers to increase string tension. The traditional way is by increasing the gauge of the strings. In the past, some extra hard tension strings were so fat that you had to ream your tailpiece holes with a 2mm drill bit so that they would fit through. The newer approach is to tweak the relative mass of metal winding to nylon core. That's what La Bella has done with these. They measure up the same as La Bella's normal 2001-HARD basses (a very popular set), but the extra metal gives them a depth and sonority that can make a less expensive guitar sound like something that came out of a guitarero's workshop in Granada. They also seem to last forever. In fact, they seem to have a bit of a ripening period at the beginning. I played on them about 30 hours before they really started to show off. Paired with carbon trebles, they are satisfyingly stiff and balanced, with good intonation up and down the fretboard and clear midrange transitions across the 4-3-2 string set.
There's a bit of a learning curve with higher tension strings. Remember how much muscle and effort barre chords took when you were first learning to play them? High tension strings are similar. Thoughtful practicing will replace muscular effort with neuromotor finesse. Power your stroke from the basal joint and be assiduous about good follow-through. Get out your Level 1 practice book and slowly go through the thumb exercises. Don't let your thumb bounce or retract from the string after the sound is made. Be assertive but not forceful. FOLLOW THROUGH.
These strings aren't for everyone. But if they're what your guitar is yearning for, you should buy them for her.
On La Bella 2001 Classical XHT Classical Guitar Strings, Bass Set
