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[leonardo]

Thank you very much Bass Face

[BassFace]

AS much as I hate losing a bet, I have to hand it to Wiley: the Pahoehoes' sustain and tone do improve DRAMATICALLY after they've stretched for 3 to 4 weeks.  Seems like I owe the Coyote-Man a coke.

BTW, Wiley, how often do you restring your 'bory?  These Pahoehoes seem to be build to last forever.

[redstriper]

I have been using the pahoehoes for a few months now and the original strings for about a year before that, my experience is as follows:
The original strings give more sustain and 'mwah', they are closer to the sound of an upright bass.
The pahoehoes have less sustain and 'mwah' and sound more like a muted electric bass.
I prefer the sound of the original strings, but after 3 or 4 breakages, I can't afford the risk of one snapping mid gig - it's not as if I can quickly re-string because they take ages to settle down and stay in tune.
I also hate the talc which gets everywhere - people were starting to think I had a coke habit !
Mike's strings are very similar to the Fenders IME and I've had them break just as quickly.
For me, the pahoehoes are the best compromise, but I agree with the previous post that the E and A feel more like the originals than the D and G.
I play reggae, so the muted sound works well but if I was playing jazz I might go back to the originals - I have even considered getting another Ashbory strung with the old strings to give me the choice.

[BassFace]

After using the Pahoehoes for 6+ weeks, I've noticed that the sustain became very similar to the Fender's.  If there's any difference, it'd be in the 1/10s of a second.

The tone is different--but not worse at all.  The Pahoehoes are darker, with more fundamental and less treble harmonics.  The difference is just a matter of musical taste: if the Fenders sound like Ray Brown, the Pahoehoes sound like Mingus.

At this point I'm going to venture and say that--as with all non-fretted instruments--the Pahohoe strings will sound better and better with each day they stay in the bass under tension. 

The same would happen to the Fenders if they didn't break so often.

[Brock]

I also hate the talc which gets everywhere - people were starting to think I had a coke habit !

When I bought my first Ashbory Bass used in 1996, it had a plastic bag of white powder in the gig bag. And, I bought it from a pawn shop. I was all "hmmmmmm".  No need for concern, the powder wasn't illegal! The bass was defective, however, which led to this:
http://www.largesound.com/ashborydoc/other/1996rebuild/

In hindsight, I'm glad it was broken. That was a motivator for the original AIR page, which led to Large Sound. Also, I got to talk with Alun Ashworth-Jones in the process.

[fluent piffle]

Seems like a good place to ask whether anyone has ever tried leather-cord strings?

[heymelbs]

Seems like a good place to ask whether anyone has ever tried leather-cord strings?

?

[johninmemphis]

I really don't think there's that big of a difference between the sound of the 2 strings. I think we adjust our attack, mute our strings, and EQ our amps to what sounds right to us. Or maybe it's because my Ashbory is red that it sounds best to me, and I play better, with the Pano's. 

[heymelbs]

I like it - Pano's.  Did you come up with that one johninmemphis?

[Jack K]

A sad day...    I give up on the silicone strings. Not mad. The largesound community makes it perfectly clear that this is just part of the Ashbory experience.

To put this in perspective, I'm one of those guys who tune CGDA. (like a cello, mandola, etc.) Since I tune the 'G' string up a whole tone, I thought you might like to get a different view. Your mileage may vary.

Today I picked up my Ash only to find my sixth 'A' string broken. In about a year. I don't thrash my strings, but I don't baby them either.

- Unlike the other three strings, my six A strings have NEVER settled in pitch. Every one required just a slight increase in tension each time I played them.
- Breakage had nothing to do with the cases. My Ash stays on a wall hanger, and that's where they break.
- Typical life at full tension: four to six weeks.
- Really unfortunate is that the A string had the best sound, with lots of mid-range overtones.
- The string that broke last night was detuned approx. a minor third when I put it away yesterday.

Ordered the pahoehoes today. Regardless of sound, I need a stable instrument. I'll re-post in a couple of months with a review.

[heymelbs]

How about a string that sounds like a Silicon, but everything else is like the Pano?  It will be interesting to hear what you think of them when they arrive.  You might have to adjust your playing style slightly and EQ on the amp to get the sound your looking for.  But say goodbye to powder and string breakage.

[ProDigit]

see this topic for an idea on how to save your strings a bit!
I have no experience, and it might not sound good, but it'd be nice if someone could or wanted to try it out!

http://www.largesound.net/bass/index.php/topic,836.0.html

1 year seems awfully short. Usually I replace my strings once a year on a bass, but know if necessary, I could play with them 2 to 5 years without problems.
to see strings break so fast makes me worried a bit.

Perhaps some users are playing with a pick, which is rougher on the strings?
I play with my fingers.

[redstriper]

The strings are not hollow afaik and I don't think you'd have much luck with that idea.
They break however you play them and I see it as an unacceptable design fault, I keep strings on my electric basses for up to 15 years and I've never had one break in over 30 years playing.
I changed to pahoehoes on my Ashbory and never looked back.
If the pahoehoes had been available when the Ashbory was designed I am sure they would have come as standard and I don't know why they are not available as an option when buying a new Ashbory, unless it's something to do with Fender's profits.

[ProDigit]

The strings are not hollow afaik and I don't think you'd have much luck with that idea.
They break however you play them and I see it as an unacceptable design fault, I keep strings on my electric basses for up to 15 years and I've never had one break in over 30 years playing.
I changed to pahoehoes on my Ashbory and never looked back.
If the pahoehoes had been available when the Ashbory was designed I am sure they would have come as standard and I don't know why they are not available as an option when buying a new Ashbory, unless it's something to do with Fender's profits.

I think the issue is with the patent on the strings, ashbory basses (or any bass) sold on the market, is obliged to use a certain shape and length of bass guitar, if they want to use rubber strings. So I guess that when you buy an ashbory bass, you're actually buying the only design of bass that is within the patent of the strings, in other words, you're buying the strings with an ashbory device around it (or something like that)...
For me the big turndown is the shape of the bass.

Anyways the rubber/silicone strings sound different. If they could toughen up the strings a bit, perhaps then they would break less...


Where do you find them breaking most? in the middle, on the place where you play them with the right or the left hand (pickup or frets), or on the bridge, or nut?

I suspect if most strings get destroyed on the nut, perhaps it would be a good idea, to put some powder in the string grooves?

[krellmusician]

There is no rhyme nor reason to why, where, when or how the silicone strings break.  Death, taxes, and a two-piece G-string (that's an oxymoron if ever there were one) are immutable facts of life...