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Any Used 3/4 Double String Bass Strings Out There
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Irv
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January 15, 2020 - 5:08 pm
Member Since: December 23, 2017
Forum Posts: 1650
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I have already tackled the challenge of making a 4/4 practice cello that can comes apart and can be placed in an overhead airline storage space.  Someone has requested that I make a 3/4 sized double bass that can be transported by a bicycle cart.  Having no idea if the glue joints will support this much load, I would like to use the least expensive strings I can find for testing.  Used is fine with me.  Old is fine with me. Anything is fine with me.  

Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal. —Earl Nightingale.

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lrrice

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January 26, 2020 - 4:34 pm
Member Since: May 12, 2014
Forum Posts: 7
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Weed whackers.  They are cheap, work ok for practice and much lower stress on the instrument.  You can buy Weed whacker strings from online rockabilly suppliers or your can literally just go to the hardware store and buy string trimmer line.  $20 will get you a lifetime supply of strings.  Check out this guy its where I got the info for mine.

http://www.dennishavlena.com/db.htm

Quoted from above website.

"Some words about strings (whew!!) Being extremely adverse to 
spending upwards of a hundred bucks for commercially made strings, 
I spent far more time diddling with strings than I did building 
the instrument itself. I lucked out & discovered .080", .095" 
& .105" monofilament weed-whip line for sale at the local Tru-Value
hardware store! This stuff is Tru-Value brand name so it should be 
available widely. It proved to be excellent for the highest pitched 
three strings of the instrument (G, D and A).

The thickest string (E) was another matter -- I could write 
many pages about my numerous experiments to make a 
good-sounding/playing E string -- Some of the experiments I tried 
included...
- 24 strands of twisted artificial sinew (not loud enough) 
- Strands of twisted plastic covered small-gauge multi-colored
  telephone wire (nice loud sound, but rough on fingers)
- 1/4" cotton rope (!) didn't sound too bad but again irritated 
  fingers
- Various lengths & thicknesses of hardware store nylon/poly rope
- 6-conductor, gray vinyl-covered telephone interconnecting cable
  which actually sounded pretty good!
- I epoxied 50 lengths of stretched, 15 lb monofilament fishline
  into a nice looking round "cable" -- sounded "thuddy"! 
- Tried silicone gluing together the same number of 15 lb fishlines
  & it sounded nice, but the silicone didn't stick good to the
  fishline & made a flaky mess  
- Etc etc

I settled on "5/32 inch vinyl coated clothesline wire" (product 
#955) bought at K-Mart (saw the same stuff recently sold at 
Wal-Mart too). It has eight.012" hardened steel wires coated with 
smooth green, see-through vinyl. The sound and playability is much 
better than the next "runner up" & I am almost satisfied that I've 
found the elusive E string - almost! Oddly, there is no brand-name 
on the package other than the invitation to contact their website 
at http://www. lehighgroup.com. Experiments on this front continue."
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Irv
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January 27, 2020 - 11:35 am
Member Since: December 23, 2017
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@lrrice and others.  I am aware of such strings (and wrote a thread on them here).  However, I am concerned about structural loading on the instrument and want to give it a “proof load” before I send it out to the world.  It appears that the weed wacker type of string does not produce the same tension as a steel string (sort of like using classical strings on a guitar).  

It also seems like the weed walkers resist attempts at bowing, but this is not an issue for the person that wants it.

Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal. —Earl Nightingale.

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steveduf
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January 27, 2020 - 10:21 pm
Member Since: March 26, 2018
Forum Posts: 334
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Are these what you want?29C1F49E-5A00-4134-B7EF-B2557F0300F9.pngImage Enlarger

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Irv
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January 27, 2020 - 11:03 pm
Member Since: December 23, 2017
Forum Posts: 1650
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I think we have a winner.  And the price is right.  I’m on it.

Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal. —Earl Nightingale.

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lrrice

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January 29, 2020 - 9:46 am
Member Since: May 12, 2014
Forum Posts: 7
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You are correct about bowing and tension.  I forget that bows aren't just for fiddles.  I even put a flat bridge and fingerboard on the bass I built.

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Fiddlerman
Fort Lauderdale
February 5, 2020 - 10:39 am
Member Since: September 26, 2010
Forum Posts: 16429

Call us next time. We sometimes toss used strings.

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

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