String Buzz On Warwick Rb Alien Deluxe 5 Fretless

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I recently bought a Warwick RB Alien Deluxe 5 fretless and really like it but am having a bit of trouble with the set up.

I decided to try tape wounds and added some La Bella 750N-B Deep Talkin' Bass Black Nylon Tape Wounds – .050, .065, .085, .105, .135.

I really like how the strings feel but found it hard to get the action very high. With the truss rod adjusted as far as it would go toward up bow, the action was almost high enough but the intonation was out. When a luthier set it up for the intonation to be correct, there is quite a reasonable amount of buzz on D and G in the lower range - frets 1-5 (if there were frets).

Would the action improve with higher gauge strings? La Bella also sell a set at .60, .70, .115, .135

Would this be enough to make a difference? If it's only a small difference it might not be worth the cost of the strings and getting it set up again.

Any advice?

Thanks!
 
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Florin

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Hi Rory, it is hard to tell without trying, but higher gauge strings usually have more tension, so they move less. Otima Gold are pretty stiff, and I noticed I can do a much lower setup with them without having more buzz, maybe it works for you.
But if you have a high action, and the neck is bowed you should't have buzz on lower positions. Have you looked at the neck, is the bow uniform, or does it have an "s" shape?
 

DiMarco

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Black Nylons are known to be low tension strings. I suspect they are round core strings.

Find some hexa core flats and you're probably settled, unless the neck is warped.
 
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Black Nylons are known to be low tension strings. I suspect they are round core strings.

Find some hexa core flats and you're probably settled, unless the neck is warped.

Thanks DiMarco. Do you think flat wound thomastik jazz strings would do the job?
 

Florin

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IIRC Thomastik have low tension too. Nice strings though, and have a long life. When I experimented with flats I found Rotosound to be pretty stiff. They sound great when new, but not all like their sound after they break in.
 
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IIRC Thomastik have low tension too. Nice strings though, and have a long life. When I experimented with flats I found Rotosound to be pretty stiff. They sound great when new, but not all like their sound after they break in.
Thanks Florin. What do the Rotosounds sound like when they're old? Dull or something different?
 

Florin

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Dull, but here is the thing. When new, they almost don't sound like rounds, they are pretty bright, so perhaps because the difference between new and old is bigger than in other flats, they have a bad rep for that. I like them though :)
 

DiMarco

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I know slinky cobalt flatwound are hexa cores, but those are also quite pricey. I use Slinky Nickel roundwounds on my fretless and those are really nice.

I do not like flats. At all.
 
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Dull, but here is the thing. When new, they almost don't sound like rounds, they are pretty bright, so perhaps because the difference between new and old is bigger than in other flats, they have a bad rep for that. I like them though :)
Do you mean the RS88 Black Nylon Flatwounds or the RS77 Monel Flatwounds?
 

kimgee

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You might try raising the nut a tad. Usually string buzz near the nut is the result of improper nut adjustment, since the strings vibrate relatively little at that end.
 
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RS77 Monel

Sorry for so many questions...

The five string set have quite a light gauge (lighter than the four string sets), do you still think they'll have the tension I need?

RS775LD

45
65
85
105
130

Thanks for your advice.
 

Florin

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No worries, that's the forum for :) I play 5 strings too, soo that's what I used myself. Are you lookeing for rounds for sound reasons, or for preserving your fingerboard?
 
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Thanks Florin.

I'm after flats for sound reasons and I prefer the feeling/playability as well as the more retro sound of them. Preserving the fingerboard is also important.

I switched to Thomastik jazz flats on my RB Starbass a couple of years ago and much prefer them to the rounds I had before. Also switched to them on my Rickenbacker 4003.
 
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I use these on my alien they feel really nice and sound great. I tried the black nylon but they were too dull and did not intonate well. The white nylon sound like mellow round wounds but feel a bit like flats.

On my alien I spent ages adjusting the neck and nut, I also sanded down the bridge saddle to get the action lower. maybe had the strings on and off a dozen times until it was right. Now it feels and sounds killer. For a deluxe model I think it plays better than any "real" alien I've ever played. as mine is a 6 string deluxe it has the same pre as the more expensive one. I also swapped out the tuners to black with wenge pegs and put a brass adjusta nut on it. Love it!
 
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