Lakland Skyline Hollowbody 30" owners - Your string experience

[tonym]

I purchased a Lakland Skyline Hollowbody 30" a few months ago and love it. I generally like flats and have TI Jazz flats on my Jazz. I'm wondering what strings TB'ers who have actually owned or played the Skylineline Hollowbody 30" have liked, and why.

Apparently the TIs won't actually fit on this bass, and it looks like Chrome short or Roto 77 Shorts would, but I'd like to hear some opinions from folks with actual experience with this bass.

(And even though I generally like flats, I'm open to trying different things!)

Thanks!

 

[alpho]

I own and play the Hollowbody 30. I put short-scale TI Jazz Flats on it. I like how they feel and I like how the bass sounds.

I have tried the usually-mentioned comparable strings on this and on my other basses, but the TIs always sound and feel the best to me.

 

[tonym]

I love TI Jazz flats but had read on a forum somewhere that they didn't fit this bass. The night before you posted I ordered a set of Optima short scale flat wounds because a number of people said they were pretty similar to the TIs. I'll see how they do and if I don't like them as much as the TIs I'll order a set. Thanks for replying!

 

[alpho]

The TI E-string runs out of silk before it tightens around the tuning post, causing some of the flatwound portion to be wrapped around about half of the perimeter of the post. This is why some people say TIs don't fit.

Yes they're too long but they do fit. They work. I've used them on a Squier Jaguar SS and an Ibanez TMB30 as well as the Lakland. They work for me.

 

[rickpascual]

I've had the HB-30 for about a year and a half. I went through about ten sets of strings trying to find the right set. It was set up very poorly from Sweetwater where I bought it as a demo. The strings were filthy and not the flat wounds advertised. I think everybody who played it had not washed their hands...ever! I do my own set ups so I wasn't bothered too much. I tried DR flatwounds which just felt to tight and heavy sounding though they did fit correctly. I then tried D'addario half rounds. They lasted about an hour. I'm pretty easy to please but those are the worst strings I've ever played. They felt like they had glue or molasses on them. And so dead sounding. I then got short scale TI flats and they felt and sounded very good. The E string silk runs out on the tuning peg as stated above and you have some metal on the peg, but it didn't pose any problems. I still have them and might use them agin in the future. I decided I wanted some zingy sounding rounds on it after all and put a set of Curt Mangans' on and liked then well enough but they went dead sooner than I'd experienced with their long scale sets on a RIC 4003. Their E string was also too long. Next up was DR Sunbeams which I like a lot on my Fenders. The E string again, too long and some of the speaking part was on the tuner. I investigated string lengths and found that the old reliable D'Addario XL's had a short scale round wound set 50 to 105 that would fit perfectly. So here I am back to using strings I hadn't used for a long time and they fit perfectly and the heavier G string is the perfect gauge for such a short scale. And you what? I really like them! For me, I like rounds on this bass.

 

[HotelX]

I’m thinking on trying Rotosound swing bass 66 strings on mine. Anyone tried those?

 

[Michael Lush]

I've had my hollowbody 30 for a few weeks now. I hated the stock strings and first tried d'addario short scale chrome flats but they felt too stiff to me and the highs and high mids were too muted for my liking. I did some research and decided on Ernie ball slinky cobalt flats. I love these strings, they sound like nickel coated steel roundwounds, with the feel of flats. The E string also doesn't quite fit, as a bit of the string body does wrap around the peg but it doesn't cause any problems. If you want the feel of flats with the zing of rounds, give these a try.

 

[Liam Wald]

I know that this is an old thread but I thought I might add a comment.
I have owned a Korean made HB-30 for about six years or so and it was my main player for the first four years that I owned it. I had always strung it with TI Jazz Flats. I gradually drifted away from the bass a couple of years ago and had actually considered selling it.
About a month ago I thought that before I sell the bass I should maybe try a set of round wounds.
I strung it up with a set of DR Sunbeams and holy s***!
The bass just absolutely came alive and I am back in love again.

 

[iiipopes]

The answer is GHS Balanced Nickels. Nickel is more dense than NPS, so they have more tension for the given gauge. This keeps the strings stable so they don't flop and retain intonation and fretting integrity. They have a big, round tone, consistent from string to string and up the neck, consistent in feel (hence the name) and the pure nickel doesn't rust or corrode as badly. I have them on my 30-inch travel bass, and the same set survived two annual trips to Mexico on the coast with the salt sea air with my party band.

 

[freshbass]

I purchased a Lakland Skyline Hollowbody 30" a few months ago and love it. I generally like flats and have TI Jazz flats on my Jazz. I'm wondering what strings TB'ers who have actually owned or played the Skylineline Hollowbody 30" have liked, and why.

Apparently the TIs won't actually fit on this bass, and it looks like Chrome short or Roto 77 Shorts would, but I'd like to hear some opinions from folks with actual experience with this bass.

(And even though I generally like flats, I'm open to trying different things!)

Thanks!

I tired pyramid gold flats and they were ok but a bit "wooly", now I have ss d'adarrio xl rounds on and while it's versatile and sounds good I still prefer flats so I'm looking at TI.

 

[alpho]

I've had my HB30 for 5 years now. It has become my main bass. When I bought it I installed TI Flats because I like their sound and feel. I just replaced them with new TI Flats and the magic is back.

There may be other strings that sound better to some players. I had initially tried D'Addario flats, LaBella light flats, and Pyramids, but I'm pleased enough with the TIs that I'm not interested in trying others.