Posted by Freddy Villano | Oct 7, 2022 | Columns, Media, Player Interviews, Videos | 0 |

After attaining worldwide recognition for their Carbon Steel Bass Strings (among electric bassists), Italian classical string-maker Dogal decided to venture further into the electric-instrument-string domain and finally launched their latest creation in 2021: Hellborg Signature Bass Strings. They are the result of a close collaboration between Dogal and world-famous Swedish bassist Jonas Hellborg, famous not only for his collaboration with John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Shawn Lane, Ginger Baker, and many others, but also for his revolutionary approach to instrument and gear design.

While living in Venice, Italy, Hellborg recognized the benefits that Dogal’s classical string-making techniques would have on the design of strings for the electric bass guitar. Dogal Hellborg Strings are made by wrapping a single wire of Pure Nickel on a stranded core, offering low tension, improved intonation, and impressive flexibility. More than three years were needed to develop the strings before Hellborg would provide his stamp of approval.

More than an artist vanity set, these unique strings are the result of Jonas Hellborg’s vision. He went to Dogal with the goal of creating strings with a new level of “in-tuneness” – he wanted the entire overtone series to be “in tune.” As a result, a completely new approach was needed. As opposed to a standard solid core, these strings use a unique stranded woven wire core, and instead of successive wraps to reach the right gauge, they use one pass of wrap wire at the perfect thickness. Hellborg believes stiffness is one of the primary causes of poor intonation and out-of-tune overtones. This unique construction provides unparalleled flexibility and, along with actual pure nickel wrap, results in outstanding beauty of tone and ease of playing.

For the purposes of the review, I brought two Fender basses (a modified Geddy Lee 4-string and a stock Roscoe Beck 5-string) to HG Thor Guitar Lab for the set-up. Bass Gear Magazine readers might remember HG Thor from an article I wrote in Issue 12, back in 2017, regarding the highly specialized, custom epoxy mod he does for fretless necks.

Right off the bat, I noticed that the Dogal Hellborgs are incredibly flexible, and offer very little resistance to the touch – they are incredibly “low-tension,” as advertised. The effect of the low tension in performance lingo means that I don’t need to strike the string as hard as I normally might be inclined to. I didn’t have to dig in quite as hard to achieve the desired result. And using less force really allows the notes to blossom. It’s also worth noting that there were ample amounts of low-frequency resonance and response for such light-gauge strings. I’m used to playing .045 – .105 or even .040 – .100, so there’s a little cross-over with the Dogal Hellborgs on the E and A strings, but the D and G strings, despite seeming so thin, really blossomed and had a full, clear, and sustained dynamic to them that I found surprising (in a positive way). The volume of the strings was very even across the board too – from low to high, I found them to be incredibly consistent.

For the rest of the review, I think it’s worth sharing some correspondence between HG Thor and Hellborg that took place during the set-up, since their dialogue best illuminates the attributes of the strings:

Thor: The Fender Geddy Lee had plenty of saddle movement to intonate the JH171 set. These strings have some amazing properties. Here are before and after string change shots:

Hellborg: I would recommend setting intonation only between the octave harmonic and the 12th fret.

Thor: It is interesting to note that the saddle pattern is duplicated on two basses now.

Hellborg: My experience is that with “normal” strings, it is hard to get a clear steady pitch on the lowest notes.

Thor: I can say with great amazement the Dogals strings are absolutely spot-on. Loud, musical, lively, stable in the magnetic field.

Hellborg: Super, actually stability in the magnetic field impacts intonation and pitch stability. These strings are extremely sensitive to bending/pressure so individual touch (how hard you press down on the fret) will make a difference in the intonation, of course.

Thor: Check it on a bass with magnetic pickups. Normally, the closer you set them up to the strings, the more it pulls them, causing wavering and irregular intonation; not these! Breakthrough! And the harmonics are killer.

Hellborg: The harmonics are indeed something else, there are even more of them available.

Thor: Wild guess, but maybe the increased flexibility is a huge factor, there. Standard strings with the solid core tend to force any single point of impact to move much of the length on either side along with it. The flexibility of the Dogals appear to allow greater freedom for partials to appear and sustain.

Hellborg: What happens is, since the string does not vibrate freely (solid core), the harmonics conflict with the fundamental, and you do not have sympathetic/supporting resonance, which stops the harmonics from ringing.

“Bass strings have always been made like bigger versions of guitar strings, when in fact they need very different qualities,” explains Hellborg. “As you increase the diameter of guitar strings, they become very stiff with inferior intonation and clarity of tone.” Through sustained, careful R&D, and drawing on Dogal’s competence in the making of violin and cello strings, the Hellborg Signature Bass Strings present an evolutionary progression in the development of bass string manufacturing.

Visit Jonas @ http://hellborg.com/wordpress/

For more info on Dogal Hellborg Signature Strings, visit: https://www.dogalstrings.it/

HG Thor Guitar Lab: http://www.woodwiz.com/guitarlab/

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Freddy Villano is currently the bass player in '80s hard rock luminaries The Rods. He has toured and recorded with Quiet Riot, Widowmaker (featuring Twisted Sister's Dee Snider), and David Bowie guitar legend Earl Slick, whose first instrumental solo album Fist Full of Devils was released last year. Freddy has also toured and recorded with countless indie bands including American Mafia, Altered Minds, Geezer and more. As a freelance writer, he's written for all of the major bass publications as well as Premier Guitar, Making Music and Recording Magazine, among others. When he's not performing, recording, or writing, he works for Glyph Technologies, the audio industry's premier external hard drive manufacturer.

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