Strings

[loldude333]

I've just become the proud owner of an Ibanez SR500 bass today, courtesy of Brendon of BGW Guitars (2 thumbs up there), and i'm thinking of swapping out the OEM Elixirs as they're already dead, and they're too bright for me. I'm looking for a string that's really warm and bassy, with a midrange hump, long-lasting as well. Anyone can suggest? I'd also like to know what's the standard gauge for bass strings (complete noob at bass gear here, i'm more to the guitars side), and the pros and cons of heavier vs lighter gauges. Thanks all!

 

[cheesedaele]

Congrats on the new baby

Pros vs cons of heavier vs lighter is the same as it would be for guitar. Heavier gives a "thicker" sound (not always a good thing) but requires more endurance to play because there's more tension, and hence requires more strength for fingering/fretting. Lighter takes less strength to play (also not necessarily a good thing) and this is subjective but some people report having an easier time evoking harmonics. If you make too drastic a jump in string gauge you might need to change the nut to accommodate the new strings' widths.

Middle ground "medium" for a standard set of bass strings at EADG is .45 .65 .85 .105; some consider .45 .65 .80 .100 to be "medium" as well, some call that a "light-medium" set. I don't know what the extremes are but I've seen lights at .30 - .85 and on the other end, .50 - .110.

Rotosound 66s or GHS boomers are a safe starting point. Google around for reviews of other brands/types.

Good reading material: http://www.tunemybass.com/strings/bass_guitar_strings_faq.html

 

[Turxile]

Don't change your strings for a while, keep at least for a month.
If you find "dead" elixirs too bright (I don't think dead but still bright is possible btw, at least how I would define dead), then the only thing to satisfy your thirst for the low end might be flats; and if you decide to try start with D'Addario Chromes.
Safe middle of the road strings good for all types of music are D'Addario XLs. GHS Boomers are great as well as cheesy mentioned above. The Roto 66s are bright, and it looks like you don't want bright.

 

[loldude333]

Thanks for all the replies! For what i've found on the net, it seems the strings take a little while to settle down, so i'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now. Another question that's unrelated to strings, but related very much to tone: what on earth does the midrange switch do? I've touched it but i can't exactly pick out its specific purpose. It seems like a midrange boost/cut, or normal/cut.

 

[volux]

Thanks for all the replies! For what i've found on the net, it seems the strings take a little while to settle down, so i'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now. Another question that's unrelated to strings, but related very much to tone: what on earth does the midrange switch do? I've touched it but i can't exactly pick out its specific purpose. It seems like a midrange boost/cut, or normal/cut.

It's not obvious unless you boost the mids. It's nice if you're doing tapping. I've the SR755, but changed the EQ to Aguilar's =D

 

[cheesedaele]

I'm going to presume it's the stock preamp.

There should be 3 tone controls for your highs, mids and lows. Each one boosts or cuts a specific frequency range, centered around one particular frequency.

From the Ibanez site:

The graph labels look wrong to me. The red line should be your lows, blue your highs. Green should be your mids. Notice there's two green curves. The switch enables you to choose between either of these two frequency curves.

If the tone controls are set flat, you won't notice any difference. But if you first push the mid control to its extreme end (either max boost or max cut) then flick the switch back and forth, you should be able to notice a difference in tone.

 

[loldude333]

Ohhhhh alright i see, thanks for the helpful diagram and explanation cheese! Really appreciate it That really explains a lot. Will go and experiment.

 

[lareinex]

wah cheesedaele so detailed, i loike! loldude333 your strings nice bass techniques!