Bass string with good tone

Currently I'm using a set of DR Strings, Marcus Miller edition. The first till 3rd strings are normal gauge, while the fourth string are 100-105. For me, it has a very smooth and fat tone, which i do like so much. But for me, if your going for tone, its 50% your strings, and another 50% goes to the effect and bass guitar you using. Just my 2 cents worth bro. =)
 
the most popular strings are d'addario and DR.

i use sadowsky blue label now. i've tried a couple of brands but i don't like to experiment with strings. they are the best for me now.

DR - davis
d'addario - everywhere
sadowsky - TYMC

you have some calling to do
 
I used d'addario XL nickel, and I love them. recently changed to sadowsky nickel blue labels, which has lots of low mid punch in the sound, which is good, but I don't like that it is actualy lower tension than the d'addarios..... make the strings feel very floppy...
 
Rotosound Swing 66, $35 at Davis. they're quite bright initially, but after they're broken in they sound amazing.
 
i used to get prisms from sweelee, but i dunno if they still have stock.

the sadowsky black labels have a harder feel than the blue labels, which are relatively softer. but the midrange sounds different as well
 
I would recommend you to visit talkbass.com which has an entire section devoted to strings. Very intuitive and comprehensive. My personal preference are DR sunbeams, Low tension and full-bodied strings.

They are in the same price range as the Sadowsky blue labels. Prior to my current set of sunbeams, my bass was equipped with blue labels. In contrast, i say the Sunbeams are fuller but the blue's are more low mid-range focused.

However i love the feel of both sets.
 
i'd say davis would be the place to go for strings. but do they have sunbeams in stock?

i used elixirs a long time ago. also tried DR extra-life black beauties.

from these experiences, i hate coated strings.

the first problem is cosmetics- the elixirs would flake rather easily, while the black beauties would be discoloured, which looks hideous. you could change them but that totally defeats the purpose of using long-lasting strings.

secondly i just didn't like the tone. coated strings would deaden very gradually and slowly, and within 2 months or so it would be nowhere near their initial 'freshness'. this is in contrast to non-coated strings, where it takes a day or two for the strings to break in, after which the regression would be somewhat similar to coated strings anyway.

coated strings generally feel better to the touch. but some strings i've tried are pretty easy on the fingers. my sadowsky blues are pretty good to the touch even though i use stainless steel sets instead of nickel.

i've also used products such as stringlife, which are pretty effective, although they have their limits. it does, to a certain extent, prolong the life of the string and makes it feel better, which is also the promise of coated strings.

so basically, personally, i would never again play through the entire lifespan of coated strings. they don't do it for me.
 
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i use methylated spirit to soak n clean my rounds. haven't bought them new for a couple of years. fresh n minty after leaving them in overnight.
 
or just buy flatwounds. dead flatwounds still sound more or less the same, and they last a long time too. :mrgreen:
 
i use methylated spirit to soak n clean my rounds. haven't bought them new for a couple of years. fresh n minty after leaving them in overnight.

couple of years?

do you hav ethe problem of strings snapping?

I never believe that my bass strings could snap.. and one day int he middle of a song.... SNAP! :(

I was so disappointed and I had to use the studio's stock bass guitar.
 
i use methylated spirit to soak n clean my rounds. haven't bought them new for a couple of years. fresh n minty after leaving them in overnight.
i've heard about it, but never got round to trying haha..

couple of years?

do you hav ethe problem of strings snapping?

I never believe that my bass strings could snap.. and one day int he middle of a song.... SNAP! :(

I was so disappointed and I had to use the studio's stock bass guitar.
and I break strings quite often. at least I used to. broke at least 3 or 4 liao. until i learned to compensate by turning up the amp, instead of playing harder haha. let the amp do the job for you.. that's why it's called an AMPLIFIER. ;)
 
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yea really thought it was impossible to snap a bass string. But it was the G string. I still can't believe snapping a B string.

And i would agree that the Sadowsky Blue's are really nice. Fitted a bass with them and tested it with my own bass that was strung with rotos. I preferred the Sadowsky. Had more punch. I cant say it was very much brighter, cause that bass's tone was generally brighter. So din have a very accurate test though.
But sadowkskys are really nice i feel.
 
at the times that i was trying coated strings i wanted to try cleartone. but the only place that sold it at the time was standard value at woodlands... just too far for me man. maestro sells cleartone but no bass strings that i know of
 
yea really thought it was impossible to snap a bass string. But it was the G string. I still can't believe snapping a B string.

And i would agree that the Sadowsky Blue's are really nice. Fitted a bass with them and tested it with my own bass that was strung with rotos. I preferred the Sadowsky. Had more punch. I cant say it was very much brighter, cause that bass's tone was generally brighter. So din have a very accurate test though.
But sadowkskys are really nice i feel.
when they were released, a few TBers really wanted as fair a comparison as possible that they strung BOTH the blue and black labels onto the bass, on alternate strings :mrgreen:
 
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