preferred bass strings?

well.. i have the same problem with you. roto flats messed up my set up badly, high tension and "sticky" like you mentioned. gave up in the end and went back to RWs. currently using DR lo-rider nickel, excellent strings, esp great for finger funk with awesome mids growl.


oh haha I'm glad I'm not alone then.. :) The stickiness got to me.....

Do the DR lo-rider nickels have to red threads at the end like the rotosounds? Looks nicer... :)
 
naaa.. it doesnt have that red end. maybe you can try GHS boomers if you really want it.
 
daddarios quite popular actually, if i'm not wrong they won bassplayer magazine's string maker of the year award or something, with DR being second.

the thing about daddarios is that they offer relatively little variety when it comes to strings... same old nickel rounds in various gauges
 
i just bought la bella deep talkin' flats and the black nylon tapewounds. gonna slap the flats on my jazz. tapewounds are for a bass which is comin in.
 
Hope I'm not going too off topic.

I dont have any fav's cos I'm not a bassist anyway.
But I tried the D'addario (however they spell it)
roundwounds, and fine it very very bright and very snappy.

Is it true that they will dull down in time?
Because I really prefer that round sound that I used to have
with the older strings, too bad one snapped at the end...
 
that only works if you play 'the chicken' afterwards :mrgreen:

bass strings will always lose their brightness, and they lose it most quickly when they are new. in the heyday of 70s funk, session bassists were changing their strings every 45 minutes to get that bright slap tone
 
I like DR Hi-Beams. Extremely bright at the start, which made me want to take them out, but the low-mids started coming through after a few weeks. Great growl and bass response makes it the string of choice for me.
 
Oh great, nice to know that I dont have to use the KFC method, LoL
So i'll just have to wait then...
 
OK i tried the la bella deep talkin' flats. they are surprisingly loud and don't sound so thumpy. very much like used roundwounds. not so low tension, but since these strings are new, will try to "break" them in.
 
For me it'll be RotoSound Swing 66 or RotoBass strings. Standard gauge. Or if I want more of a Marcus Miller tone I get the light gauge.
 
i've had some unpleasant experiences with strings i didn't like. and i don't want to waste money by replacing a new set just because i don't like them, so i've had to play through them

i recently settled on sadowsky blue label stainless steels. i'm not gonna change brand for a long time. i'd like to try other stuff but the 'trial and error' method is damn expensive
 
I like DR Hi-Beams. Extremely bright at the start, which made me want to take them out, but the low-mids started coming through after a few weeks. Great growl and bass response makes it the string of choice for me.

Yeah, +1

I bought my DR Hi-Beams 2 weeks ago..it sounded so sweet at first but the brightness dies off after that. Now, it's more of a "finger style" bass. haha

Shinobi: where did you get the sadowsky blue label? Anyway you could try to explain how it sounds like?
 
i ordered them off an ebay online store, one with the cheapest shipping i could find. you can also order from the sadowsky site, but anything less than a box of 5, and the shipping will kill.

i think they cut through very well, and they break in nicely when they start to deaden. physically it's kind of easier on the fingers, considering that they are SS. in fact, they feel great. string tension is relatively low also.

in terms of tone i feel that it's abit more lower mid present, which complements my bass because it's a jazz, with strong upper mids and highs coming from the bass. i find them pretty 'round'. and they are not too clanky, again considering the fact that they are SS

not a big fan of DR, because i find it a little bit scooped. but again, the results will vary depending on what kind of bass you are using. for some basses, this would be a good thing. maybe for P basses.

i hope any of this makes sense :mrgreen:
 
TYC sells em for about $30+ per pack or less. Saw it a few days ago. Just wanna know what's the diff between bright nickel and stainless steel? I asked the guy in the shop and he didn't know =\
 
TYC sells em for about $30+ per pack or less. Saw it a few days ago. Just wanna know what's the diff between bright nickel and stainless steel? I asked the guy in the shop and he didn't know =\


Nickel strings have a warmer sound compared to stainless steel. Due to the nature of the metal used, it responds better to magnetic pickups compared to stainless steel but ultimately it's a matter of taste.

Stainless steel strings have more zing and their brightness usually last longer compared to nickel but doesn't have the warmth nickel strings have.

At the end of the day it's really a matter of preference, for me i'd choose stainless steel over nickel due to the nature of my bass. I like bright sounding basses ... haha. I'm using DR Sunbeams on my bass right now, they are the nickel version of Hi-beams ... the finger-style sounds awesome but when it comes to slapping/tapping/chords/harmonics etc, it loses out on the high end compared to stainless steel.

Hope that answers your question.
 
getting that 'GUCCI' set of strings ain't gonna help much on your tone if you don't have good finger/hand technique....like most of you children with deep pockets have....

that blue label sadowsky or that designer set that which red dot sells, which you can pawn once you're done with, won't give you instant good tone.

the sound is in your hands and its like getting to carnegie hall...practise!
 
Back
Top