what strings to buy?

gyeah

New member
what bass strings to buy which is good and affordable?
price range: around 20
thanks in advance
 
daddario and DR are two of the most popular strings in the world. daddario was even awarded string of the year last year by bassplayer mag if i'm not mistaken

i personally don't really like DR so i would go for daddario. not that i buy them now though, i rarely change strings so i invest in a good set. i also never waste a set, no matter how bad they are.

nickel rounds are more common than stainless steel rounds at entry level. i read that EB strings don't have a nice feel though
 
how much does D'addario and EB costs? got around $20 only? i haven't bought in quite a while, but thought it was $30+
 
5 string im not sure, maybe around $30? davis has quite a decent selection of strings

stay away from warwick red labels, i hated them
 
I'm using DR strings currently. The Marcus Miller Edition. Cost me about 40 bucks. Cost a lil bit more, but worth it. Last long and sound good on any bass. But still, it depends on the player's taste itself. For me, DR are a decent one. Went for the Marcus Miller Edition because of its fat and deep tone, my fav! Tried Ernie Ball before. Quite good. The longer you used EB, the better are the strings. But have to condition it now and then. And its much cheaper by say, 10 bucks? Planning to try Sadowsky's Blue Label, but not anytime soon coz just changed to DR last month. Play along with all types of strings, bro. Then you know which one suits you the best! =)
 
i bought my d'addario xl nickel wound 5 strings set (EXL 170-5) for $29.80 at davis. its round wound, regular light gause, long scale.

0.045
0.065
0.080
0.100
0.130

hope this helps..
 
hey, slight sidetrack here. does anyone know where can i get the marcus miller DR strings? ive heard good things about them. im currently using sadowsky blue labels. decent enough but they're alittle clanky and rather zingy. some people like it like that i believe but not really my cup of tea
 
Sidetrack! Heard that flatwounds are really good? But the shadowsky flat wounds are really expensive! TYMC stocks them at $50? Any alternative? And i have sweaty palm! My strings tend to rust very quickly. any suggestions?
 
@Kiriva Davis carries DR strings. You might not like the MM signatures... they're brighter than Sadowsky blues.

@Hickey_ Try D'addario chromes. Swee Lee should stock them. Sadowsky flats are really good though, and you don't change them as often as roundwounds so the cost is just an upfront thing.

I stopped using DR Marcus Miller strings after Davis raised their prices. D'addarios are really good for $20, but after switching to Sadowsky Blue Nickels I never looked back. They last longer than D'addarios and sound better.
 
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Sidetrack! Heard that flatwounds are really good? But the shadowsky flat wounds are really expensive! TYMC stocks them at $50? Any alternative? And i have sweaty palm! My strings tend to rust very quickly. any suggestions?

flatwounds, you either love them or hate them. it has a distinct thumpy sound, and it just sits in the mix really well IMO. don't expect to get any kind of growl or brightness out of it though. think roundwounds that have been dead for months or something. don't bother to play slap on flatwounds, it just sounds weird.

all flatwounds are relatively expensive, the cheapest would be the DAddario Chromes, but it's out of stock everywhere and SweeLee only has light gauge. alternatives? instead of Sadowsky Flatwounds, just spend $1 more and get the Rotosound 77 Flatwounds at Davis. it took me a while to get used to it, but after breaking it in, it sounds pretty nice. but it's definitely not a sound for everyone.
 
hey, thanks jbarker. hmm i'll take that into consideration. i've been considering the sadowsky blue nickels as well. i like the blue label tension and feel, the extra warmth from nickel strings may be just what im after
 
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