I would just like to ask everyone what brand of strings do they use and why? because they are cheap, reliable, sound nice etc.
I personally like to use DR. I don't really have any preference on gauge but .45 - 1.25 are best suited to my bass, they are very reliable so there's not major need to bring two sets of each string to a gig. they sound pretty good. and they a fairly expensive though but most of all what I like is that they last for ages.

I just use fenders. Whatever type Strikes me. Right now I'm hooked on Tapercore's and they work pretty well for me. I'm not a big string buff. If I had the money, I'd go and get some "better" strings, and try a bunch, but the fact of the matter is, All I need, Fender strings satisfy.

D'Addario XL, .45 - .130 5 string sets. Good quality, fairly inexpensive (not that I change them that often), but most of all they sound great (IMO, of course!). Full, round and warm, especially after they're "broken in" after a few weeks.

I prefer the D'Addarios over other strings I have owned: Ernie Ball Slinkys (they're nice, but XL's better), GHS Boomers (yuck), Trace Elliot (double yuck), EBS Northern Light (sound great, but cost a bit much), Warwick Red Label (pretty but sterile sound, low quality). I also have some experience with Fenders (so-so) and DR (don't know which model, but they were very nice).

DR Lo Riders and Rotosound RS66LD

I found DR Lowriders too abrasive on the fingers (though I totally loved the sound). Of course, I was coming off about 10 years of playing flatwounds.

My string preference right now are EB power Slinky's for rounds and Fender 9050ML for flats.

FF

I like GHS these days. Reasonable price, reasonable consistency, reasonable quality. Medium Boomers for my P-Bass, Light Precision Flats for my Tacoma.

Mainly, DR "Marcus", a.k.a., Fat Beams. I'd buy them at twice the price.

Webstrings makes the best strings for the money, that I've found. And they do make them, not just slapping their name on someone else's. But, they ain't no DR's.

Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Roundwounds -- low tension, high output, long-lasting, and they grrrrrrrrowl....

DR Lowriders all the way. Bright but not harsh, IMHO, and they last and last!
Sweet! Perfect for my Stingray.

DR makes good strings. They are a bit abrasive so they take some getting used to, but they are relatively inexpensive, and have a good lifespan if you take care of them right. That is just the brand that I have used for some time now, so I am reluctant to change. Getting old, I guess...

T/I Jazz Flats...low tension, great feel, never have
to change `em :p

T/I Acousticores...REALLY low tension (nylon core),
will only work with piezo pups, round brass alloy wrap,
'unique' tone

Rotosound Tru-Bass (RS88) tapes...good feel, medium
tension, works with magnetic OR piezo pups, bright tone,
'airy' / 'woody' thud.

I was a Rotosound man for many years. Now I mainly use DR Lowriders 45/105. They sound good and last a long time.

I use Fender 7350Ms. They're cheap so I can change 'em often and they sound pretty good to my ear. I also don't have a lot of cash to try a lot of different strings.

I use DR Sunbeams on my passive fender '62 RI Jazz bass. I like the sound because it is on the bright side without the harshness of Stainless Steel.

I use DR HiBeams on my '75 Jazz with J-Retro because they are super bright Stainless and on the J-Retro I can dial out the finger noise.

On the '78 P-Bass there are DR LoRiders because it seems that they really brings out the P-Bass Vintage sound.

I just wish that DR strings were a little cheaper.

I like T/I Jazz Flats, on my fretless, smooth, good tone.

stainless fodera diamond series .45 - .130.

TI Jazz Flats on my six, Slowounds on my P.

D'Addario XL, .45 - .130 5 string sets. Good quality, fairly inexpensive

GHS Boomers (yuck)


Oysterman, can you quantify the yuck on the GHS at all? As a newbie bassist, my only experience is with a set of Boomers, and now a new set of Progressives .045 ~ .130. I have no brand loyalty as of now, so am just curious.

From my research, I'm thinking about trying EXL-165's or DR-Sunbeams next. I bought the Progressives and Roto RS66LDN nickels at a firesale just for play purposes.

I'm not interested in stainless rounds.

For my MIA Fender Jazz V, I use Dean Markley Blue Steels. (I love those strings).

Originally posted by bgavin
Oysterman, can you quantify the yuck on the GHS at all? As a newbie bassist, my only experience is with a set of Boomers, and now a new set of Progressives .045 ~ .130. I have no brand loyalty as of now, so am just curious.
The pack of GHS Bass Boomers I used were, to my ears, very cold and metallic sounding, thin if you will, even after they were "broken in". I did not get the warm low mids I wanted from them, mids that I find the XL's to have plenty of. I also did not like the feel of the Boomers that much - they weren't awful, but I've felt better (but this might be because I wasn't used yet to the heavy gauge I had). But this is, as so many other things on TB, strictly IMO - my "yuck" can be your "yeehaw".

I use Ernie Ball Slinkys. Size varies. I still have to try all the sizes. The biggest 4 string set is way to big for my uses tho. They keep pulling the neck on my Jazz bass up. But they sound cool.

got didarrio chrome flats on my mim jazz 5 string. I like them better than their XLs. The xl s sound great, but i cannot stand that zing from the srings when I play.
I will probably try others as time goes on, but it seems hard to find strings for fives were i am.

D'addario seems to make the most 'consistent' set of strings I've seen... If you buy a set most anywhere, they sound just like the last pack did.

I used to use XL's from D'addario (mostly 40-.95) and went through 15 sets without a bad string...finally got a 'D' with loose winding. Not bad for over a year and a half of good strings!

When I got my first set-neck bass, the D'addarios started getting dull-sounding rather quick. I tried a set of DR Hi-Beams and enjoyed them a bunch. They're a real nice sounding string for clarity with a little 'zing.'

The GHS Boomers and Progressives were 'ok.' Mostly, they seemed a bit more hit-and-miss as far as their consistency of tone... I found the tone livable, just didn't get it in every pack. The Progressives have the tapered 'E' and a different material for the wrapping (purely subjective, but it seemed to have more 'traction' under the fingers...whatever THAT means!)

Still like the DRs, but may try a set of D'addarios for my new bolt-on Sterling...just to reminisce.

Best Wishes

Right now I have Barco-strings at my Yamaha.

ernie ball stainless steel hybrid slinky bass(black package)..I just lov'em

I use DR Hi-Beams Stainless MLR45 on my Tune. Like most have said, they last and last. Wouldn't use Fenders to tie the dog up with, but that's just my opinion.

Right now I'm hooked on SloWounds. I think I'll go back to LaBellas though...Slappers (Nickel, basically) this time.

Originally posted by Oysterman
D'Addario XL, .45 - .130 5 string sets. Good quality, fairly inexpensive (not that I change them that often), but most of all they sound great (IMO, of course!). Full, round and warm, especially after they're "broken in" after a few weeks.

I prefer the D'Addarios over other strings I have owned: Ernie Ball Slinkys (they're nice, but XL's better), GHS Boomers (yuck), Trace Elliot (double yuck), EBS Northern Light (sound great, but cost a bit much), Warwick Red Label (pretty but sterile sound, low quality). I also have some experience with Fenders (so-so) and DR (don't know which model, but they were very nice).

ummm... I wonder if you´re my second personality.. :)

that´s the exact same reason for why I use D'addarios XL, I played with EB slinkys for a while and didn´t like them as much as I like XL, I did not like GHS boomers (they didn´t sound very good IMO, and I snapped 2 strings within a month, maybe just a bad set or something..), and I liked DR´s very much, but they´re more expensive than the XL....

I haven´t tried the other strings you mentioned... :)

Right now I'm using TI flatwounds. I've tried roundwounds, and flatwounds sound really good, if I had a set of roundwounds RIGHT NOW I'd put them on though. But I must say, the TI flats are really bright for flats!

I was a Boomer user for years and I just switched to either EB (Pink) Slinkys 45-100 or D-Addario XL 170's 45-100 depending on what's on sale or what deal I can get off E-bay. I liked Boomers but they have gotten pretty inconsistant over the last few years and I found the EB's and the Dario's are much nicer on the fingers. I also liked a set of SIT powerwounds that I tried recently they felt great and sounded nice and crisp.

Rotosound88s black nylon tapewound on the fretless Tune and DR Lo Riders on the Fender P-bass. I like D'Addario Chromes (flats) too.

Originally posted by Marty Forrer
TI Jazz Flats on my six, Slowounds on my P.

Marty,

How long do you find slowounds last for on your P bass? They are my favourite roundwound soundwise, but I have serious probs with their short life span (like a month or so).

Just got a set of DR low riders after reading some of the above posts. I REALLY like those strings. I had Fender flatwounds looking for a fat funky sound. Also, I tried Dean Markley Blue Steelsfro a period. Really bright though.

D'addario XL's on my MIA Jazz 5
D'addario Slowounds on my MIA P&J,and my MIM Deluxe J.

Andy,Ive had the Slowounds on my P for about 3 months and they seem ok still.Of course,what seems ok to me may not seem ok with others,and vice-versa.Im sure if I put a new set on tomorrow Id notice a difference,but at this point Im still satisfied with their feel and sound.

Originally posted by Dave S...
D'addario seems to make the most 'consistent' set of strings I've seen... If you buy a set most anywhere, they sound just like the last pack did.


Dave,I agree.Ive had alot of sets of Slowounds that were exactly like the previous set,except one set that I bought 6 months ago.This particular set was so smooth I swore I was playing flatwounds.I checked and double checked the part number on the package(SW 2000) to make sure it was the same as the others Ive bought(it was).Maybe they were mis-packaged,I dont know,but Ive never had another set like this before or since.Id love to find another few sets like that one.

On my stingrays I use ernie ball slinky .45-130, On my warwick I use fodera .40-120,

I like to use La Bella Hard Rockin' Steel strings. I get a real nice sound out of them even with a pick.

I hate to admit this, but I haven't really settled on a brand yet. I used to buy whatever was cheap at GC or Guitar Trader, which meant Boomers or Ernies, but then I tried flatwounds for a while. The Fender 9050's sounded really good to me, but I found that they kind of disappeared in the mix (live). I currently have Blue Steels on my P, and they are really excellent. I like them better than Lo-Riders. I've had them on for about two months and they still sound great. I must not have very acidic sweat, because strings usually last me a while. I'm going to try Roto 66's next, since I haven't used them in a while, and I want to see how they sound compared to the Blue Steels.

I have La Bella tapes on my Washburn, and I like them, too. They're nice and thumpy, but brighter than flats, IME.

I tried Ken Smith Rock Masters a couple of years ago, and was really impressed. Gotta try 'em again one of these days.

I use MTD, DRs, Ernie Balls, and Ken Smith.

I always use stainless steel because of its great high end. I prefer 45-65-85-105-130

I got Pyramid Gold Flats on my 58 P Bass and love the sound.
(Just a little roll off of the treble and I'm there)
I Have Fender 7025s on my Jazz.
May want to try the Pyramid flats on the Rick.
Anyone have Pyramid Golds on a 4001v63?

I like Ernie Ball super slinky

Pyramid Pyrasound stainless steel roundwounds in .035-.095 gauge.

Rotosound 77s.They're flats. As they say in the Ads
in Bass Player, they have a " Unique presence. " I don't know about presence(sounds like a ghost standing next to you) but, there's something about them. I haven't tried Thomastiks yet, but the Rotos
do it for me. Very nice and predictable response.

Mike J.

Roundwound: DR nickel lowriders or d'addario xl165 .045-.105
Flats: Thomastik jazz bass for good playable flat or d'addario Chromes for higher tension. .043-.100

Blue Steels and D'Addario Slowounds as a rule, .130-.045 guage. I like the tone of these strings, they are clear, crisp, punchy, warm, and have nice low mids.
Ive tried Fender in the past and didnt care for them, they didnt feel right and didnt have as good a tone as my 2 favorites, Ive also tried GHS Boomers and to quote Oystarman "yuck" they have no longevity, and sound way too metalic for my liking. Peavey Stainless Steels Ive used one time as well, they had a great tone for slap bass, but didnt have the warmth that the nickel plated ones i like do. and god did they feel rough on the fingers.