Alternative to stainless steel

[Mopreme75]

I currently use stainless steel strings I have tried HighBeams,Lo-Riders,Fat-Beams, but I have fell in love with Blue Steels but stainless steel strings are sometimes too harsh on my fingers i was just wondering if anybody knew an alternative that i could try and still get the same slap sound.

(I also love the strings on Ibanez basses that I play in the store but I dont know what kind of strings they are????)

HELP!!!

[Phalex]

Alloy 52 is a very bright almost stainless sounding material. Everly and GHS both make a B-52 string.

[Koki]

Originally Posted by Mopreme75

(I also love the strings on Ibanez basses that I play in the store but I dont know what kind of strings they are????)

On ibanez they put elixir which I took off as soon I got the bass. They are coated with some kind of plastic or so.. Try some nickels like D'addario or DR sunbeams

[ishouldbeking]

Originally Posted by Koki

On ibanez they put elixir which I took off as soon I got the bass. They are coated with some kind of plastic or so.. Try some nickels like D'addario or DR sunbeams

sunbeams actually sound pretty dark to me in comparison to other nickel wound strings, but daddarios might work. I've always found slinkys to be a decently bright string (though they feel a bit cheap to my fingers, if that makes sense).

[Mopreme75]

yea I like A bright sound too

[rickfan63]

Hi-Beams are the only SS round I'll use. I once played a Tobias with Blue Steels. They sounded fine, but felt way too rough for my liking.

[Marcus Willett]

Originally Posted by Mopreme75

I have fell in love with Blue Steels but stainless steel strings are sometimes too harsh on my fingers

Try the nickel plated BlueSteels; I've come to really dig 'em.

Yes, I'm an endorser and the nickel plated BlueSteels are exactly why.

[RKB900player]

The strings that come on stock Ibanez basses are Elixirs...which all have a special coating that makes them last longer and keep their bright sound. I also have come to like stainless steel strings....just bought some D'addario prosteels and I love them! But if you're not a fan of the roughness of the steel, listen to everyone else and try nickel plated steels....like Ernie Ball Slinkys

[Jerry Ziarko]

TI Super Alloys. A bit pricey, but they sound soooo good.

[rodl2005]

Elixir's that come on new Ibanez basses are GREAT strings IMHO...& if U like them grab some- get the 'Nanoweb' coated type-as it's thinner coating & briter sounding than the 'plyweb' coated ones. they don't sound as brite as new stainless strings, but they DO sound pretty brite & stay sounding brite for 3 x as long as reg. uncoated strings-so the extra price is worth it if U like them.

[JoshD]

Originally Posted by rickfan63

Hi-Beams are the only SS round I'll use. I once played a Tobias with Blue Steels. They sounded fine, but felt way too rough for my liking.

Same, a teacher on campus has a bass with Prosteels on it. I use Hi Beams and the Prosteels were way rougher. I'll stick with the DRs.

[r379]

Originally Posted by Jerry Ziarko

TI Super Alloys. A bit pricey, but they sound soooo good.

+1 on the TI Superalloys.

[DavePlaysBass]

Superalloys are great strings but they are dark when compared to steels. When I switched a bass from Labella steels to Superalloys, I was in shock for a couple of days. But it was a good change.

Are the Dean Markley Nickel plated Blue Steels all that bright? It seems like many of the newer nickel plated strings I try are darker than what I expect given my experience with D'addario, GHS, Ernie Ball, and Fender. Nickel Lo Riders, Sadowsky Nickels, and Superalloys fall into that darker than expected camp for me.

[saxofunk]

Fenders 7150. Pure nickel outer wrap, quite bright at first but mellow after 6-10 hours of play to tone that I really like. I think they're a viable option to stainless.

[Koki]

EB slinkys are ok, bright like steels at first but they go dead after a week or two..
I try to avoid Dean Markley strings cause they tend to break easily
DR seem ok, not too harsh but if it's still too harsh nickels are the way to go