Anyone use Ken Smith Taper Core Bass Burners in their MIA Fender?

[Blueser]

These are the Round Wound Nickel Plated strings that are tapered to support a string through body bridge setup. Anyone using them, and how do you like them?

Dave

[jhfishn]

Blueser

I haven't used the full set of taper core burners but I have used (and for quite a long time too) the normal Burners on my1983 P-Bass with P/J's as well as a Ken Smith Chuck Rainey 5 I used to have. The B was tapered on the 5 string bass and in my opinion was an improvement over the regular wrapped B. It seemed to be a good deal clearer and was flexible without being flabby.

I've used them more recently on my Lakland Bob Glaub with P/J's and used them through the body. They sounded great regardless of what instrument they were on and whether they were through the body or typical stringing. Again though .... these were the normal wraps.

The burner tone was fabuluous. I noticed I had to drop a notch volume-wise using a GK800 because they were much louder than the D'Addario XL's I had been using. They also lasted a whole lot longer and did no damage to my frets.

They sounded a bit more midranged than the XL's but that was actually a good thing because they cut better.

I stopped using them after switching to D'Addario slowounds (which they discontinued - major drag! They claim thier XL's sound like the slowounds which in my opinion they are not even close)

The Burners were slightly a bit stiffer than the XL's too.

Over all I think they are a terrific string. I wouldn't mind trying a tapered set myself but right now I am enjoying DR Sunbeams. Who knows ... tastes change as gigs go by .... maybe I will grab a set of tapered burners.

Jim

[Blueser]

Originally Posted by jhfishn

Blueser

I haven't used the full set of taper core burners but I have used (and for quite a long time too) the normal Burners on my1983 P-Bass with P/J's as well as a Ken Smith Chuck Rainey 5 I used to have. The B was tapered on the 5 string bass and in my opinion was an improvement over the regular wrapped B. It seemed to be a good deal clearer and was flexible without being flabby.

I've used them more recently on my Lakland Bob Glaub with P/J's and used them through the body. They sounded great regardless of what instrument they were on and whether they were through the body or typical stringing. Again though .... these were the normal wraps.

The burner tone was fabuluous. I noticed I had to drop a notch volume-wise using a GK800 because they were much louder than the D'Addario XL's I had been using. They also lasted a whole lot longer and did no damage to my frets.

They sounded a bit more midranged than the XL's but that was actually a good thing because they cut better.

I stopped using them after switching to D'Addario slowounds (which they discontinued - major drag! They claim thier XL's sound like the slowounds which in my opinion they are not even close)

The Burners were slightly a bit stiffer than the XL's too.

Over all I think they are a terrific string. I wouldn't mind trying a tapered set myself but right now I am enjoying DR Sunbeams. Who knows ... tastes change as gigs go by .... maybe I will grab a set of tapered burners.

Jim

Thanks very much for the feedback Jim. I like the Fender 8250M taper wound strings that come stock on my American Standard, but I wanted to try something with a slightly smaller E string, and perhaps a touch less tension.

I have a couple of sets of DR Sunbeams, but not sure I want to top load the bridge, and they are not taper wound to support string through.

There are few options in the way of high quality taper wound Nickels, so I am going to give the Smith strings a shot as well just to see how they compare to the Fender strings. Nothing wrong with the tone of the Fender strings at all, as I really like them. Just looking at my options and try something new.

Dave

[jhfishn]

Dave .... you can string the DR Sunbeams through the bridge with no problem. I do it all the time. As a matter of fact Lakland even sells DR's from thier corporate site.


I don't really care for the medium guage and have used .45-100's for so long I always order or buy locally if I can find them the DR Sunbeam medium lights. NMLR-45 is the set guage and they come in .45.65.80.100

I love them. They feel so "normal" to me as opposed to the .85 A and 105 E of the typical sets.

Jim

[Blueser]

Originally Posted by jhfishn

Dave .... you can string the DR Sunbeams through the bridge with no problem. I do it all the time. As a matter of fact Lakland even sells DR's from thier corporate site.


I don't really care for the medium guage and have used .45-100's for so long I always order or buy locally if I can find them the DR Sunbeam medium lights. NMLR-45 is the set guage and they come in .45.65.80.100

I love them. They feel so "normal" to me as opposed to the .85 A and 105 E of the typical sets.

Jim

Wow. That's great news about the DR's. I have a couple of sets and will try them strung through the bridge on my Jazz MIA.