Bench racing

[Thomquietwolf]

Back in my drag racing days
I could walk into any speed shop in the US
And
Strike up a conversation about any of these three
Oil
Plugs
Camshafts
Always good for 45-60 minutes of conjecture
Now that I've taken up electric bass and know nothing of bass strings
I'm needin some opinions
Let's bench race

If I live long enough, I'll be buying a Cello

[HitByABlimp]

Well, you've got your flats and round-wounds. Flats are more old school, sound a bit more thumpy and mellow and have usually higher tension then round-wounds. I prefer round-wounds, because of the richer sound and texture. These mostly come as stainless steel or nickel plated stainless steel, which differs in tone and feel. Round-wounds can come with a coating to reduce the amount of gunk accumulating between the strings windings, which helps maintaining the 'new string' sound. I however, like the sound of old strings way more. New strings have this tonal feature called zing (bright, treblely). Some like it, some hate it. Strings will get rid of this 'zing' after using them for some time, also called the break-in period.

Something like this??

[oyobass]

Different types of basses respond better than others to different brands/types of strings. Strings that sound great on say, a humbucker equipped Cort Curbow bass will sound overly bright on a Fender Jazz.
Finding the tone you like can be tough. I find that the sound I end up using is a warm but pesent growl. I have had to balance the bright sound I like while practicing at home with a deeper sound that will propel the groove when I'm playing with a band.
Finding the right strings is a journey that will take different directions, depending on the choices you make with instruments, amplification, musical style and the people you play with. Lotsa fun though!

[GODSBASSMAN]

I am always experimenting the bass string choice / comparison journey and have found IMHO that strings contribute as much if not more to "bass sound" differences, tonality, harmonic content, actual volume, feel, etc than any other component in/on the instrument. A journey well travelled.

[5stringernie]

buy an amp/preamp and it'll be like putting a Garrett gt35r on it