Best "type" of strings for a beginner

[Tony Mig.]

Out of the 4 basic types of Bass strings, i.e. roundwounds, halfrounds, flatwounds, & tapewounds....which type of Bass string is the best to learn on.

As a guitar player, I only use nickel strings, usually either Fender Original 150's, or DR's pure blues....
are nickel strings availible for Bass, and if so, what type of sound could I expect from them?

Thanks for your help....

[nickis thebest]

id go with roundwounds because thats the most widely used and probably the cheapest

[Tsal]

Depends on what you play and how. If you are going for
fingerstyle, flatwounds are sweet, but then again they're not very suitable for slapping. Flatwounds have one big advantage tho, which is you don't have to change em as often as rounds.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally posted by Tony Mig.


As a guitar player, I only use nickel strings, usually either Fender Original 150's, or DR's pure blues....
are nickel strings availible for Bass, and if so, what type of sound could I expect from them?

Yes! Over the years I have come to the conclusion that Nickel Roundwounds are the best all-round bass strings. Not too scratchy - like stainless steel - and they last a long time with a consistent sound. They are bright enough to get the classic slap/pop sounds and prominent harmonics, but are "smooth" enough for all other types of technique.

Flats can get good "old-school" tone, but won't get the slap/pop sound that you hear on recordings and are definitely more specialised - an acquired taste. Go for good quality nickel roundwounds and they will last and get any bass tone you might have heard on recordings.

[Tony Mig.]

Thanks for the advice gentlemen, as it is, I stopped by the music shop where I'm buying my new "Geddy Lee" signature Jazz Bass, and checked a few things out. The Geddy Lee J-Bass comes with Fender's stainless roundwounds, much like stainless guitar strings, they are a little hard on the fingers and the frets. Fender does indeed have nickle roundwounds, so when I pay off my new Bass, and bring it home, I'll pick up a set, and see how I like them.
I've played on flatwound guitar strings before, and they do have a sound & feel all thier own. I play classic rock, and blues, and the flats (for guitar) have more of a jazz flavor to them, plus they're damn hard to bend.
What's the deal with "Half rounds"... and "tapered" strings, are they a cross between rounds & flats?.....and are they any good for playing rock & blues?

[Edited by Tony Mig. on 01-31-2001 at 02:01 PM]

[dancehallclasher]

halfround/groundwound strings are roundwound strings that are like filed down so they feel and sound more like flats. but they're expensive. tapered just means they get smaller, taper off, at the ends so they fit into small nuts/bridges. one thing though, almost everyone i've talked to hates fender strings. i swear by ernie ball, a lot of people swear by d'addario. try one of those.

[bassdude]

D'Addario XL's nuf said.

[Tony Mig.]

A couple of other boards I post on have given the thumbs down on Fender Bass strings too. I'll have to A/B the D'Addario's and the DR's. As for Ernie Balls, I used them for years on my guitars, they're "OK" when you first put them on, but they just don't last, but that could be the climate I live in. The Southern New Jersey seashore area, with it's high salty humidity, tends to play hell on anything made of metal, especially guitar strings, by using pure nickle DR's, or Fender original 150's, they sound better, and last 10 times longer then EB's. I can only assume the same would be true for Bass strings.