Brightest Roundwounds?

All_¥our_Bass · #1 10-23-2010, 03:00 PM

What do you think are the brightest roundwounds-and I mean ones that keep the brightness, not "sound super bright for a day and then sound 'warm' for the rest of their life".

For reference my strings of choice are Elixir nanowebs, and Stainless Steel Rotosounds come in second.

I use a 95 75 60 40 set on my four banger tuned to DGCF.

**duff84** · #2 10-23-2010, 03:34 PM

i like elixirs but i wouldnt call em the brightest. id say dr hi beam stainless steels or dean markley blue steels would be a point. Rotosounds do tend to lose the brightness fairly quickly. i hear good things about dunlop strings.

markanini · #3 10-23-2010, 05:18 PM

You'd want to check out a set where the core touches the saddle. Rototsound and Dean Markley makes them AFAIK.

knucklehead G · #4 10-23-2010, 05:26 PM

I had a set of Warwick Red Labels on an old five-string J for a while and I kept waiting for them to warm up, and finally gave up and put the nickels back on.

darkstorm · #5 10-24-2010, 05:56 PM

Dean markley blue steels. Brightest roundwounds made I do believe. They do also still have crack of thunder lows to them. Their broken in sound is more like other stainless steels brand new treble wise.

VroomVroom · #6 10-25-2010, 08:56 AM

Fodera or MTD (aka Dean Markley).

bassgod0dmw · #7 10-26-2010, 08:23 AM

DR stainless strings. I use lo riders and find they are pretty bright and last a long time. I've heard lots of good things about hi beams as well.

BassLife77 · #8 11-01-2010, 11:46 AM

those DM Blue Steels are the brightest I ever used. they are blinding bright. after a few weeks they break in nicely and mellow out

jasper383 · #9 11-01-2010, 12:16 PM

The Dean Markleys or La Bella Hard Rockin' Steels are the brightest in my experience.

**BullHorn** · #10 11-01-2010, 04:07 PM

Elixirs definitelly last the longest, hands down. OTOH, I don't like their sound much.

meatwad · #11 11-01-2010, 06:56 PM

Rotosound SS seemed the brightest IME, and lasted more than a few days. Different folks chemistry cause string life to vary, and luckily mine isn't as bad as others, so YMMV.

pickles · #12 11-01-2010, 08:19 PM

After a few weeks, DR hi-beams will be by far the brightest and best sounding IME. The coated strings do ok too, but never sound quite right, and if you use a pick you kill them.

Brightest first day strings are Dean Markley Blue Steels, D'Addario Pro Steels, and Sadowsky Black Stainless ... but after a few weeks they turn thuddier and the hi-beams keep singing. For months.

Rotos are a lot like hi-beams, actually, but don't last as long and are rougher texture.

lug · #13 11-02-2010, 09:01 AM

D'Addario Pro Steels are the brightest I've tried.

Philbiker · #14 11-02-2010, 09:59 AM

DR High Beams are horriffically bright. They'll squeak and clank like nothing else. Also, Rotosound stainless steel strings are bright, too. And they'll destroy your frets as a bonus.

If you want "brightness" why not play guitar instead of bass?

All_¥our_Bass · #15 11-27-2010, 07:34 PM

^Cause I find the notes sound a lot better on a longer instrument.
I do own a guitar and I think the bass sounds better.

I've been this way since the beginning, I never got on with rounder tones that obscured the notes attack. I'm a pick guy too.

CrimsonGhost · #16 11-28-2010, 09:54 AM

Roto PSD (piano string design) by far the brightest I have ever tried.