Coated, yea or nea - Page 2

Jonesy · #21 10-26-2008, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ampeg SVT

Whats wrong with cleartone?
do they not retain their brightness like Elixers?

Ya, what's wrong with Cleartones?
I just put on a set and I like the feel and sound just fine. I broke an E string on their 2nd gig though, so I'm a little concerned on their longevity. I do play hard and have broken a lot of strings over the years, but rarely so quickly to an E string with only about 10 hours of playing on it.

I have about a dozen guitars and basses. Since I hate changing strings, but like the sound of newish strings, I've been experimenting with coated strings on all of them over the last 5 years.

For what it's worth, I've tried 5 different brands of Coated strings on my P-bass now.
In order of preference, here's my impressions:
1. D'Addario EXPs.... I like these strings on bass and I like their EXPs for Accoustic Guitar quite a bit as well. They lasted a good long time and didn't feel too different from uncoated strings. I think I'm gonna go back to these and stick with 'em for a while.
2. Cleartones... Apart from my concern about longevity, I like these strings just fine. I have another set to go through so we'll see what I think about them in a few months.
3. Elixers...These lasted a long time, and sounded OK, but they do have a certain slippery feel that some don't care for but I grew to like after a while. If you don't get to play as much as you'd like and don't have the callous on your fingertips that you'd like, I'd recommend these as they are easy on the fingers. I also use Elixers on all my 6 string electric guitars. They keep their tone forever if your guitar only gets played a few times a year.
4. DR Extra Black Beauties... Really thought these were a complete waste of money. But then, I've never really been knocked out by DR's in general. They just don't feel "right" to me. The coating started flaking off almost immediately. They didn't last particularly long. About as long as any uncoated string I thought.
5. GHS Infinity Steel... Before looking into coated strings, I used GHS bassics and/or boomers and Brite Flats for years and like 'em just fine.
But Geez these Infinity Steels were awful. Do a slide on the strings and you get a rope burn! If Elixers feel a little too slippery, these feel to sticky and sticky is much worse for me. I'm a pretty frugal guy and it breaks my heart to not get my money's worth out of anything. This is the 2nd time in 20 years that I threw away a set of bass strings with only a couple of hours playing on them. (the first time was a set of Carvin Strings. Yuck.)

In my experience, coated strings are just like un-coated strings in that there is a quite a bit of variation in feel between the brands. Don't give up on them just cause you tried one or two brands.

toobalicious · #22 10-27-2008, 05:55 AM

the single biggest problem i have with coated strings (well, i only have experience with elixir) is that (especially on a poorly shielded instrument) the player is insulated from ground--- i.e. the grounded bridge does nothing, since touching the strings does not create electrical contact. can be a really really big deal in the studio, and obnoxious at best on an electrically "noisy" stage. IME

pjmuck · #23 10-29-2008, 12:40 PM

If you happen to like Cleartones or they work for your specific bass, then more power to you, but I found them to be dull, lifeless, and non-distinct in tone. The Elixirs gave me much more punch, top end, and clarity, and lasted longer too.

NoFrets4Me · #24 10-30-2008, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjmuck

I personally like Elixirs. They last a long time and still have plenty of bite and brightness to them, at least for my taste.

+1
I've been using Elixirs for many years and am very happy with them. I love their feel and tone on my fretless. I could imagine that the coating would be more likely to wear off on a fretted (or picked) bass, but I have no problems with the coat flaking on my fretless.

jsingles · #25 10-30-2008, 02:09 PM

Elixir is your friend

slippery??? they dont feel too slippery to me, other rounds just feel like SANDPAPER to me!

I like em slippery!

Big Mother · #26 10-31-2008, 12:45 PM

I've got a set of DR BB"s on my Roscoe.
I was hesitant to try them, have always played nickel rounds.
Personally, I am very impressed with them, they sound great, last long, and I seem to enjoy the slightly more tactile feel of them.

my $.02

Big Mother

**Engine207** · #27 07-25-2009, 04:58 PM

I just got my first two 5ers and I'm trying to decide which to keep. The Ibby came with Elixers and, never having played a coated string before, I'm sliding all over the fretboard. They may be cool for fretless technique, but my play is so sloppy with these greasy wires I can't properly evaluate the bass under them.

Is there anything I can do to reduce "finger skate" (I know, I know...practice more, spend some time getting used to them, etc., etc...)? Can I wash, boil, use some solvent, or otherwise make them less slippery? I'd simply change them out, but it would be a waste to drop $35 on strings if I decide to keep the Fender instead...

Meatrus · #28 07-26-2009, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fretlessguy

actually enjoy changing strings and setting up basses and guitars. it is a stress reliever for me.

Lol, me too! Kind of a guilty pleasure.

Jefenator · #29 07-26-2009, 01:57 PM

Going 9 months on a set of Elixr's now. They play and sound fine but the coating is all coming off and unravelling where I pluck and fret the most. Just a minor gripe but it does look kind of gross and I don't get that with conventional strings at all.

YMMV - especially if you're not a not a lazy slob like me who runs his rounds for years between changes.

Number27 · #30 07-26-2009, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjmuck

Stay FAR away from Cleartone though!

amen. utter garbage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjmuck

If you happen to like Cleartones or they work for your specific bass, then more power to you, but I found them to be dull, lifeless, and non-distinct in tone.

me too, plus the g-string was doa

sloasdaylight · #31 07-27-2009, 07:33 PM

I use DR Black Beauties on all of my basses minus a fretless J that has Rotosound Jazz 77s, so as you can probably tell, I absolutely adore them. I like the feel, the tone is just right for what I play (prog metal on an ESP B-305, soon to be an EBMM Bongo 6 HH) and they look badass to boot.

The BBs are definitely my favorite coated string, followed by the elixir nano-web or w/e they're called

xk3smith · #32 07-27-2009, 08:15 PM

I have a set of Elixers that came with my BTB I purchased a few months ago...... I can't wait to change them!!!! Its as if they are dipped in baby oil!!! Don't care for them at all. I wanna try some MTD's or Ken Smith's.

**Engine207** · #33 07-30-2009, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xk3smith

I have a set of Elixers that came with my BTB I purchased a few months ago...... I can't wait to change them!!!! Its as if they are dipped in baby oil!!! Don't care for them at all. I wanna try some MTD's or Ken Smith's.

Yup...I just swapped mine out for a set of Curt Mangan Fusion-Matched Nickels. Not that I love the Mangans (they were a gift), but for me, anything is better than the eel-like Elixer Nanos that were on it.

I was beginning to think that my difficulty in playing my first 5er (Ibby BTB455) was that I sucked! Not that I don't suck, but I suck much less when my fingers stay where I put them!!

frozilla · #34 07-30-2009, 11:33 AM

I like DR Bootzillas. Totally yay.

Chuck Sylvester · #35 07-30-2009, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toobalicious

the single biggest problem i have with coated strings (well, i only have experience with elixir) is that (especially on a poorly shielded instrument) the player is insulated from ground--- i.e. the grounded bridge does nothing, since touching the strings does not create electrical contact. can be a really really big deal in the studio, and obnoxious at best on an electrically "noisy" stage. IME

Agree. Especially with single coil pickups when they aren't exactly balanced at the same volume.
Chuck

tdurden · #36 07-30-2009, 09:37 PM

No coating. The coating deadens the sound. GHS bass boomers are not that expensive, sound great and last for a reasonable amount of time.

sunbeast · #37 07-30-2009, 10:05 PM

I played in a heavy progressive metal band for 4 years with nothing but Black Beauties. They never have the tone of brand new steel rounds, but keep their nicely worn SS sound for a good 4 months for me (as compared to about a month with Hi-Beams in my experience). I really liked their tone better than any other rounds in that band (it is a pretty unique tone, closest to my ears to a slightly brighter TI Superalloy based on what I've tried), though I wouldn't recommend them for someone looking for a super bright string.

I also wouldn't really recommend them to a pick player, as the coating wears off really fast when using a pick (the coating will wear anyway, especially at the frets, but picks make it happen much faster). I went back and forth playing pick or fingerstyle in that band (it was sometimes just slightly too fast for my fingerstyle at that time- almost still would be for some of the lines I wrote!), and when I picked the coating would wear noticeably faster.

Karl