D'Addario new for 2013 thread! - Page 11

matante · #**201** 02-15-2013, 06:51 PM

It's a matter of preference. In terms of sound, the fatter the string, the brighter it will be.

Some people want a balanced tone across all strings. Some may want the E and A to have a little extra brightness. Some would rather have their D and G as the brighter ones. There's no right or wrong answer.

Britbonic · #**202** 02-15-2013, 07:27 PM

Ok first of all, a belated shout out to Jason on getting a set of these out to me so quickly and at a great price. I'm a customer for life (though I don't change strings that often

)

I've never been a big D'Addario fan in general but I was pleasantly surprised by these. Put them on my PBass which is essentially a NOS 2008 with a 2012 neck. I love the original old style Fender strings (with the grey silk) that came on this bass but they needed replacing. First put a set of Sunbeams, my usual go to string on it. Not bad but felt a little too loose. Swapped out for the new D'Addarios just before a gig where we tune down 1/2 step. Wow, was really surprised at how much I liked them. I never really thought about the even tension thing before but will say that I really like these strings on my PBass. Sound great, very balanced.

Now if I can just find some of those old fender strings...

lolmont · #**203** 02-15-2013, 08:00 PM

Came in today

not gonna put them on yet. But I'm excited to try them.

CaballoViejo · #**204** 02-15-2013, 09:51 PM

Just fitted the EXL170BT_XLB145 medium 42 lbs set to my Ibanez Mikro 5er, after having first moved the bridge about 7 mm further away from the neck.

Not only does it now play extremely well, with no excessive floppiness to the B and E strings, but it can also be set up with close enough to perfect intonation.

Couldn't be happier!

JimmyM · #**205** 02-15-2013, 11:20 PM

Well I managed to restring two more of the 5 basses that get XL's. But instead of tweaking the truss rod right away like I did when I got the set on my P Lyte installed, I waited overnight to see if I could get away without tweaking it. No such luck. I'm going to have to do a complete setup on all of them. I'll tell you, setting up that P Lyte has been aggravating, and it's taken me a week to perfect it. But perfect it is, so I'm sure these hours I'm about to spend on these next two basses will be worth it...

Times like this I wish I still only owned one bass.

FourBanger · #**206** 02-17-2013, 01:11 PM

After playing around with the 45-100 set of Boomers that came on my used Rbx170, the 45-105 set of Slinky's I took off my last identical bass then lost while moving and refound, and playing a neighbor's MIM Jazz with Fender 40-100 7150s I've come to some conclusions about how I feel about string tension and balance.

I like the tension and feel of the bigger 65 and 85 middle strings and the 45 certainly felt more to my liking than the 40 for the G. I would certainly like to try a 110 for the E, as even with the 45-105 set the 105 felt like I could've used a little more tension.

Too bad 99% of strings go from 45 straight to 50 for the G, as with the little tension info that is out there that appears to be a huge jump, higher even than I like the 65 and 85. The couple 47s and 48s I found were not strings I am sure I would like.

I am glad I did this because I was all about balancing the numbers before, even though we only have D's numbers, and I was all set to either order the 170BT set of make my own 45-60-80-110 set from Bassstringsonline.com.

Based on feel I think I'll try a simpler substitution first, going 45-65-85-110 to keep the tension up there a bit more than the 170BT is at but less than their extra beefy 160BT set.

Now I need to wait for my next handyman gig to come through, I wasted the last $30 I was going to put towards strings on beer and Valentine's stuff...

JimmyM · #**207** 02-17-2013, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FourBanger

Now I need to wait for my next handyman gig to come through, I wasted the last $30 I was going to put towards strings on beer and Valentine's stuff...

Doesn't sound wasted to me if you got drunk and serviced

tylerwylie · #**208** 02-17-2013, 05:33 PM

Really thinking about putting together a 6 string set with the balanced .045-.107 set, add a .135 and .032

JimmyM · #**209** 02-17-2013, 05:57 PM

Speaking of ERB's, I have a 120 B on my one and only 5-string. With the balanced 40-95 set, the 120 feels like spaghetti. But I never liked the sound of the recommended 130 B, so I guess I'll stick with the 120.

jamersonburton · #**210** 02-19-2013, 03:39 PM

Any idea if we'll get the pleasure of balanced chromes? O.o

temmrich · #**211** 02-19-2013, 03:46 PM

Rumor has it they will be releasing chromes for sale as individuals this year. So, even if they don't do balanced sets you will be able to build your own.

SLaPiNFuNK · #**212** 02-19-2013, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamersonburton

Any idea if we'll get the pleasure of balanced chromes? O.o

Waiting for the singles to become available...

They say it is any day now and I check every day for availability...

They just released a .120T XL Nickel though!

sigmafloyd · #**213** 02-19-2013, 04:38 PM

I'm thinking of maybe switching back to the normal 170. Not sure why, but the 170BT just isn't doing it for me. The first culprit is probably the 107 E string. Maybe it's just what I'm used to, but the 170 set just feels more natural to me. Thinking of either switching back or trying the 220BT.

chinjazz · #**214** 02-19-2013, 05:03 PM

For me on a 4 string Jazz bass, the EXL170BT is great with the 107 E.

At first the 107 E looked oddly bigger, but now I really like it.

The lighter tension down set was just too light for me.

CTC564 · #**215** 02-19-2013, 05:24 PM

If I wanted to achieve a "balanced set" for a 5 string 35" scale with a B string no larger than 130 what would the rest of the strings be?

Sorry if I'm repeating a question...I'd love to give these strings another chance but I'm not going to alter any of my basses (nut, etc)

Joe Smithberger · #**216** 02-19-2013, 05:26 PM

.040-.055-.070-.095-.130

chinjazz · #**217** 02-19-2013, 05:44 PM

Here's what I'll do when the time is right:

EXL170BT - Regular Light 42lbs - .045 .060 .080 .107

And add the 130 B.

No need to alter the nut slot on the E, at least for me.

CTC564 · #**218** 02-19-2013, 05:58 PM

Thanks...do they come in a XL version yet?

JimmyM · #**219** 02-20-2013, 06:06 PM

The only D'addario sets to come balanced ARE the XL's.

tylerwylie · #**220** 02-20-2013, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Speaking of ERB's, I have a 120 B on my one and only 5-string. With the balanced 40-95 set, the 120 feels like spaghetti. But I never liked the sound of the recommended 130 B, so I guess I'll stick with the 120.

With B strings I've tended to prefer round-core over hex-core. But with D'Addario it won't hurt to try a tapered .135. It might be something I end up liking.

When I hear people complain about floppy B strings on TalkBass I think "Oh man that's probably a killer B string" and I'm more inclined to give those a shot as I think they send to sound better.

Looking forward to hearing how the Sunbeam B string sounds first though on my fretless, that string has gotten a good deal of hate for being floppy on TalkBass, so it can't be that bad.