D'addario nickel roundwounds?

[Roland777]

Hey there!
I'm scouting out for my next string procurement, and one viable option seems to be to construct my own set out of single strings. The issue with this is that most companies' singlestrings are rather expensive - apart from D'Addario. So in short - what do you guys think of the D'addario nickel roundwounds? How do you think they compare soundwise to Elixirs and Loriders?

[groove pump]

I've been strangely hooked on DR's for a while, but every time I get some nickel D'Addario's, they work great for me. I probably just appreciate that they make a good set of strings for a reasonable price. I go for Sunbeams over Loriders, but my main bass has a Marcus Miller set in it right now.

I think that having your custom set of D'Addario's trumps a less desireable set of gauges from a plush brand. Trying your own set out at least once is definately worth a try I think.

[david fitch]

I am hooked on D'addario XL Nickelwound roundwounds. I play many styles and can always count on them.They can be warm & mellow or bright & punchy. Great all around strings and the price is so nice ! Dave

[CElton]

I usually play DR High Beams. When I went to my local store to pick up a set, they did not have any in my guage. I wanted to give Sunbeams a try, but they did not have any in a 5 string set. So, I got a set of SIT Rock Bright Nickels and I tell you they sound awsome. My bass has Bart pick ups and they obviously love the nickel strings. I will still try a set of Sunbeams, but the SIT set is definitely a keeper and cheap too.

[Tanglehead]

I've been playing Nickel XL Rounds from D'Addario for literally decades, and while I can appreciate what DR's and others have to offer, the D'Addario always feel like coming home.

(I've got D'Addario Orchestra on my DB too, but I think I will be changing that soon to Thomastic BelCantos...at least to try, not unlike the set of DR HiBeams I had put on my MVP5...)

Tanglehead

[PilbaraBass]

for steel strings, I use D'Addario XL's exclusively...

price and availability are pluses...but they sound great and last quite a while...

I use 0.130 0.100 0.085 0.065 on a B-E-A-D bass
and 0.100 0.085 0.065 0.045 on a an E-A-D-G bass

the only other strings I'm currently using are LaBella Nylon Tape wounds on a fretless and a Semi-Acoustic.

[Roland777]

Sounds great! I'll be buying singles in the gauges of 45-60-75-105-135, tuning to (lo-hi) A-D-G-C-F. I've used a set of Elixirs 45-130 tuning to A, so we'll see how the D'Addario's hold up. I don't see the point of the absurdly tight D and A-strings offered in standard sets, so we'll see how this experiment turns out.

[Hawkeye]

I've been an avid "Anti-D'Addario" protagonist because I always thought their nickel strings had a moaning, indistinct character (some may call them "warm") that actually made it tough for me to distinguish one note from the other in the lower registers.

Then..... I bought a used Peavey Cirrus V with maple fretboard and maple / alder body and surprise... the D'Addarios that it was strung with didn't sound too bad. Hmmm.

I thought they sounded like @$$ on a couple of Fenders (MIA Precision & MIM JazzV) and Godin Freeway & BGV basses (in fact, for some reason I really hated them) but they are decent, if not exemplary, on my Cirrus.

I've been thinking of their half rounds for the Cirrus. By the way, would the Cirrus (with 35" scale and top-load-only bridge) need the D'Addarios long scale or Super long scale strings?

[lavaman67]

I think DR Sunbeams are the best nickelwound out there.

[greenboy]

Originally Posted by Roland777

Sounds great! I'll be buying singles in the gauges of 45-60-75-105-135, tuning to (lo-hi) A-D-G-C-F. I've used a set of Elixirs 45-130 tuning to A, so we'll see how the D'Addario's hold up. I don't see the point of the absurdly tight D and A-strings offered in standard sets, so we'll see how this experiment turns out.

I've been building my own variations of balanced-tension sets for years now. Currently on 40-52-70-95-130 (B/A Hipshot) on both my fretlesses and really liking the results after going both lighter and heavier.

[PilbaraBass]

Originally Posted by Roland777

Sounds great! I'll be buying singles in the gauges of 45-60-75-105-135, tuning to (lo-hi) A-D-G-C-F. I've used a set of Elixirs 45-130 tuning to A, so we'll see how the D'Addario's hold up. I don't see the point of the absurdly tight D and A-strings offered in standard sets, so we'll see how this experiment turns out.

on a cheap 34" scale bass, my 0.130 D'Add XL makes a decent B, so I don't see any reason why a 0.135 can't make for a decent A.

I have some comments about your gauge choices, however.

for the A D and F, I think those are good gauge choices

for the G (2 semi's down from the "normal" A), I think 0.85 would probably be better.

for the C (2 semi's down from the "normal" D), I think 0.65 would be a better choice

with that said...the D'Addario XL160-5 has the following gauges
(high to low)

XLB050 G 0.050
XLB070 D 0.070
XLB085 A 0.085
XLB105 E 0.105
XLB135 B 0.135

...I think this standard set would work quite well for what you're after

[Roland777]

Originally Posted by PilbaraBass

...I think this standard set would work quite well for what you're after

No man, you're missing the point. Check the tension on those strings - they're way out of line, hence the lighter D and A-strings (which I tune to C and G). The reason I'm going singles is because I want a more uniform string-tension, with the added effect of treblier slap-attack on the strings with the lightened gauge. I did another calculation and came up with the following gauges, which I'll use for the next string-order:

"35
F - .045 - 36lbs
C - .060 - 36.1lbs
G - .080 - 35.3lbs
D - .105 - 33.9lbs
A - .130/.135 - 29lbs/30.3lbs

I haven't decided on a .130 or a .135 - I've tried a .130 tuned to A before, which worked good, if not great. Sure, more tension would be good too, but I don't want to ruin the slaptone due to the added string-weight of the .135. I'll think some more on the low A, but the rest of the gauges are set.

[Lorenzini]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

I've been an avid "Anti-D'Addario" protagonist because I always thought their nickel strings had a moaning, indistinct character (some may call them "warm") that actually made it tough for me to distinguish one note from the other in the lower registers.

Then..... I bought a used Peavey Cirrus V with maple fretboard and maple / alder body and surprise... the D'Addarios that it was strung with didn't sound too bad. Hmmm.

I thought they sounded like @$$ on a couple of Fenders (MIA Precision & MIM JazzV) and Godin Freeway & BGV basses (in fact, for some reason I really hated them) but they are decent, if not exemplary, on my Cirrus.

I've been thinking of their half rounds for the Cirrus. By the way, would the Cirrus (with 35" scale and top-load-only bridge) need the D'Addarios long scale or Super long scale strings?

Super long scale man.
D'Addario is so stingy with their string lengths. One of the worst things about the company imo.

D'Addario strings are alright, but not great on all basses also imo. They sound a bit fluffy on my jazz bass but sound wonderful on my Yamaha TRB6p

For price you basically cannot go wrong - perfect string per dollar.

[Roland777]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

I've been thinking of their half rounds for the Cirrus. By the way, would the Cirrus (with 35" scale and top-load-only bridge) need the D'Addarios long scale or Super long scale strings?

I don't know, mate. IF your Cirrus happens to have the exact same distances as my "35 BTB555, standard long-scale strings will fit - however, they'll start tapering over the nut. Nothing that impacts on playability, however!

[SGT. Pepper]

D'Addario's are a basic all around good string. I like the XL Nickel rounds and the Chromes.

[PilbaraBass]

Originally Posted by Roland777

No man, you're missing the point. Check the tension on those strings - they're way out of line, hence the lighter D and A-strings (which I tune to C and G). The reason I'm going singles is because I want a more uniform string-tension, with the added effect of treblier slap-attack on the strings with the lightened gauge. I did another calculation and came up with the following gauges, which I'll use for the next string-order:

"35
F - .045 - 36lbs
C - .060 - 36.1lbs
G - .080 - 35.3lbs
D - .105 - 33.9lbs
A - .130/.135 - 29lbs/30.3lbs

I haven't decided on a .130 or a .135 - I've tried a .130 tuned to A before, which worked good, if not great. Sure, more tension would be good too, but I don't want to ruin the slaptone due to the added string-weight of the .135. I'll think some more on the low A, but the rest of the gauges are set.

"way" out of line???? not exactly

first off...your values are not correct...here is a comparison of "my" set vs. "your" set...with the correct numbers

F - 0.045 35lb F - 0.050 43.6lb
C - 0.060 35.1lb C - 0.070 49.1lb
G - 0.080 34.3lb G - 0.085 39.5lb
D - 0.105 32.9lb D - 0.105 32.9lb
A - 0.135 29.4lb A - 0.135 29.4lb

The A and D strings are the same (of course)
The G string is only 5lbs more (you wouldn't notice it)
The C string is definitely out quite a bit
But the F string, at 8lbs would be tighter (but, because of its thinness, you'd hardly notice it)...

All in all, my set has 195lbs of total tension...your set has 167lbs of total tension...(mine has 28lbs or 16% more tension)...

I stick to my comments that this standard set will work QUITE well, as on equal scale instruments you DO want a little more tension on the higher strings...
I do think the C is workable, but IMO a bit tight...the rest would work just fine...

[Roland777]

Originally Posted by PilbaraBass

"way" out of line???? not exactly

A bit of a disclaimer first. No overly hostile attitude intended. That being said:
Yes, way out of line. If you take a look at the set you just mentioned and don't find it terribly unbalanced tension-wise (as well as feel-wise - plucking from the low D going to the G-string feels like hitting a brickwall with standard gauges), I really don't see how anything'll make you understand.
As far as the tension of the gauges I've listed goes - I'm on "35, and I've checked and doublechecked the gauges with Green's string-tension spreadsheet.
Even if they're off by one single pound, which you complain about, that doesn't make a significant difference, seeing how you wave off EIGHT POUNDS of string-tension from one string to another. As far as total set-difference goes, mine has at most 7.1lbs of string-tension difference, while the standard set has almost 20lbs of tension difference between the tightest and loosest string! Does that seem remotely right, to you?! I'll tell you that it feels like crap. The whole reason I'm getting custom gauges is to balance out the entire tension, and get better slaptone on the G and C-strings. The total tension difference between the sets when you add everything up has jack-sh¤# to do with the issue.

[KarateKid25]

I like them. I have recently put a set on my Stingray. I swapped from GHS Boomers and have been pretty happy since.

Bit bummed about one thing though. I just bought a set of lights (.045 .065 .080 . 100 . 130) for my 5 string Warwick Thumb and because the bridge ends of the string aren't tapered, they won't fit the Wick's bridge...

Looks like no D'Addario for the Thumb.

[7flat5]

Originally Posted by PilbaraBass

On equal scale instruments you DO want a little more tension on the higher strings...

I am not understanding what you mean by this. Could you explain? I'd appreciate it.

[LifeIsBass]

Originally Posted by KarateKid25

Bit bummed about one thing though. I just bought a set of lights (.045 .065 .080 . 100 . 130) for my 5 string Warwick Thumb and because the bridge ends of the string aren't tapered, they won't fit the Wick's bridge...

Looks like no D'Addario for the Thumb.

I've been using D'Addario's for my Thumb (I do use a lighter guage than you). Not the B string, though. It's a Warwick Red Label (leftover from a pack I received free with the bass).

So, anybody know which brands will fit 'Wicks? How about any sites that will sell single B strings that will fit 'em?