Do you like stainless steel strings?

[Busker]

Just wondering your opinions. I haven't been playing bass long enough to know the ins and outs of tone as it pertains to strings. But I like nickel plated steel - sounds good to me.

Anyway, I'm playing five string basses now, and I happened to get four sets of DR LoRiders in stainless, on a trade deal. I figured, great! I'm set for strings for a long time. I have the DR LoRiders (stainless) set on my 35 inch scale Yamaha TRB 5 string, but a set of nickel plated Fender on my other Yamaha, the RBX765A 5 string (34 inch scale). The RBX sounds warmer to me, and its not just me. The singer in my band has made the same comment, the RBX sounds warmer. But is it likely due to the strings? Scale length? Different pickups? (outwardly, the pickups look identical on each, but the TRB's pickups have 3 leads, the RBX's have two, and I think that means active and passive respectively).

I guess I would need to install a Fender nickel plated set on the TRB to know for sure, but I don't want to be experimenting if you more experienced people don't think the strings will make that much difference.

[madbassplaya]

i don't. they're too bright. i prefer the warmth of nickel.

although i have been using nickelplated steel strings lately. Fender 8250s. I like them.

I would say the strings have something to do with your sound. Try some nickel ones. DR makes a nickel string. the sunbeam I believe? I hear they're great. You can always sell the stainless ones in the accessories section.

[BTBplayer]

I love them , won't use anything but , Roto sound RS665LD stainless round wounds .
Great tone last forever ,play great !

[ihateusernames]

sure i like em sometimes. prefer nickel lo-riders but will grab fatbeams on occassion.

[James Hart]

yes I do... and I'd play dead stainless rounds before I'd put on new nickel rounds.

[Ampeg SVT]

I like the tone they get, they die a bit fast for me though.

I think the only exception is Daddario ProSteels.

[bassteban]

Yes.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Roundwound steels are my strings of choice for my fretted basses, and the best ones I've played are DR Hi-Beams.

[steve4765630]

I like them, but nickel last longer for me. I actually used steel for years and recently switched. Also, my basses are naturally bright, so nickel works better.

[Lesfunk]

Originally Posted by James Hart

yes I do... and I'd play dead stainless rounds before I'd put on new nickel rounds.

You damn right

[Lesfunk]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

Roundwound steels are my strings of choice for my fretted basses, and the best ones I've played are DR Hi-Beams.

So are you

[El Tookay]

Every bass is different, and strings play a major role in the overall tone. There is no one string that does it all on every bass. Examples? My #1, go-to bass, a G&L L2000, demands nothing less than DR FatBeams, and will tolerate Ken Smith Rock Masters. My Gibson Thunderbird sounds like crap with the same strings, but becomes a monster with Boomers-(that's right, i said Boomers.). The Stingray gets Markley Nickel Blue Steels, and it sounds butt-awful with Slinky's. The fretless L2K wears LaBella tapewounds, and the ol' roadhog 84 L2K still hasn't made up its mind, although DR SunBeams seem to work this week.

Another example....

Many years ago, I was big-time into Ricks, and had 3 4001's all built within months of each other. The black '73 wore LaBella hard Rockin' Steels, the maple 74 wore D'Addario nickels, and the blue 74 wore RotoSound. Ricks are particularly fussy, but all basses will use different strings to find their 'voice', be it using nickels, stainless, flats, tape-wounds,or whatever. Use your ears....

[Synth177]

I love stainless steel strings. I play in a thrash metal band so the brightness of the strings is crucial so I cut into the mix and don't end up Tom Araya. Also SS strings sound best when they start dieing.

[varunkapahi]

i dig SS strings

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by Busker

But is it likely due to the strings?

Yes, I would say so. In general, steels are more bright and nickels are more warm. But this varies quite a bit from one make & model to another, so over the long term a certain amount of experimentation is well advised.

I experimented with stainless steel strings for a number of years because I like the added "zing" they provide. But I could never find a set that didn't also sound "clacky" and overly metallic. So I went back to nickels...until I finally tried some DR stainless.

Now I've got a set of SS Lo-Riders on my fretted bass and a set of FatBeams on my fretless, and am quite happy with the tone. If anything, the Lo-Riders are actually more subdued than I would expect, but for the smoothness, longevity and acceptable degree of "zing", I would say that the positives far outweigh any negatives. They're keepers...

MM

[capnsandwich]

Love SS strings. Great for slap and more modern tones like you find in jazz and gospel. My favorite SS strings are Sadowsky Blue Label SS strings. Best Low B I've ever played. All in all it depends on what you like and what tone you're looking for. If you want a more vintage tone then nickel may be the way to go, but if you're like me and love a good modern slap tone then I'd say get some SS and rock out.

[phat daddy]

I have 2 Lakland 55-94's with ash/maple and Bartolinis and they don't wear the same strings. I have nickels on the brighter one and stainless steels on the bassier one. Each bass has it's own set of natural timbres. Strings are the first step in showing a bass's faults and strenghts and taming the peaks and valleys sonically generated from each piece with string choice.

Lovin the nickels on the brighter bass, for sure, but nickels don't work at all on the other one. Funny how that works out.

[ljazz]

Originally Posted by El Tookay

Every bass is different, and strings play a major role in the overall tone. There is no one string that does it all on every bass. Examples? My #1, go-to bass, a G&L L2000, demands nothing less than DR FatBeams, and will tolerate Ken Smith Rock Masters. My Gibson Thunderbird sounds like crap with the same strings, but becomes a monster with Boomers-(that's right, i said Boomers.). The Stingray gets Markley Nickel Blue Steels, and it sounds butt-awful with Slinky's. The fretless L2K wears LaBella tapewounds, and the ol' roadhog 84 L2K still hasn't made up its mind, although DR SunBeams seem to work this week.

Another example....

Many years ago, I was big-time into Ricks, and had 3 4001's all built within months of each other. The black '73 wore LaBella hard Rockin' Steels, the maple 74 wore D'Addario nickels, and the blue 74 wore RotoSound. Ricks are particularly fussy, but all basses will use different strings to find their 'voice', be it using nickels, stainless, flats, tape-wounds,or whatever. Use your ears....

+1!!!!

I won't play with anything but SS on my Jazz bass (sporting SS LoRiders most of the time)..... but absolutely hate them on my L2K. TISA's sound fantastic on that bass. I switched them out this morning so I could hear the SA's on the Jazz, and it was hideous..... Even worse than DA XL's...... which just don't sound quite as good as SA's on the L2K. I loved DA Chromes on my Jazz, but didn't like TIJF's on it...... exactly opposite on my SB1.

I've said this a lot in several threads lately. You have to find strings that bring out the character of your bass..... there is no one string fits all solution.

Ljazz

[CapnSev]

No.

[Disappear]

I have them currently stringed on all my basses.

My first bass is a piece of crap but I like the snappiness it gets with the stainless. I've tried several nickel ones but just not the sound that I like. I find they're crisp and really clean sounding.

They came with the Bongo I have and I couldn't think of a better string for them. EB strings on a MM bass.

However, I'm starting to dislike them on my fretless, just not the tone I'm going for.
So naturally, it's a matter of taste. They must make them for a reason, right?