Homerun, D'Addario!

[Ezmar]

I think I'm going to try D'Addarios next. I just tried DRs, and they're great strings, but not what I'm looking for. I usually use Rotos, so I'll probably pick up a set of ProSteels and see how those compare. I've heard great things about D'Addario, and want to give them a go.

Anyone have any experience with how long the D'Addario nickels last before they start to sound a little dull? I usually use steels, but if the nickels don't get too thunky, I might take a look at those.

[madbassplaya]

Originally Posted by Ezmar

I think I'm going to try D'Addarios next. I just tried DRs, and they're great strings, but not what I'm looking for. I usually use Rotos, so I'll probably pick up a set of ProSteels and see how those compare. I've heard great things about D'Addario, and want to give them a go.

Anyone have any experience with how long the D'Addario nickels last before they start to sound a little dull? I usually use steels, but if the nickels don't get too thunky, I might take a look at those.

Different people will say different things. I can usually get a solid month to two months out of a set before changing. I've heard others say 4-5.

As inexpensive as they are, give em a try!

[bunkaroo]

I switched over to steels last year after using XL's on my many of my basses. For whatever reasons nickels just do not last long for me. It's not that they don't ring out, but the zing goes quickly. I don't sweat a ton, I wash my hands before playing and I constantly wipe down my strings, but it still happens. I've had this problem with DR nickels, EB Slinkys and even the nickel-steel hybrid Circle K's.

I'm starting to think it's more dead skin cells from dry hands than oil or acid.

I do like the ProSteels but there's a little more variety in the gauges available for XL's for making custom sets.

I guess it all comes down to expectations. I don't expect them to sound like they're new out of the package forever, but how long (in playing time) on average do you expect the strings to have a decent zing?

[Doodaddy]

While I've had pretty bland results with D'Addario, Jason at http://www.bassstringsonline.com seems to be a top notch guy!

I may try a set of these balanced D'Addario strings on a bass for funsies.

[agreatheight]

I am a DR guy for bass strings, but D'Addarios are my go to second choice. I use D'Addarios for guitar, though! Good company, good strings!

[eriky4003]

Don't want to de-rail this thread, just jump on it.
Anyone try the D'addario ECB81 or 82 which are flatwounds? I've got a Spector Fretless calling for that tone.

[bunkaroo]

I have Chromes on my Carvin LB75 right now - they're pretty nice. Very smooth, and higher tension than nickels of the same gauge. They would be a nice choice for fretless.

I am not a flatwound aficionado but my impression has been Chromes are a little different than your typical stainless steel flats.

I will say I put a set of DR Sunbeams on my Carvin fretless and I love them. They're not flats but they really bring out that "mwah" sound. I had previously had D'Addario half-rounds on my fretless and they were OK but did not really bring out the "mwah". I never tried Chromes on it though - maybe when the Sunbeams die.

[Mike M.]

Lately I've been experimenting with lighter gages on my 4 and 5 string and a lot of it has been with D'Addario's. Fact is, I've got an order with Jason that should be here tomorrow. I also like the idea of making your own sets to find what works.

So far I'm really liking the XL Nickel strings. They're very comfortable to the touch, not too bright but not at all dull and they're very reasonably priced compared to some others. Don't know what the final outcome will be but I can't knock D'Addario's at all.

[bunkaroo]

Yeah one thing not up for debate - the prices on D'Addario through BSO are fantastic.

[eriky4003]

Thanks, bunkaroo.

[Cougmeister]

Anyone know if there's a place to get balanced chromes?

[bunkaroo]

It doesn't appear that any of their prepackaged sets of Chromes are balanced, and I'm not surr they sell Chrome singles right now other than the low B and high C. If they did make them available individually it looks like 105-80-60-45 would be the closest thing to balanced with a 4 lb variance between the E and the G.

[PWRL]

I use light gauge Chromes on my Jaguar bass, which seem to suit it very well. I also love their light gauge rounds a lot, too. If I ever use rounds, I use those.

[SLaPiNFuNK]

Originally Posted by Cougmeister

Anyone know if there's a place to get balanced chromes?

Good news! At NAMM D'Addario will be announcing the release of new singles! Basically all of the strings they offer will be available as singles now!

Of course I will have the full report from NAMM on Thursday. So if you are wanting to put together a balanced set of Chromes you should be able to do that sooner than later!

[ddawson2012]

Originally Posted by SLaPiNFuNK

Good news! At NAMM D'Addario will be announcing the release of new singles! Basically all of the strings they offer will be available as singles now!

Of course I will have the full report from NAMM on Thursday. So if you are wanting to put together a balanced set of Chromes you should be able to do that sooner than later!

+1

[Cougmeister]

Good to know. The reason I ask is that I have a cv precision that sounds great with chromed, but the A rings out more than the other strings. Just the properties of the bass I guess, but I thought that a balanced set based around the A might bring that ring out to the other strings. Never tried a balanced set before though, so correct me if my reasoning is wrong.

[Solarmist]

Originally Posted by SLaPiNFuNK

Good news! At NAMM D'Addario will be announcing the release of new singles! Basically all of the strings they offer will be available as singles now!

Of course I will have the full report from NAMM on Thursday. So if you are wanting to put together a balanced set of Chromes you should be able to do that sooner than later!

How much more do you think will it cost to put together a custom set with 4/5 strings than the price of a standard set?

[SLaPiNFuNK]

Originally Posted by Solarmist

How much more do you think will it cost to put together a custom set with 4/5 strings than the price of a standard set?

I do not know the pricing of the new D'Addario singles...

On the first of the new year the pricing on some bass singles did go up. I have not adjusted my sites pricing knowing that the new singles are going to be released soon (I do not want to do it twice). So we will see.

Pricing of course varies from store to store...

[sratas]

another vote for Daddario XL.
I have been using them on guitar for 25 ys, on bass I preferred DR because of the lower and more balanced tension...but finally I settled on XL even for electric bass.
Dr and daddario could not be more different.
daddario are rougher, tactile and tonal perception. The sound is stiffer than DR and this makes the bass tone very stout and authoritative. great perception of pitch, harmonics, very good sensitivity to touch variations. Compared to Sunbeams and Hi-beams, they sure sound bolder and bigger, much. much more grindy and they wear off quite nicely over time.
You can find them everywhere at a good price.
The only negative points (that forced me to look elsewhere in the past) was the high tension, especially for the G and D (unbalanced).

I'D LOVE to buy a balanced tension Xl set.
Please, do it!

[sratas]

Looked at the website...it seems that I have found a perfect candidate for my string desires...EXL220BT.
fairly light gauge...
hope that these new strings will be available soon in my country....till then I will like to hear other experiencies