Humm... need some advice here.

[Roland777]

Again, I've put on the Elixirs which my bass shipped out with, a "35 BTB555 and they're gauged .45-.130. I tune down a step to A D G C F. Now, JUST RECENTLY, after these strings have endured roughly 7-8 months in total of pretty rough playing have I found THAT one golden tone I'm looking for.
When I'm playing at lower volumes (EQ flat), I hit this perfect spot where the I have a magnificent dry sound, with just the right amount of bass, a good midrange and a calm, but present treble. As the volume increases, the bass takes a bigger part. The sound works great for fingerstyle to ALL kinds of music I play (funk, metal, progressive) and all techniques as well (fingerstyle, tapping, slapping)! The slap tone is present and clear, but not intrusively bright... Now, what I am wondering here is:
I love the tone that I'm getting just now! What strings should I get to get this tone from the get-go? Gauges must be available in .045-.130!

[Pilgrim]

The answer is: the strings you have on it now.

Strings change as they age, and many (myself included) feel that older is better. The strings on my basses range from about 3 years old to 34 years old. Yours evidently are just getting to the age where they sound right to you. I doubt you'll get that from any new string. However, over time the high end will fade, and if that's important to you, then you'll decide to replace them.

I bought a set of tuners just to mount them and an old bridge on a hunk of lumber and pre-stretch strings in the garage.

[Brass Nut]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

I bought a set of tuners just to mount them and an old bridge on a hunk of lumber and pre-stretch strings in the garage.

WOW! I've not heard /seen that done in years.
Used to do the same with headless nails that the ball would slip over instead of the bridge. Length was set so we could tune, let stretch, then cut. The nail's side of the tuners were set to length of finished string. Essentially we'd always have a set stretching, one on the guitar, and the backup in the case all cut to length without the curly-Q.
Danged,,, that was awhile(?) ago. (I feel,,, "historic". )

[Roland777]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

The answer is: the strings you have on it now.

Strings change as they age, and many (myself included) feel that older is better. The strings on my basses range from about 3 years old to 34 years old. Yours evidently are just getting to the age where they sound right to you. I doubt you'll get that from any new string. However, over time the high end will fade, and if that's important to you, then you'll decide to replace them.

Problem here is that these strings have taken an awful amount of time to get to this spot tonewise. Not to mention that with the nature of most strings, the specific spot I'm talking about only lasts for about a week before the high end and balance of the tone deteriorates and shifts, respectively.
So, in conclusion, you could say that I'm looking for a dry string with a balanced tone. Not zingy, not warm, but dry.