I'm starting to get a bit sick of D'addario strings

[gary m]

Originally Posted by christoph h.

I WISH I would get 2 months out of a string set...

Give a set of flats a try, and you'll get many many months of use from them. Just saying.

[christoph h.]

Originally Posted by gary m

Give a set of flats a try, and you'll get many many months of use from them. Just saying.

I actually have a bass with flats. But for most of the music I play and - more importantly - am *paid* to perform, it's not the sound that's needed or expected.

[matante]

2 months is a long time to get out of any non-coated string, especially nickels.

If you like the sound of fresh D'Addario nickels, you're most likely a stainless guy. I don't like the sound of those strings until at least 3 or 4 days after putting them on.

Try the D'Addario Pro Steels.

[darkstorm]

Rotosound swing 66 steel last longer. Might give them a try esp if you like nice growly agressive voice. The daddarios are nice but not as bright and dont last as long for me.

[billgwx]

I don't mind, in fact prefer the sound of deader but not completely dead rounds, they need some degree of growl and sustain after all. I find that wiping them down every time when finished playing with something like "The String Cleaner" buys me more time.

[eude]

I agree that 2 months is a pretty good lifespan for any string especially if you play a lot!
Cheapest strings I can find are here >> http://stores.ebay.co.uk/bassspecialties
Try coated strings if you want them to last longer, but they don't sound the same as regular strings.
I used to use DR Black Beauties but the quality control on them has gone to pot of late, so I'm trying other strings out now...

Good luck!
Eude

[Bassbubble11]

I used to play d'adarrio and had the same problem with them going dead
after not to long. The guitarist I was playing with at the time suggested
GHS Boomers. Nickel-plated steel rounds. I have never looked back.

[Profania_bass]

Thanks for the suggestions. Don from D'addario caught wind of this thread and has actually sent me out some steels. I'll test them when I get them and see how it goes. :-)

Only thing is I'll have to order them from bassstringsonline or something as they are definitely not available here. Have actually found out that bassists string choice here is pretty poor.

I'll keep you all updated with how it goes :-)

[bunkaroo]

I used XL's pretty much exclusively from the mid-90's until a couple years ago. They're nice strings and very consistent set to set, but for me they also lost the "zing" pretty quickly.

I was going to suggest the ProSteels to you so see how you like them. They'll be lower in tension for sure if you use the same gauge as you did with XL's.

My personal favorites right now are Fat Beams. Nice crispness but still good body to them and not harsh like some steel strings can be.

The funny thing is I played nickels exclusively for almost 20 years because as a mostly pick player, I was afraid of strings that would sound even brighter than the nickels did with a pick. I wish I would have tried steels sooner. I like the tension better, and there's a good zing retained without being has treble-heavy as I though they would be.

[eude]

Originally Posted by Profania_bass

Thanks for the suggestions. Don from D'addario caught wind of this thread and has actually sent me out some steels. I'll test them when I get them and see how it goes. :-)

Only thing is I'll have to order them from bassstringsonline or something as they are definitely not available here. Have actually found out that bassists string choice here is pretty poor.

I'll keep you all updated with how it goes :-)

Funny, that's the strings I just ordered myself too!
Hope you get on with them

[petrus61]

I got sick of D'Addario 10 minutes into playing them. The NPS, SS and Halfwounds (the absolute WORST string I ever played) have all had a spin in my rotation and none have cut the mustard, even when put up against a few no-names. The main thing for me is the high-tension, yet brittle feel that they have. I know they get alot of props here and for what, I don't know (price, maybe?) but every player owes it to themselves to try out anything else. If they suit you, fine. Unfortunaltely, I'm in a situation where I'm stuck with re-branded piano wire (Fender) strings on my 5 until the set of custom GHS flats I ordered shows up (just $22!).

edit: I should say that out of all the sets I tried, the SS was the best of the bunch. I am not a big SS (or even rounds for that matter) guy but they ultimately impressed me more than any other D'ad I've tried.

[Baker69]

My feel about D'Addario's is yes, I agree they do lose that initial twangy brightness, but after that initial loss they then go on to last like that for quite some time!

Please read my posting about Ultrasonic Cleaners as well.

[Profania_bass]

WEll I got some ProSteels from D'Addario and my god they're awesome. I feel a bit bad about this thread now, but there is some good info here so I won't delete it

These are much brighter, and they seem to be lasting a lot longer! Happy as a clam.

[Hobobob]

I'm gonna be the guy who says Circle K. They start out about halfway between SS and nickels, and settle in to sounding like fresh nickels. My set has gone on like that for the last two months. They keep the warm nickel mids and add SS snap. If you want to try something else after the ProSteels, give these a shot.

[ErnieD]

I've liked all the sets of D'Ad strings I've tried. I liked the XL170's I tried for the first time about a year ago on a Jazz 5. I absolutely love the Chrome Flats I have on a two P basses, a 4 and a 5.

AND I just fell in love with my new, first time trying Nylon Tapes. I first put the Tapes on a fretless Boulder Creek 5 A/EBG; just sent that bass back so I removed the Tapes from it. And today, I decided to try the Tapes on my Am St P5.

First off, it pained me to remove the years old Chromes from P5 cause I've really dug those strings on that bass so much. But now, I think I have a new fave over the Chromes. These Tapes sound awesome on the P5. And I feel they give me so much control in the Motown/Funk/Soul band I just re-joined. In all the searching I did hear before I bought, many spoke of flat-dead-thumpy tones. So I kinda wanted that for the fretless acoustic BC bass. They actually gave that bass a better fretless tone than before.

But since I had the Tapes sitting around, decided to try them on the P5 this afternoon. And at a gig this Saturday. Great strings, great feel, great tone, they even look great on the Cola Red/Maple 08 P5. Darned happy I tried them. Gona get more for my Jazz 5 and a couple modern/active basses just to see what they'll do there. Hope I stayed on topic here. Highly recommend them.

[bertbassplayer]

Just my 2 cents. I've used D'addario for a long time. After a while I get the "grass is greener" feeling and try other brands out... but end up going back to D'addario. One reason I use D'addario and always recommend them to my students was shown here in this thread and from other dealings that I've had with the company. They are good about their customer service.

[bgavin]

One easy and convenient way to clean your strings after use is with alcohol pads.
Any drugstore has a section for diabetic supplies.
You can buy a box of 100 "BD Alcohol Swabs" for about $1 USD.
Probably much higher in Norway, due to taxes...

At the end of the night, I wipe down my strings with a fresh pad, and toss it out.
I also wipe down the chrome on the tuners and bridge, as Stingrays seem to wind up with finger prints corroded into the tuner ears.

As to the strings themselves, the Alloy52 types will have a longer life.
Stainless steel starts out very bright, but it's all down hill from there.

Last, you can build a simple cleaning tube out of PVC pipe with a cap on one end.
Keep one set of strings on the bass, the second set on the ready after soaking 24 hours in the cleaning tube.

You should be able to get several cleanings from the strings.