Ken Smith String Users

[Chop]

Any body use Ken Smith Strings?
If so, for what style of music and on what kind of bass?

I see that Musician's Friend among many other places are selling them as low as $13/set for 4 string!

Thanks for the input.

[Brad Johnson]

I use Burner Nickel roundwounds on my fretless and some of my active basses for old school funk, light Jazz (oxymoron), R&B. I like 'em.

[frost13]

I just bought some Ken Smith Rockmasters for my 6 string. Now to see how they work out.

[Saint]

I've been using the Rockmaster Mediums (roundwounds) on my Rickenbacker for years and love them. I actually tried using Rotosounds just because that's what Chris Squire and Geddy Lee always used on their Ric's --but I ended up going right back to my Smiths.

I also use Smith tapercores on my Ken Smith bass. They have a different sound than the Rockmasters, but they are also more than twice the price.

[JHMAVRO]

I just got some rocker for my jazz. They sounded great as soon as I put them on. No twang or nothing.sweet

[winston]

I noticed the cheap MF price-but will they fit a 35" scale bass?

[nonsqtr]

I use Rock Master Medium's on my 6 string F bass (with a non-taper .125 low B and a .030 high C). They're great strings, very responsive and they last for a long time.

[Rakshasa]

I use 5 string rockmasters, on two of my basses, my ibanez soundgear, and my warwick dolphin, I play metal, and Michael-Manring-ish Victor wooten-ish Wacko Jaco stuff. sounds great with both.

[Asaf]

i'm using them on my jazz bass for funk-fusion, rock, jazz, latin - and they sound really great and last for ever.(the burners nickel type)
i also tried them on my pedulla fretless 5 and they we're ok (not as smooth as the labella).

[armybass]

I used them for years before swhitching to DR's(The Army buys strings for me now, ie your tax dollars, thanks)and I have no problem using them when I can not find the DR's. Good zippy string that lasts a long time. And CHEAP too.

[godoze]

I use the Taper Core sets on all of my basses.

[ZuluFunk]

I've always used Smiths.
I think I have Medium Rock Masters.

armybass, how many sets per year do they (we) buy for you?

[NJL]

these are some of the most inexpensive strings in san antonio - i use them on my warwick corv pro 6.

they last for such a long time and the tone on my warwick is to die for. i have never been so happy with strings in my life.

i'm curious to see how they will sound on my jazz.

[onebassplayer]

I swear by 'em. I use about 4 different models of the KS strings depending on the bass I use, and the tone I want.

[jointus]

I use the taper core strings on my piezo equipped fretless bass. And they are pretty cheap in San Antonio.

[NJL]

yup.

according to the music store that i buy them from, they are wound by GHS, do you guys think this is true?

[NJL]

Originally posted by SMASH
Sounds reasonable, and (I know you didn't say it did) it doesn't mean they're the same as anything GHS offers.

Ask Ken ?

this is what freaks me out - i HATE GHS strings with a passion, but these Ken Smith strings are so good for what i do

[SherpaKahn]

Man, I just put Ken Smith Slicks on my Ibanez Musician (ash body, neck-through, fretted ebony fingerboard), and it has made me love that bass again! It's a beautiful and widely-acclaimed bass (among those who own them), yet I have felt that for the last few months that it is too sterile and harsh-sounding for my tastes, with far too much zing, crunch, growl, and string noise. I finally got some strings that I actually chose to buy for a reason other than convenience, and after trying medium-gauge Fender flatwounds and being disappointed by the enormous tension, stainless wrappings, and in my opinion not a lot of variation in sound (though they did get a good upright sound on that bass), and so I've had some unknown roundwounds on it for the last few months, but now with these Slicks it sounds how I want my bass to sound! Deep, with more snap as you travel up to the higher strings, and a miniscule amount of finger noise!

My only mild complaint is that the E string sounds much much deeper than the A string, but we'll see how that works out as the strings break in. At thirteen dollars a set, I bought a set of Compressors along with the Slicks, both M-L gauge, and I think I'm going to have a lot of fun deciding which to go with in the long run. The purple silk wrapping is awesome, too!

I wouldn't go so far as to say that I'm a Ken Smith string convert, as I still want to try out many other strings before settling on one particular type, but I do think that I'll be playing either compression-wound or half-round strings for a long time to come, and these Ken Smiths are quite inexpensive and seem to play very well.

-Stephen

[Beefbass]

I'd like to know how those slick rounds turn out for you.

I use Fender flats on my Pbass, and like them. However, people say those slicks are kinds like flats, but with a bit more growl to them.

My local store is a Ken Smith dealer, and they have the slick rounds in stock. I do like the flatwound sound, however, that sound with a bit more bite to it sounds very interesting.

Not only that, but my repair guy highly recommends Ken Smith strings for bass, so I'd like to try them sometime.

[PeppermanL2K]

I'm a true KS String convert over from Rotosounds. Don't get me wrong, I love the Rotosound, well... sound! But, IMHO, Smiths just blow them away as far as sound, feel and they're not as hard on your frets.