My first set of strings.

[Matt14500]

Hi, I am pretty new to bass so forgive me for my "noobness". I have been playing bass for only about 5 months now. I play a cheap 200 dollar Stagg bass and I've never changed it's factory strings. I am looking for a bright, punchy, growl-like tone. I know roundwounds provide the "brightest" tone but I have absolutely no idea of which brand and string gauge I should get.

Thanks in advanced.

[SuperSnake2012]

Try either nickel or stainless steel strings. The brightest, most aggressive strings out there are Rotosound 66's. They may tear up your fingers though, because they're pretty rough. My personal favorite string is the D'Addario XL, 45-105 gauge. They're aggressive, but my fingers don't blister when I play them and they sound good for a long time.

[M.Wrenn]

Originally Posted by SuperSnake2012

Try either nickel or stainless steel strings. The brightest, most aggressive strings out there are Rotosound 66's. They may tear up your fingers though, because they're pretty rough. My personal favorite string is the D'Addario XL, 45-105 gauge. They're aggressive, but my fingers don't blister when I play them and they sound good for a long time.

+1 on the D'Addarios, i always play em and they sound great

[fivestringgecko]

+1 to D'Addario. I use the XL's as well, but a slightly different gauge than SuperSnake (.045-.100 + .130 low B). Nice bright zingy sound.

Check out juststrings.com, they're prices are the best I've found. You pay a few bucks shipping of course, but if you order 2+ sets at a time, you save $. I think my local GC carries EXL-170's for $24, juststrings has them for $13.62.

5sg.

[kmanley_29649]

I'm another fan of the D'addarios. In fact, I have had the same set on my bass for about seven years. they don't sound as bright as a brand new set, but I swear that the older they get, the better they sound.