New player needs string reccomendation for rock

[lonestarwings]

Hi.

First off I did read the stickies and did a few searches but I still wanted to ask.

I've been playing for about 6 months, started out with some stock fender strings on my MIA standard p-bass and switched to some Dean Markley Fretmasters about 5 months ago.

After 5 months, the fretmaster strings are starting to sound really thumpy and kinda dead, so I figure it's time to change them again.

I play in a band that does 80's style rock....we cover the donnas, U2, pat benatar, etc as well as doing some of our own stuff in that vein as well as a few sheryl crow-esque songs.

I'm thinking of trying some D'addario chromes since they seem really popular, but I'm not sure if they'd be good for me or not. Also, should I stick with standard gauges? We always play in standard tuning so string tension is not a huge issue I guess. I pluck pretty hard so I'm not opposed to trying some thicker strings if it might help my tone.

Thanks for the help.

-A beginner.

[ShowKing]

SIT rock brights!!

stainless if u want a brighter sound

[RDY2RMBL]

I like DR highbeams and Ernie ball slinkies

[Austin Manny]

Wow...
As a lot of TBers will tell you, "you just opened up a big can of worms."
Do you want rounds or flats? Do you want a really bright tone or a darker tone?
String tension varies with different string, whats comfortable?

So many answers....

BTW, you started playing bass on a MIA Fender Jazz?
I wish I did....

[MrBorisSpider]

D'addario prosteels. Doesn't get much brighter or better-priced.

[ireidt]

In my opinion, find the set of strings that you like best. After 5-6 years of playing, I fell in love with DR strings Extra Life, and have been stuck to them since.

That being said, buy a set of strings, if you don't like them, use them until they sound dead or break, and then try another set, until you find a set thats for you. People say to never buy a bass that you can not just pick up and know its for you. In my opinion, same goes for strings.

[D.Don]

It's a fun quest, I also started like 5-6 months ago, and has so far been thru,

D'addario Chromes (still wear them on my fretless, 2-3 months now, and they start to sound a bit dead now, time for something else soon)

D'addario Half rounds, these are lovely, have them on my Ibanez Musician 1979, and it's just SO right

Rotosound Solo Bass 55, tried these both on a carvin BB75 I have borrowed, and four of em on the Ibanez, didn't like em, gave them away to a mate.

Next string change is the fretless (five string as well), I am very curios on the LaBellas and the TI's , though I kind of like the tension in the D'addarios, so nothing with less tension than that is interesting at all...

Good luck m8, and have fun down the road!!



D.Don

[lonestarwings]

Originally Posted by Austin Manny

Wow...
As a lot of TBers will tell you, "you just opened up a big can of worms."
Do you want rounds or flats? Do you want a really bright tone or a darker tone?
String tension varies with different string, whats comfortable?

So many answers....

BTW, you started playing bass on a MIA Fender Jazz?
I wish I did....

Thanks for all the replies and reccomendations, I'll check them all out.

Yeah, I know there are tons of options. I started on an MIA precision as my first bass. I think I like rounds but I've never tried flats.....I prefer a little bit of zing in the sound though....I'd imagine my 5 month old fretmasters are starting to sound a bit like flats and I preferred the sound when they were newer.

I play fingerstyle and am trying to learn slap, which is a slow process.

My bass teacher actually gave me the dean markley fretmasters (I think these are "ground rounds", round over the pickups and compressed over the fretboard).....he also gave me some dean markley blue steels and some peavey balanced strings, but those are 5 string sets and I kind of want to save them in case I buy a 5 string (told myself I would buy a 5 string if I'm still practicing consistently at the end of this year).

That's kind of a tough one, I personally like DR Sunbeams 45-100 nickel strings . Each player is different, & their needs might be different than mine. Another thing, do you want Flats, half- flats ,or rounds? I'd experiment , & see what works the best for you, & then go from there.

[lonestarwings]

Originally Posted by wildcard

That's kind of a tough one, I personally like DR Sunbeams 45-100 nickel strings . Each player is different, & their needs might be different than mine. Another thing, do you want Flats, half- flats ,or rounds? I'd experiment , & see what works the best for you, & then go from there.

I'm pretty sure I want rounds. I like the ability to have a pretty bright sound since I'm experimenting with slap. If I need a darker sound I just roll of the tone control and kill the highs on my amp's eq.

[spaz21387]

wow your a beginner and you have an mia p bass. You have a nicer bass then me and I have been playing for almost 8 years now. Well anyway I have gone through alot of strings and my favorites are rounds. I never liked flats The tone was interesting but they felt really stiff and that bothered me. Right now Im using ernie ball hybrids on my p bass. Ernie balls would be a good string to try out they have that classic rock sound that everyone is after. If you want some rounds that will last forever and sound pretty good try stainless steel strings instead of nickel. Although they do tear up your fingers more they sound great and last a long time. I would recomend you stay away from rotosound though some sound dead out of the box and they are really abrasive and chew up your frets fast.

[lonestarwings]

Originally Posted by spaz21387

wow your a beginner and you have an mia p bass. You have a nicer bass then me and I have been playing for almost 8 years now. Well anyway I have gone through alot of strings and my favorites are rounds. I never liked flats The tone was interesting but they felt really stiff and that bothered me. Right now Im using ernie ball hybrids on my p bass. Ernie balls would be a good string to try out they have that classic rock sound that everyone is after. If you want some rounds that will last forever and sound pretty good try stainless steel strings instead of nickel. Although they do tear up your fingers more they sound great and last a long time. I would recomend you stay away from rotosound though some sound dead out of the box and they are really abrasive and chew up your frets fast.

Yeah, I'm lucky to have that bass, kind of got a blowout deal on it at the local guitar cener. They were having a hard time selling it for some reason so I got it for around $700 US "new", although it had probably been sitting around their store for qutie awhile. I couldn't turn it down at that price since it was black/rosewood, just like I wanted.

I did not realize that d'addario chromes were flats when I made the original post, so I guess I'm kind of leaning toward some DR Hi Beam or Sunbeams at this point. I can't decided if the brightness of steel strings would be detrimental to my tone since I primarliy play fingerstyle.....that's why I'm thinking maybe should stick with nickel, but I guess I'll never know unless I try the steels.

[spaz21387]

That seems like you got a good deal. I dont even know what I spent on my mim jazz. Probaby more then what an mia fender would cost. I really think you should try ernie balls. They seem perfect for your style. I play with a pick more then my fingers just because I cant stand the clicking I get when I play fast. Daddarios arent bad strings eather I wonder if musicians friend still sells them in the 2 set packs. I stopped using them when guitar center stopped selling the 2 set packs. And then raised the prices from 20 for the 2 set packs to 25$ for one set.

[Nedmundo]

Originally Posted by lonestarwings

I did not realize that d'addario chromes were flats when I made the original post, so I guess I'm kind of leaning toward some DR Hi Beam or Sunbeams at this point. I can't decided if the brightness of steel strings would be detrimental to my tone since I primarliy play fingerstyle.....that's why I'm thinking maybe should stick with nickel, but I guess I'll never know unless I try the steels.

I have Chromes on my fretless Precision, and Dean Markley Blue Steels on my fretted, which has a maple fretboard and Lindy Fralin pickup. Both sound fantastic. The Chromes are a wonderful match for the stock Fender pickup, so you should try them at some point. They are fairly bright for flatwounds.

But the Blue Steels are surprisingly great on a P-bass. I play fingerstyle too, and get plenty of thump, partly because their relatively low tension offsets the stainless brightness. They are a little zingy played with a pick, but I almost never do. Point is, you shouldn't rule out stainless by any means.

For nickel roundwounds, I like GHS Boomers and Fender Super Bass 8250's, which seem to last forever. I use the set with the .110 taperwound E string, which is designed to work with through-body stringing, and I love them on my Jazz. The GHS have slightly higher tension, but the overall tone is in the same ballpark.

[lonestarwings]

Well I broke down and decided to give DR strings a try.

I went to the local music store bought a set of DR high beams in the heavy gauge...ufnortunately I'm pretty dumb and cut the D string too short. I tried stringing it through the bridge rather than the body but I still couldn't that pesky D string to stay in the tuning posts.....so back I had to go back to the store and buy another set (I did not realize that the thinner strings seem to require more twists around the posts to stay in place, and the E & A strings around 1.5-2 twists seems to work).

On the second try I bought a pair of Marcus Miller Signature Fat Beams. From what I played on the E A and G strings of the high beams I think I like the Fat Beams better anyway. They are really zingy, almost like you're playing with a pick when you playing finger style. Plus they sound pretty good with what little slap I can do.

In addition, I ordered a bunch of cables from musiciansfriend and I threw in a set of medium low-riders with that, so I guess I will have a pretty good idea of wether or not I like DR steel rounds in a few months.

Thanks for all the reccomendations, In the future hopeflly I will be able to check out the other strings suggested here.

[Dbassmon]

If you are a young player and funds are limited, I suggest you try www.webstrings.com

These are made by one of the major string manufacturers (not sure which one) and are sold under this brand name for a fraction of the price. Read the blurb on their site for more info.

I have used them and they are quite good. They come in Chrome Stainless, Nickel Steel and Flatwound. You will be able to afford to change them regularly and it is a very serviceable and usable string and the price is right.

[bassman_al]

I looked at the site. Nice price, $9 less than MF price for Fender flats. Can anyone tell me if they have ordered the medium gauge flats from this site?