Which nickel strings have the most growl?

Poor Tom · #1 10-30-2009, 01:29 PM

I'm looking for some nice growly strings to complement my L2000's tone. I tried some Rotosound 66 steels, but they were too clanky for me, so I put back on my faithful D'addarios. Is it possible to get a nickel roundwound that has lots of growl but isn't too bright/clanky.

I'm not really sure there are strings that will sound like what is in my head. I might need to look towards an effect pedal to get the throaty growl I'm thinking of, but I only want a touch of it. Enough to hear it's presence but not dominate the tone. Do strings like this exist?

mmbongo · #2 10-30-2009, 02:07 PM

Recently went through the same thing for my L2500 and discovered Dunlop Nickels. Bliss! SIT Power Wound nickels are great too.

bearshimmy · #3 10-30-2009, 02:09 PM

I really like the D'adario roundwound nickens, this might not make sense but the sound makes me think of burnt toast for some reason.

DavePlaysBass · #4 10-31-2009, 08:53 AM

On my basswood / maple topped / rosewood L-2500, D'Addario Nickels where among the best. I used to roll of some treble at the amp. If you do not like clanky, turn of the L-2500 preamp. It is voiced to boost the upper mids, lower treble area where the clank lives.

My buddy has a ash / maple L-2500 and the D'Addario Nickels sound nice on it. He just recently tried Pro steels for the first time and loves them. Ken Smith Rock Masters are another string that might give you a nice modern vibe on the L-2500.

And TI flats on a G&L are something to consider.

Hugh Jass · #5 10-31-2009, 08:08 PM

I had pro-steels on my L2K and liked em' but only down the neck. Anything higher than the 12th fret and crazy overtones made it sound like a UFO was landing in the room.

Dunlop nickels get great growl with D'addario nickels a close second.

Have yet to try Thomastik strings but those are supposed to be great on a L2000.

ShirazBop · #6 10-31-2009, 08:25 PM

I'm liking my Sadowsky Blue Nickels. They're a little less stiff then the blacks...

Maiden Bass · #7 11-01-2009, 04:38 AM

Dunlop Nickels are growly and bright. Quite simply the best nickel strings that I have ever played.

fretlessguy · #8 11-01-2009, 05:03 AM

I have had good experiances with Fender 7250 and 7150s, and SIT Powerwound Nickels. Hope you find what you are looking for.

Matthijs · #9 11-01-2009, 05:18 AM

GHS Boomers

**pringlw** · #10 11-01-2009, 05:46 AM

I still go for the Rotos. The ones with the lion on the front (can't remember if that's Jazz or 66 or whatever). They take a week or so to "settle down" but once they do....

ljazz · #11 11-01-2009, 06:11 AM

Stainless steels and G&L 2x00's don't play well with each other, imho. They are incredibly boomy, and you end up with this "chorusy" thing happening off the lower strings....... and I just couldn't tame it with eq. Too bad, 'cuz I love SS Loriders.

Nickels are where it's at with the L's. That said, the Infeld SA's sound incredible, and last forever. I have D'Addario nickels on it now, because I had a new set laying around, and the Infelds finally died (after a year). They actually sound pretty darned good on it. They've been on there for about 2 months now, and have settled into a nice groove. A bit of growl is just about always in the L's when you're in series.

bertbassplayer · #12 11-01-2009, 07:53 AM

Rotosound Roto Bass or DR Low Rider Nickels

JohnnyB53 · #13 11-02-2009, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljazz

Stainless steels and G&L 2x00's don't play well with each other, imho. They are incredibly boomy, and you end up with this "chorusy" thing happening off the lower strings....... and I just couldn't tame it with eq. Too bad, 'cuz I love SS Loriders.

Nickels are where it's at with the L's. That said, the Infeld SA's sound incredible, and last forever. I have D'Addario nickels on it now, because I had a new set laying around, and the Infelds finally died (after a year). They actually sound pretty darned good on it. They've been on there for about 2 months now, and have settled into a nice groove. A bit of growl is just about always in the L's when you're in series.

I was getting a chorusy thing at the 12th fret location (it's a fretless) on the E and A strings of my G&L ASAT fretless, and a pro bass player who also works at a local music store told me that it's a sign of the pickups and/or polepieces being too close to the strings. So as per his advice I lowered the whole pickup at the bass end and it fixed the problem, as well as giving me better string-to-string consistency.

I use TI Jazz Flats on my fretless, partly to save the board and partly because I'm going for a sort of acoustic upright sound. TI manages to impart lots of warmth without losing articulation. If you want an articulate roundwound that's not clangy, I suspect either the TI nickel rounds or their Power Bass would give you that. The Power Bass will have more cut and clarity than the nickel, but are still fairly smooth. If my guitar experience is any indicator, the Powers should growl with the best without sounding excessively metallic.

I also have a G&L Lynx (similar to the 1st gen SB-2). It's naturally very snarly, but the strings I've liked the best on that bass are Black Diamond Black Coated round wounds. They sing and are clear, not thumpy like tape wounds, have clear high treble but are not raspy or clangy. They also lasted a crazy long time for me.

I haven't used their bass strings, but for guitar I've always liked Ernie Ball nickel wraps--nice balance of warmth and clarity, and they maintain consistent string-to-string sound even as they age.

Arpeggiator · #14 11-02-2009, 01:51 AM

i vote roto swing 66 nickels, amazing strings with very little clank, some say there rough (i dont think this)

fuNKmaster83 · #15 11-02-2009, 03:52 AM

don't be fooled by nickel plates!!! most strings out there are nickel plated and people think that those are all nickel...
pure nickel wrap has a totally different sound that a plated one or a stainless one!!!
if strings are made out of pure nickel wrap they have lots of warmth while maintaining that slapping tone... they do not die so quick and don't corrode... but you can see the ear from frets on the strings cuz pure nickel is the only wrap that doesn't do any damage to the frets (cuz its the same material)

the only companies that are making pure nickel strings are PYRAMID, TI and fender has a pair of pure nickels on sale

ljazz · #16 11-02-2009, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyB53

I was getting a chorusy thing at the 12th fret location (it's a fretless) on the E and A strings of my G&L ASAT fretless, and a pro bass player who also works at a local music store told me that it's a sign of the pickups and/or polepieces being too close to the strings. So as per his advice I lowered the whole pickup at the bass end and it fixed the problem, as well as giving me better string-to-string consistency.

I was getting it all over. And that is with the pups bottomed out. And really, if it were a pup issue, then you'd have it with nickels as well, due to the higher magnetic content compared to ss. I have no idea what it was, but my thoughts are that it has to do with overtones from the SS, and the way the pups handle them. I've used SS on both my SB1 and SB2 with no issues, but have had the same issues with a L1K I owned previously.

Marley's Ghost · #17 11-02-2009, 04:59 AM

DR lo rider nickels howl on my Bongo. My favorite string.

dDaddybass · #18 11-02-2009, 05:22 AM

+1 SIT power wounds

eyecandy · #19 11-03-2009, 03:45 AM

Ernie Ball Slinkys for me... just replaced my 7250ML a week a go..