Perfect 6 String Set for Modulus Quantum 6 Playing Progressive Metal?

[nathanfrost]

I'm interested in finding the strings that will make my Quantum 6 sound the best it can on my next progressive metal record.

I'm using Bartolini pickups on the Quantum 6.

The sound qualities I'd like:
* most importantly: dark, precise tone for often fast fingerpicking, tapping, sweep-(finger)picking, harmonics, chord-strumming and slapping
* of secondary importance: punchy, powerful, "big" tone
* of tertiary importance: highly expressive response to different picking forces and vibrato (from mellow/soft to hard/aggressive) and a nice, long sustain

I also Direct Input my bass whenever I record. I just make sure what comes out of my instrument sounds good to me, and leave it to the sound engineer to follow my direction as far as preamplification, mixing, etc are concerned.

I've evaluated a dozen different strings -- the Fodera Diamond Nickel Compressed Roundwound (gauge .034 .045 .065 .085 .105 .130) ended up as my overall favorite.

However, I'm wondering if there are any other similar strings I should be trying out.

On the one hand:
* I generally tend toward heavier gauges, because they have a less clicky attack, and sound more precise and "bigger"
* in general I've been happiest with Fodera compared with every other string brand I've tried, though I haven't tried any brands beyond DR, D'Addario, Elixir, Thomastik Infeld, F-Bass, and LaBella
* I think the Diamond Nickels I've got have a precise, dark, heavy sound, with minimal "clicking" during fast passages, which works great for my music

On the other hand:
* while two-hand tapping is good on the Fodera Diamond Nickels, it doesn't have the sparkle and shine of the Fodera Diamond Stainless Steel strings
* fingerpicking and strumming chords sounds brighter and clearer on the stainless steel strings
--> maybe a lighter gauge set of nickel strings can make tapping and chording sound a little more clear without adding clickiness or losing precision or "bigness"?
* I did find the Fodera Diamond Stainless Steel heavy gauge strings (.034, .050, .070 .085 .110 .135) to be noticeably harder to play than lighter gauges (though they sounded really good). While I think I could strengthen my hands to where it wouldn't be an issue, as a professional programmer who plays a lot of fast and thrashy bass hand injury is of some concern
--> it is interesting that the Stainless Steel heavy gauge is only a little heavier than the Nickels, but playing the former seemed significantly more fatiguing than playing the latter. I guess the nickel strings have less string tension than the stainless steel strings?

Now that I've decided on nickel strings, are there any other brands or gauges that might be worth trying out? I'm happy with the Fodera Diamond Nickels, but clearer chording and shinier tapping (without sacrificing any of the minimal-click, precise, dark tone that made me choose them in the first place) would be nice if it's even possible.


Thanks very much, everyone!

Nathan

[ixlramp]

I spent a few years setting my 6 string bass up for tapping, chording, ebow, string bending etc. I suggest building a custom set from singles that has tension progressively falling from lowest to highest string. Tapping becomes progressively more difficult on higher strings, so this will even out the response to tapping. It also makes chords on the higher strings easier while retaining tight low strings to avoid flop. Lower strings have more mass and are more prone to flop, they need more tension to keep them under control and to keep good tone. Higher strings can be looser while still retaining good tone. Pitch response to string bending falls on higher strings, so such a set evens out the pitch response too.

Almost all sets have traditional tension, which has tension rising towards the higher strings, the exact opposite of what i consider optimum. Balanced sets (strings at equal tension) as sold by Circle K Strings and a very few others, are a big improvement.

You can use a tension chart to design such a set, D'Addario tension guide: http://www.daddario.com/upload/tension_chart_13934.pdf Circle K Strings: http://circlekstrings.com/CKSIMAGES/...nsionChart.pdf. You can use these charts to approximate the tension of other brands.

I suggest something similar to 25 35 50 70 100 135/140

For clarity and a good response to tapping i recommend very flexible strings. In my limited experience i find D'Addario XL nickels flexible. Apparently Circle K Strings (nickelplated outer wrap, steel inner wraps) are designed super flexible, and have a very clear tone, you can buy singles from them with no cost penalty: Circle K Strings - Single Strings - All tensions,scales, gauges ... a huge choice of finely-stepped gauges. See the Circle K Strings thread in this subforum for reviews, they are high quality strings and have been received very positively.

[darkstorm]

Sounds like DR sunbeams to me. For little more brightness the neons would be great choice that doesnt sacrifice the better then average low bass content, authority, and articulation of the sunbeams. I use to be lifelong rotosound swing66 fan and user but the neons kick them into the dirt for low bass power and articulation without sacrificing the rest of the sound range. And like them they have great modern tone with excellent metallic grind when wanted.

[madbassplaya]

Originally Posted by darkstorm

Sounds like DR sunbeams to me.

PLUS 1!

I personally am in love with these strings!

They have a very sweet top end that no other nickel string I've tried has and they are round core as well which means they have less tension. They aren't floppy at all though. They feel fantastic!

I get my strings from: Welcome to Bass Strings Online - Lay it down...

The owner is a tb member here and you can save some cash by signing up as a VIP. SLaPiNFuNK (Jason) is a great guy and can probably help you in finding what you need!

[rockstarbassist]

My fave strings for my ex Quantums were DR Lo Rider Nickels. The bass is inherently "snappy" so Nickel sets really helped smooth it out while still leaving plenty of attack available.

[Double Agent]

I like the DR Lo-Riders, nickel or stainless. The low mids are really strong on them and they have a throaty tone that is perfect for aggressive styles of music.

For prog metal, I prefer stainless because it is easier to remove too much brightness than to add it if you don't have enough. As you know, it can be tough to cut through the mix in prog metal, so having the extra brightness from the stainless steel is an advantage. I also feel that the stainless Lo-Riders are not as bright as you would expect stainless string to be anyways, they aren't super-bright like Rotos or ProSteels. However, if your bass is very bright (I only have limited experience with Modulus basses), then the nickels might be a better choice as they sound very similar, just not quite as bright.

[ixlramp]

Bass Strings Online: Build your own set!

[nathanfrost]

Here's the list of strings I've been recommended both on and off this thread:
DR Sunbeams
DR Lo-Rider Nickels
Circle-K nickels (balanced tension instead of traditional tension)
GHS nickel boomers
D'Addario XL nickels
DR Neons

I'm a little worried that since my bass is set up for nickel strings gauged at .034 .045 .065 .085 .105 .130, experimenting with gauges like 0.025 for my C-string might end up buzzing/fretting-out, and I don't have the time to get the bass setup more than about once (nor the time or inclination to learn how to setup my bass myself).

Should I be worried, or should I just try out the new strings and if I find a new favorite that has a different gauge, then get my bass setup one last time before recording?

@ixlramp: Thanks for the detailed analysis!

I certainly agree that string bending higher pitched traditional tension strings is much harder than the lower pitched strings, but since my current music doesn't call for bending beyond a rare vibrato, that's not a concern for this project.

As for tapping, while I think it's subjective, I've always found getting the tapping sound I want is easier on the higher pitched (traditional tension) strings. Tapping the bigger, lower-pitched strings seems more prone to sounding "thuddy/sloppy" than tapping the smaller, higher-pitched strings. Perhaps I just haven't practiced enough low-string tapping passages.

@Double Agent: I see where you're coming from with regard to the brightness helping to cut through, but I'm not happy with the "clickiness" stainless steel strings (including the DR Lo-Rider stainless steel -- I haven't tried the nickel yet) exaggerates in my playing. It's very possibly a technique flaw, though it's something I've actively worked on -- and somewhat improved -- over the last few years.


Thanks again everybody!

[mmbongo]

Originally Posted by nathanfrost

Here's the list of strings I've been recommended both on and off this thread:
DR Sunbeams
Circle-K nickels (balanced tension instead of traditional tension)

There. No need to bother with any of the others on your list. You can put the Neons back on if you want the color, but there's not a huge difference in sound from the Sunbeams.

If you want to try the Sunbeams, you can put together a balanced set at Welcome to Bass Strings Online - Your Custom Bass String Shop...
Sign up a TB user to get VIP pricing!

I put together a set of my Spector 5 string which is:

.40
.60
.80
.105
.130

And the balance feels great. DR won't publish their tension, so I had to use my better judgement, and it turned out great. Just add a .30 to that and you'll be set.

The Circle K's are great strings, too. I had their balanced .136 set before the custom Sunbeams and they are very similar strings (to me, anyway). I went Sunbeams this time because of price.

[ixlramp]

Originally Posted by nathanfrost

I'm a little worried that since my bass is set up for nickel strings gauged at .034 .045 .065 .085 .105 .130, experimenting with gauges like 0.025 for my C-string might end up buzzing/fretting-out, and I don't have the time to get the bass setup more than about once (nor the time or inclination to learn how to setup my bass myself).

If you want to minimise the amount of setup needed try to keep a similar total tension by tightening some strings and balancing that by loosening some others.
30/32 45 60 80 105 145 is a good even-tension set that should have similar total tension to your current .034 .045 .065 .085 .105 .130. I think it will help to have the B as tight as the 105 E so it needs to be a 145 (see the D'Addario tension charts). That 25-135 set i suggested in my previous post might be a bit too light for you and perhaps too much of a shock so soon before recording. If a string buzzes just loosen off the string and raise the saddle a little, tune back up, it's very quick and easy The 145, being tighter than your 130, allows you to lower the saddle a little while still avoiding fretbuzz.

[nathanfrost]

I evaluated the CircleK nickel strings, both in an "even tension" gauge (.142 .106 .079 .059 .043 .031) and a "traditional tension" gauge (.136 .102 .079 .059 .045 .031) and I think "even tension" sounded a little tighter and sharper than "traditional tension" -- while being a little more awkward to play at first blush (some strings seemed to take a little more force to pluck than with "traditional tension").

However, the CircleK strings seemed a little brighter than the Fodera Diamond Nickels (which I evaluated at "standard gauge traditional tension", or .130 .105 .085 .065 .045 .034). This made the CircleK's a little "clickier" than the Fodera's on the riffing and scalar passages that make up most of my music (though, as with other brighter strings, the CircleK's sound a little shinier and punchier for techniques I employ less frequently like tapping, slapping/popping, chording, harmonics, and sweep arpeggios on the D/G/C strings [I still prefer the Fodera's for sweep licks on the E/A/D strings]).

I also tried out the DR Sunbeams and D'Addario nickels, and while they were good strings, they didn't quite capture the "precise and dark" qualities of the Fodera nickels I like so much.

So it seems the Fodera nickels are my favorite, but I'm curious to see if I can get an even better sound out of them with a more "even tension" setup (or just the heaviest gauge "traditional tension" set).

By mixing and matching between Fodera's Heavy, Light and Medium Light nickel string sets, I think I can get a somewhat "even-tension" set of strings (.135 .106 .080 .060 .044 .034).

The last step on my string journey is to compare the following Fodera nickel string sets:
* .135 .110 .085 .070 .050 .034 //"traditional tension heavy gauge"
* .135 .106 .080 .060 .044 .034 //"approximated even tension"
* .130 .105 .085 .065 .045 .034 //"traditional tension standard", and my current favorite

Any parting observations before I get my Fodera's in the mail, evaluate and then head off for final tracking?


(And thanks again guys -- this has been enormously educational!)

[mmbongo]

Check with Jason at bassstringsonline.com and see if he can do custom gauge Fodera sets for you.

[nathanfrost]

The Fodera Nickel Standard (Traditional) Tension strings ended up feeling and sounding closest for what I'm aiming for. The heaviest gauge traditional tension strings sounded nearly identical to the standard tension ones, and were significantly more fatiguing on my plucking hand, while the approximated even tension was an interesting experiment that didn't feel as natural or flowing. Chalk that up to a decade and half of playing traditional tension strings, I suppose.

Thanks again, all -- I feel like I explored the possibilities pretty thoroughly.

[DaRQsiDe]

You know what? That was THE question that has been gnawing me for quite some time... I'll give a go to Fodera's. Didn't had much luck with Thomastiks either...

[Montana Jim]

I love the sound of DR Neons on my Modulus Q5, plus they look pretty sick too.