Question for dead roundwound enthusiasts (Ernie Ball)

[3234718]

I always heard Ernie Ball strings die fast. Do they die and settle nicely to a warm but still moderately punchy sound like good dead rounds should? Or do they die and sound weak and...well dead.

Or any other opinions/experiences you might have on which strings sound best (subjectively of course) in their zombie/vampire life after their mortal existence has ended.

[SoLongJake]

I like the "dead" phase of dean Markley blue steels a lot, you might give them a shot.

[FourBanger]

Dead GHS Boomers have a thud like no other. My favorite string.

[Einherjar]

I really like the way brand new Ernie ball strings sound... It's a shame they only stay that way for a week tops. I severely dislike the way they sound after that. But that may only be because there's such a huge difference in sound. I haven't used them in ten years or so because of that.

[Schlyder]

I like dead Dean Markley SuperRounds.

[elgecko]

Dead SS Lo Riders is where it's at for me!

[awamori]

EB's when they start to die inconsistently between the strings IME.

B/E strings die first then the D/G strings and the last to die is the A string. Also they last a mere week or two before they start doing that.

[Riverhead]

I have, until 6 months ago, only used EB Slinky roundwound strings. I can't make reasonable comparisons between them and other strings, but I don't like the sound they make when new. However, they die quickly enough for me, and they do indeed settle to a warm and nicely punchy sound.

It's been a couple of years since I installed a new set, and I can't remember how evenly they die (across the strings), but they do die pretty quickly. From what I remember, mine have generally taken around a week to start dieing, and maybe two to four weeks to finish the transformation to Zombie Strings. The amount I play, that's probably around 14 - 37 hours of playing until they're nicely deaded.

As far as rounds go, I'm pretty happy with the sound of dead EB Slinkys, but I'm having a bit of fun on the side with some Rotosound Tapewounds - they're just like dead rounds (and they are rounds, under the tape), but with even more thumpy, dead-round goodness.