Roto swing 66?

[Sgt Baker]

Hey dudes. So Im thinkin of purchasing some swing 66's, you guys dig em? Are they comfortable? ALSO, how do they bend?

[I<34080]

I like them. I use stainless, 105-45. I've never had any problem with them tearing up my fingers, but some other users do. Real bright out of the box, which I like, but they mellow out pretty quick. I don't mind that either, they still sound good to me. Some people have had QC problems with new strings being dead, but I've read threads where Roto will happily send a replacement string free of charge.

Not quite sure what you mean by "how do they bend".

[Hobobob74]

Used them since I started, tried alot of other brands, but still go back to them every time. Do notice they are a little rougher than others, but you get used to them. Never had them tear up my fingers or anything...

[johnny boy]

Been using them for a while and really like them, a little bright to begin with but soon settle down. I have found one or two packs over the years to be a little rough on the fingers but they soon smooth out.

[Bassman316]

In my experience, they're rougher than other strings, but not chew-your-fingertips off rough. I liked how they sounded.... no, I loved how they sounded, but my only gripe was how much they died off very quickly. I know strings set in and tend to mellow out a little, but the past few sets I played, they really died off quickly. Maybe I've had bad luck with the past couple of sets, who knows... I'm willing to give them another shot, since one of my basses is in need of a string change soon.

[Bassmickeyd]

Great strings and still use them on a coupe basses. ... I use 45/105 but I'd go 40/100 if you like to bend.

[cableguy]

I like the 66's but went to the Billy Sheehan version which has a thicker E for drop tuning. I use a hipshot d-tuner for quickly switching to a lower tuning for my E string. The set also has a slightly thinner G string for bending which I don't use but you sound like you would. I now have a 5string so the next time I string my 4 up I will go back to the 66's. I've always been a fan of Rotosound strings.

[probert]

The best strings I've tried so far. Don't know people comlain about tearing up their fingertips. Worked much better for me than other round wound strings and also better than chromes. My suggestion: try them out if they are for you

[WestOfBen]

I have just jumped from Roto Swing 66s onto Circle Ks after ten years. Rotos may still have their place and they aren't a terrible string (Edit: they are my favourite Stainless Steel string). Their tension is higher and they have a different voice to most other strings, definitely more upper midrange. If you do a three hour gig they will rip your fingers apart. if you practice every day for 30 mins you'll get good callouses.

The Circle Ks give me nearly all the sound (spank, treble and growl) of the Rotos but they bend easier, are smoother and quieter for slides.

[mwiles30]

I love them. It's the only string I've really used. I string both of my jazz basses with them (fretted and fretless).

They are kind of rough, but I've never had a set quickly die off on me...yeah, the lose their 'sparkle' after a few weeks, but they always kept their midrange and punch.

I reccomend them strongly.

[recnsci]

there are three kind of people on this planet:
-deaf bunch that hate Swing Bass
-wierd bunch that likes old/worn Swing Bass
-blessed and cursed bunch that claims in prophetic tone "there is no such thing in this universe as new set of RS-66"

I'm one of blessed/cursed ones. Cursed because IMveryHO set of RS-66 has "it" during initial 2-4 hours of play time, and has almost "it" for another 10-20 hours of play time. After that they still sound better than great majority of other strings of similar play-age, but simply do not provide "that" tone.


Now some personal remarks that I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere:
-they are actually very balanced tonaly, D and G have quite enough meat in them, and whole set is joy to play (when new) all over the neck; if you jump from open E to E on D stirng nobody will shout "who brought frickin banjo on rehersal" - not to mention that you will be able to hear that high E over guitards latest masturbation
-they have great note definition/articulation (for lack of better words); so someone like me who has questionable playing skills (to put it mildly) can hear every note clearly instead of continous rumbling mud
-they sit superbly in R'N'R context; no matter what guitarist, drummer, keybordist or person who for some reasons took controll of microphone throw at you, you can hear your bass and your bass will do the job that band needs
-they ar not about some "HF zing", they are about midrange; rotos midrange, no matter if you like it or not, is one-of-a-kind-thing; HF actually sound tame compared to rest - where new&polite nickels strings have ugly squeal in HF, rotos have cutting buzz (that is astually quite pleasing, but that's acquired taste); but midrange cuts trough anything, without being overbearnig
-contrary to some, IMHO rotos have plenty of bass; when you check clean recorded note, you will notice strong fundamental, with lot of second and third, all over the neck ; thats probably the reason I find rotos fit in no matter how nasty rest of the mix is
-dont know bout this "hard on fingers" issue; I play mostly with pick, but I had zero problems when I play with fingers. They ar a bit rougher compaerd to average nickels, but both are super rough compared to flats, so it's a matter of perspective
-they are Loud (this is related to string materials magnetic properties)



whats not nice 'bout rotos:
-they loose magic quickly; they loose buzz and half of midrange, but retain trademark clang; thats the reason I must change them every month et least
-if you don't like "Live at Leeds" bass tone, you will hate rotos
-if you want to play Motown or some smooth jazz, avoid rotos
-did I mention they die fast?
-tension balanced they are not; nope; E feels like rubber band, D feels like solid piece of steel armature (well not really but you get the point)
-for some reason or other, they sound good to me only if I play between neck and bridge p'ups on my Jazz; they sound wierd if I play at neck heel

[recnsci]

Originally Posted by WestOfBen

I have just jumped from Roto Swing 66s onto Circle Ks after ten years.

Hi Ben, do you , by any chace, have recording of Rotos and CircleKs' on same instrument, so rest of us can compare (tension balance & claimed long life got me very interested in CKs)?

[N.F.A.]

I always used them when I played a Rickenbacker. They sounded great on my Rics. They did tend to wear out fairly quickly. Really bright out of the pack too.

[squashedOpossum]

Wow, recnsci nailed it. That's great detail and right on the money. Rotos have a sound all their own.

I play flats on all my basses right now, but if I ever need to change one of them to rounds, I've got a fresh set of Roto 66s waiting for it. The ONLY roundwound I use. But then, I have a nickel allergy, so I have to use only stainless steel strings.

You didn't mention what type of bass you're planning on putting them on. IMO, Rotos and Jazz basses go together like PB&J. Just a perfect combination.

I've found Roto 66s to be very competitively priced in the Nashville area. A set of 4 cost only $20 - well worth experimenting with. If you try them, leave them on for awhile to get used to them and see where they go when they have some wear to them.

[jnuts1]

i dislike them a lot. they are the only string that feels like i have rubber pads on the end of my fingers when i play them. i just can't get to the next note in time with these guys on.

[jpTron]

They are great. They are (for me) too bright right out of the pack so the fact that they lose that quickly works out well for me.

[BassLife77]

the best strings I ever used, incredible tone. I buy the BS66 set with the .110 E string that gives more "booty" when slapping

[JGR]

I use them on all my rosewood board basses, 50-110. I use DR Low Rider SS on the maple boards. Great for grindy rock tones.

[JTE]

I hate 'em, but the analysis by recnsci is pretty much dead on. They have a somewhat deserved reputation for chewing up frets because the alloy they use is harder and the outer wrap wire more coarse than most other stainless rounds, but it's not horrible. Most of that reputation is derived from people who started using them after only using flats. After using flats that don't have much impact on frets at all, a lot of old-school people tried RS-66 and were horrified at the fret wear, but any stainless round would have caused some wear. It's just that some folks are more concerned about pristine instruments than sound, and they often go to silly extremes to avoid any kind of wear and tear. Probably the same folks who won't drive because it might cause wear on the tires...

MOST wear attributed to rounds in general and RS-66 in particular is more a function of technique. If you use reasonable pressure with your fretting hand, don't attack the strings harder than really needed, and control your fretting hand vibrato, you probably won't notice any detrimental wear from them in a long time. And what wear there is should rightfully be considered normal. The idea that occasional fret-dressing is unacceptable strikes me as niave at best.

They also have a deserved reputation for loosing the characteristic sound very quickly. Entwistle (who helped Howe develop them) said he changed them every day, as did Chris Squire. Those two guys were the ones who put RS-66 on the map too. Anthony Jackson used to change his every TAKE (according to Al DiMeola decades ago). The first time I used them, the guitarist asked why my amp kept loosing the highs over the first five songs. I didn't change the amp at all, it was the strings loosing the bite.

Now the thing is, if you want that sound, ain't nothing else going to deliver it. So, if you like the sound of RS-66 when YOU play them, go for it. Even though I hate them, I do like how they sound(ed) when Entwistle, Squire, Stanley Clarke, Jaco, Leland Sklar, Neil Stubbenhaus, and AJ used them. They just ain't right for me.

John

[aerodyne1]

I've been playing rotosounds since I found out about them around 1985. I've tried different brands through the years but nothing compares in my humble opinion. But to each his own. Never had a "dead" one yet.