Strings for Indie Rock

zacpack · #1 09-02-2010, 06:45 PM

What's a good set of strings for Indie Rock styles? (Death Cab for Cutie, Coldplay, etc.)

metallicafan18 · #2 09-02-2010, 06:48 PM

What ever sounds best to your ears. Anything could work.

stingray96191 · #3 09-02-2010, 06:49 PM

anyway, flats or rounds... If you have to ask this question, its all the same.

James Hart · #4 09-02-2010, 06:50 PM

truthfully... just about any of them. What kind of bass(es) do you play?

zacpack · #5 09-02-2010, 06:51 PM

Alright, to everyone beside these two guys, I'll re-word the question...

If you play in an indie rock band, what kind of strings do you use?

I'm just looking for opinions, I didn't want and "end all, be all" answer.

iamdenialNJ · #6 09-02-2010, 06:52 PM

I use rounds for indie rock.

zacpack · #7 09-02-2010, 06:54 PM

I'm buying a Classic Vibe Jazz from another TB'er soon once paypal transfers my money, which is why I'm looking for opinions. I'm new to bass and know virtually nothing about which strings are good and which strings are not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by James Hart

truthfully... just about any of them. What kind of bass(es) do you play?

iamdenialNJ · #8 09-02-2010, 06:58 PM

None of them are necessarily bad or good, they just sound different. Round wound strings sounds like you're playing a bass GUITAR while flats make you sound like you're playing a BASS guitar.

metallicafan18 · #9 09-02-2010, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zacpack

I'm buying a Classic Vibe Jazz from another TB'er soon once paypal transfers my money, which is why I'm looking for opinions. I'm new to bass and know virtually nothing about which strings are good and which strings are not.

We aren't trying to be smart-@$$$es, we are telling the truth. Just mess around with different brands and play what ever sounds/feels the best to you.

What are some bands you want to sound like?

zacpack · #10 09-02-2010, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamdenialNJ

None of them are necessarily bad or good, they just sound different. Round wound strings sounds like you're playing a bass GUITAR while flats make you sound like you're playing a BASS guitar.

What brand of rounds have you had good experiences with?

James Hart · #11 09-02-2010, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zacpack

I'm buying a Classic Vibe Jazz from another TB'er soon once paypal transfers my money, which is why I'm looking for opinions. I'm new to bass and know virtually nothing about which strings are good and which strings are not.

Nice bass... you can't go wrong with a standard like that. My first thought would be to try some Nickel Rounds and some Stainless Rounds to see which you prefer. I generally hate nickel and love stainless, but for as many will agree with me, you'll hear a similar response disagreeing.

After that, if you find everything to bright and zingy, you might want to give flats or half wounds a try.

I have one bass with flats (fretted 5 string with Jazz style pickups) and the rest wear Circle K strings which are a new and small company that makes a nickel/stainless hybrid (round wound) that is set up for balanced feel (and tone) across the strings.

NineSpine · #12 09-02-2010, 07:14 PM

Indie rock is way too broad of a genre to make even a mild recommendation. You should just give a few sets a try for a couple of weeks each and see how they feel.

When you ask such a broad question, you are usually only going to get two replies:

1. Someone tells you to use what they use, which is advice of almost no value.

2. Someone tells you to try a few different things.

The latter is the best advice you can get. The former will just lead to you picking something based on absolutely nothing relating to you. Picking something specific in response to a ridiculously broad question doesn't really do you any good, because you aren't picking based on your needs. Have a little faith in your own ears and fingers. You don't need the pre-approval of a jackass on a message board (myself included) to pick strings.

zacpack · #13 09-02-2010, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James Hart

Nice bass... you can't go wrong with a standard like that. My first thought would be to try some Nickel Rounds and some Stainless Rounds to see which you prefer. I generally hate nickel and love stainless, but for as many will agree with me, you'll hear a similar response disagreeing.

After that, if you find everything to bright and zingy, you might want to give flats or half wounds a try.

I have one bass with flats (fretted 5 string with Jazz style pickups) and the rest wear Circle K strings which are a new and small company that makes a nickel/stainless hybrid (round wound) that is set up for balanced feel (and tone) across the strings.

Do steel strings last longer than nickel strings, or vice versa?

TheDialog · #14 09-02-2010, 07:17 PM

I use Fender 7250M strings. I play a '71 P through a '78 SVT into a '00 810AV. Hope that helps.

zacpack · #15 09-02-2010, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metallicafan18

We aren't trying to be smart-@$$$es, we are telling the truth. Just mess around with different brands and play what ever sounds/feels the best to you.

My apologies to you, metallicafan, I didn't mean to include you when I said that. Just the other guy with the stupid remark.

peterpalmieri · #16 09-02-2010, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zacpack

My apologies to you, metallicafan, I didn't mean to include you when I said that. Just the other guy with the stupid remark.

The problem with your question is that it's like asking, I live in california what kind of tires should I put on my car.

That being said the strings you put on your bass have very little to do with the style of music you are going to play. It has everything to do with what you want as a player. There are two important factors: how they sound and how they feel. It may take time before you have a strong preference for either sound or feel.

I'd suggest going with the strings that the bass ships with, take note of what you like about them and what you hate. Come back and we could point you in the right direction if you are not satisfied with what is on there.

There is also an article by Ed Friedland floating around where he basically reviews every DR string set on the bass emporium website. That may give you a better sense of things as well.

iamdenialNJ · #17 09-02-2010, 10:59 PM

For the longest time I used to just go to the closest music shop and just be like "give me a cheapest medium gauge bass strings you got" most of the time they would hook me up with Ernie ball strings. When I actually started paying attention to my tone I've been using D'Addario Chromes which are flats.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zacpack

What brand of rounds have you had good experiences with?

Deluge Of Sound · #18 09-02-2010, 11:04 PM

More importantly, which jeans sound best for indie rock?

johnboy65 · #19 09-02-2010, 11:05 PM

daddario has a sound chart on the package and their website. I use nickel on everything from alt-country to dub to rock.

XansNiceSweater · #20 09-02-2010, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zacpack

I'm buying a Classic Vibe Jazz from another TB'er soon once paypal transfers my money, which is why I'm looking for opinions. I'm new to bass and know virtually nothing about which strings are good and which strings are not.

any of them. You don't need to be a good player to play indie rock anyway.