Strings suggestion and question

[DoubleD]

Hey all.
I'm pretty new to the bass. I bought my first bass last July (Ibanez SR300) and have been going at it since. Play in a "band" with some buddys. We play covers of various rock songs from 60's to 2000's. It's fun and helps me stay focused on this project.

I recently replaced my strings (May, 2010) with Thomastik JF344 flat wounds. I did that because of suggestions I received on another forum. I was looking for a duller more vintage sound, more like you'd hear from the 60's or so. I was recommended those to try and did so.

Unfortunately, I'm not at all a fan of the sound I get from these strings. It's like all mid and high end is completely sucked away. When we record our practices (just a stereo out from the mixing board), my bass is buried, lacks tonal definition, and is boomy or muddy sounding. Prior to replacing my strings I didnt ever notice that (used to use whatever round wounds came on the bass).

So, my question would be:
1) what relatively good priced strings would be good for me to replace these with? We play mostly rock / pop-rock songs (The Cars, Modest Mouse, Pink Floyd, GnR, Radiohead, etc.). Should I go back to round wounds? Price isn't the most important factor, but cheaper would be better obviously.

Also, do you think anyone would be interested in buying 4 month old used Thomastiks at a good price? I paid nearly $60 for them new and hate to just throw 'em in the trash. But I really don't like the sound I get from them so I want to replace with something more "normal" sounding (normal being the sound I hear on the music I listen to).

Thanks

[darkstorm]

Rotosound swing 66 and GHS boomers sounded great on mine. Ernie Ball if you want a little more crunch. Be sure you play with the midsweep control, it lets you dial in tone in a way that the bass and treble control cant due to its nature in how it affects the mids.

[willg95]

personally. flats have never been that friendly to me. i didn't like the dull tone it had and i also found it to be too boomy no matter how much i played with the eq. i have heavy gauge round wounds i use in a number of different bands from jazz to metal. if it's more bass you're looking for, i'd say just roll up the bass knob on your amp. and given your stance of cost, round wounds tend to be cheaper probably since they're more abundant. use whatever you want to, man. it's all a matter of personal preference if you ask me. that's just my 2 cents

[DoubleD]

Thanks.

I know it's personal preference, but no sense starting from scratch when there are resources like you guys out there.

I'm glad some other people have shared my experience with the flats. I've tried every eq combination I can think of to get rid of the boomyness and brighten them up a touch, but it still all sounds wrong. The mid sweep control is actually the only thing that's allowed me to get a remotely useable tone. I have to run the bass down a couple notches on my bass and turn the "low bass" down on my amp (LMTube).

Still pretty dull and boomy though.
Thanks for the suggestions and if there are others, I'm all for listening.

[DERECOLA]

try half rounds.

[DoubleD]

Originally Posted by darkstorm

Rotosound swing 66 and GHS boomers sounded great on mine. Ernie Ball if you want a little more crunch. Be sure you play with the midsweep control, it lets you dial in tone in a way that the bass and treble control cant due to its nature in how it affects the mids.

Of the manufacturers you suggested, is there a certain product I should try? Don't they make more than one type of string?

[mmbongo]

Dunlop Nickels are right up your alley.

www.stringsandbeyond.com has them for $9 a set (buy one get one free). Can't beat it.

[Blues Bass Man]

Originally Posted by mmbongo

Dunlop Nickels are right up your alley.

www.stringsandbeyond.com has them for $9 a set (buy one get one free). Can't beat it.

Dunlop Nickels? I wish Dunlop made Flatwounds....don't you mmbongo?

[SurferJoe46]

Just to make it more confusing - what was wrong with what came on it originally?

My SR had and still has Elixir Nanos and they can cut to any tone or amount of punch you might need as far as I am concerned.

They are quiet and have no clunk or whiz, nice to your fingers and some people get all nervous by seeing the kitty fur after they get some miles on them. That's a bonus for you to see their looks on their faces.

FWIW: those Nanos are original on my SR and at over a year playing them there has been no deterioration in tone or playability. In fact, I've put Elixir Nanos on my MIM Jazz and my VM-Jazz too.

[lowendfriend]

Thomastik's are kind of extreme flats.

You might be a lot happier with Daddario chromes or Labella stainless. Rotosound 77's might also be a happier choice.

[SurferJoe46]

Originally Posted by lowendfriend

Thomastik's are kind of extreme flats.

You might be a lot happier with Daddario chromes or Labella stainless. Rotosound 77's might also be a happier choice.

Remember that the OP is a n00b, and I can't rightfully recommend ROTO 77s for someone who is just starting.

Don't get me wrong - I love mine on my P and they are what it needed to get it out of storage after 9 or so years - and I play them all the time, but frankly ROTO77s are kinda akin to playing #8 rebar - they are pretty stiff.

Let him get his fingers/calluses up to snuff and then it might be timely to suggest them at that time.

[mmbongo]

Originally Posted by Blues Bass Man

Dunlop Nickels? I wish Dunlop made Flatwounds....don't you mmbongo?

No sir. I like tone and not a lifeless thud

[Blues Bass Man]

Originally Posted by mmbongo

No sir. I like tone and not a lifeless thud

I like tone too....that is why I love La Bella Flatwounds,just not the price. I wish a budget brand like Dunlop would make some decent flatwounds.

[DoubleD]

Originally Posted by mmbongo

Dunlop Nickels are right up your alley.

www.stringsandbeyond.com has them for $9 a set (buy one get one free). Can't beat it.

Thanks to everyone's responses. I ended up picking up a couple sets of the Dunlop nickels, as mmbongo suggested. I think these will be closer to my liking. What a great price too - 4 sets of strings for about 2/3 of what I paid for the single set of Thomastiks.

Anyone want to buy some gently used Thomastiks? lol.

Originally Posted by SurferJoe46

Just to make it more confusing - what was wrong with what came on it originally?

My SR had and still has Elixir Nanos and they can cut to any tone or amount of punch you might need as far as I am concerned.

They are quiet and have no clunk or whiz, nice to your fingers and some people get all nervous by seeing the kitty fur after they get some miles on them. That's a bonus for you to see their looks on their faces.

FWIW: those Nanos are original on my SR and at over a year playing them there has been no deterioration in tone or playability. In fact, I've put Elixir Nanos on my MIM Jazz and my VM-Jazz too.

Honestly, I had no idea what strings came on the SR300. I did like them a lot though. Good tone and all the other attributes you described. Thanks for the info; If I go searching for a new string in the future, I'll now know what was on there when I bought the bass.

They did kind of shed a little there at the end. I take it that was a coating on there? They were pretty dull sounding when I changed them after 8 months of using them. But they were pretty dirty too (I'm pretty bad about forgetting to wipe down my strings after playing).

[DoubleD]

Originally Posted by SurferJoe46

Remember that the OP is a n00b, and I can't rightfully recommend ROTO 77s for someone who is just starting.

Don't get me wrong - I love mine on my P and they are what it needed to get it out of storage after 9 or so years - and I play them all the time, but frankly ROTO77s are kinda akin to playing #8 rebar - they are pretty stiff.

Let him get his fingers/calluses up to snuff and then it might be timely to suggest them at that time.

I'm not sure at what point someone progresses from "just starting" to being just a beginner, but the calusses are building nicely.

I did find that the Thomastiks are incredibly easy on the fingers though, and how can someone NOT like that.

My index is obviously my most "numb"/callused finger, but the other 3 are coming along nicely. I agree, though, I'm probably no where NEAR ready for something extremely stiff. Thanks for helping me there and keeping me focused on what's appropriate at my stage of development.

[SurferJoe46]

Ya know - I've still got the original Elixir Nanos on my SR500 - and even with the kitty fur, they still play brilliantly and with lots of definition.

The 'fur' is the coating, all right! It won't hurt anything unless you lick it off and eat it maybe.

The same company that makes some sort of sportswear that keeps you dry makes the strings or the coating and that's what you see being shed.

Just DON'T use a heavy-handed cleaner or string cleaning chemical or mechanical device to clean them - BIG-O MISTAKE-O!

But seriously - you can have all the calluses, but there's another requirement for stiff strings.

Muscles!

I would bet that if you started with 77s, you'd be off bass-playing pretty fast unless you like pain and stiff fingers.

If you've got arthritis - then it's even worse.

Your development is all according to your physical and mental game - if you've got both oars in the water, then you'll advance faster, grasshopper.

If at any time you get a sore elbow (No - really!) you are doing something wrong! Stop and investigate your positions on the fret board and your thumb position on the back of the neck and even the position of the bass across your body.

If you gun-slinger the bass, you'll get all sorts of pains that you won't realize is being caused by the position in which you play.

About all that: another time and you may be exempt anyway.

Just try to develop a good fretting technique - not being bothered by stiff strings for a while until you get the rudimentary stuff outta the way.

At almost 50 broken years of bass-playing - I still get some pain if I play the ROTOs for a full gig with three or four sets.

[Hollywars]

http://circlekstrings.com/store/index.html

This is it.

[SurferJoe46]

Originally Posted by Hollywars

http://circlekstrings.com/store/index.html

This is it.

If you were looking for the Circle K post - this is the wrong one.

But - if you wanted to post this here - then just remember that string gauges and tensions and thicknesses will be quite confusing to a new player - why not just let him get packaged sets where he's familiar with the merchant and then as he grows in appreciation and wants something different, then he should be introduced to custom strings and sizes/tensions/materials that he may not now have any clue of or about.

I looked at that chart - and quite frankly it's confusing to me too after all these years. I don't see any reference to the type of surface (ground, wound, wet noodle-like, half round, flat, hacksaws, slinky, stiff, finger-eaters, coated or whatever.

A professional might take this on, but frankly I think the merchandising of Circle Ks is poor at best for most people without a semi-degree in metallurgy and string alloys.

That's a shame as I really would like to investigate their line - but like many others who might feel the same way - it's all very intimidating and they certainly lose my sale.