Tell me about Rotosound RS77LD's.

Dale_M · #1 12-29-2009, 12:18 PM

The title should sum it up. I intend to string my MIJ Hohner lawsuit P bass with 'em, so I'd like to hear an unbiased review of how they sound and feel with a P-type bass.

Also, how do they age? Do they sound dead after a month or two? I don't like to replace my strings a lot (due to lack of funds and I like the sound of broken in strings, rather than fresh strings).

Thanks in advance!

Meatrus · #2 12-29-2009, 12:58 PM

I had a set a while back, but unfortunately probably didnt give them long enough to age as I sold the bass. I had them for about 2 months of light use, and they sounded quite similar to when new at the end of that.

They are bright for flats, and quite growly, but this may die after a bit longer. I quite liked them, but the tension was very high on the standard gauge set, so if this would put you off, try a lighter gauge.

Hope this helps (a bit)

RickenBoogie · #3 12-29-2009, 02:00 PM

My favorite flats, and they stay fairly bright for a looong time. They gots thump, too.

Dale_M · #4 12-29-2009, 02:17 PM

Sounds like my kinda string! I'll definitely try 'em out when my bass is fixed... (the nut broke but L&M are replacing it for free!)

crucislancer · #5 12-29-2009, 02:20 PM

Yup, bright tone for flats, last quite a while, but they do have really high tension, at least for me.

gnergaard · #6 12-29-2009, 02:26 PM

I'm thinking about trying these, too, but need a medium tension set for an old bass...
What guage did you use?
Thanks,
Greg

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meatrus

I had a set a while back, but unfortunately probably didnt give them long enough to age as I sold the bass. I had them for about 2 months of light use, and they sounded quite similar to when new at the end of that.

They are bright for flats, and quite growly, but this may die after a bit longer. I quite liked them, but the tension was very high on the standard gauge set, so if this would put you off, try a lighter gauge.

Hope this helps (a bit)

Mastermold · #7 12-29-2009, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crucislancer

Yup, bright tone for flats, last quite a while, but they do have really high tension, at least for me.

+1

xbmedic · #8 12-29-2009, 02:39 PM

I just strung up a jazz bass with a set a week ago, and I agree with all the posts above. They have lots of growl for a flatwound, and a lot of tension. I had to make a big trussrod adjustment after changing from D'Addario XL's. I think the set I have are 45-105.

Meatrus · #9 12-29-2009, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnergaard

I'm thinking about trying these, too, but need a medium tension set for an old bass...
What guage did you use?
Thanks,
Greg

Sounds like a good idea for an old bass, I did the same with a bass running out of truss rod room, and the gauge made a big difference to the neck. I went to Fender 9050 flats in their lightest which I think were 40-100. I find them to be just as good as the larger gauges as long as you dont dig in too much.

I would go for the lightest of the Rotos, which is the same as the above Fenders and still isnt all that light, its 40 - 100. I think the Rotos I had were standard, but they could possibly have been the 110 - 50.

Mojo-Man · #10 12-29-2009, 06:28 PM

The brightest flats, I've played.

Tension to heavy for my liking.

Basstovsky · #11 01-02-2010, 10:38 AM

I had a set on my cheapo P for a while when searching for that roger waters sound, but after playing it often for about a month the strings really started to sound very...weak. I found it strange since in my experience (chromes, ghs precision flats) flatwounds seemed to get nicer and deeper sounding over time. It might be something to do with being steel, or maybe the way they wound them, but after a month or so of sounding great they just ended up sounding pretty meh.

If the rotos dont work out for you, try the ghs precision flats, ive had a set on my P for some time now and they really have some great funky tone to them, not as bright as the rotos of course, but nice all the same.

Dale_M · #12 01-02-2010, 11:03 AM

Thanks for your input everyone!

Basstovsky, my buddy had a set of GHS Precision Flats on his bass once and I can't say I liked them. They had a 'dead' sound to them. Could have just been his bass, but I'm not too sure. I liked the set of flats that were on my bass when I bought it but I have no clue what they were and I broke the E string, so I figured I'd try the Roto's. I bought the strings and I'm waiting for my bass to be repaired at L&M (broken piece at the nut so they offered to replace it) so I can string 'er up!

dancrocker · #13 01-02-2010, 11:14 PM

I have been using these for a while. I like them because they are punchier than other flats. But, I have found that they lose a lot of this after a couple of months. What's worse is that, because I tend to play the E and A strings more than the D and G (esp. the G), I end up with pretty noticeable tone differences between the lower and higher strings. Honestly, I find this kind of annoying and have been considering trying some more traditional flats.