The Warmest Nickels?

[KYJazzy]

I play in a jazz band and I use chromes on a p bass. The chromes sound good but we have some songs where a more active/articulate sound is needed. I may be getting into rock in the summer and I'm looking for a punchier, more cutting sound with some rounds, but also appropriate for jazz. any song that needs a darker sound I think I could make up for with tone shaping and technique if I made the switch. anyway...

Who makes the absolute, undisputed warmest nickel strings? brightness is not what I'm after - fat low end is a plus (thinking john mcvie tone here). I just want some punch and cut beyond what flats can offer. discuss, it determines my next string purchase! thanks.

[SGT. Pepper]

D'Addario XL Nickels or Fender 7150's Pure Nickel Roundwounds.

[PB+J]

I'm a big fan of flats and I've liked Ken Smith compressors--they're nice and dark

[Modern Growl]

by far the warmest round wound on the market are Thomastik-Infels Super Alloy 'Infeld' strings.

They are an alloy with loads of nickel infused in the wrap, instead of the nickle plated steel strings mentioned.

They have the most nickel in them of any string in the market.

[lavaman67]

I really love the DR Sunbeams. They are really warm, articulate and have a great smooth feel. I use them on both my P and Jazz basses and they both shine!

[UBU]

+27 on the sunbeams!
luv'm

[Gene Leone]

For nickel plated:

TI Super Alloy or DR Sunbeams.

100% nickel:

TI Jazz rounds (very thin string though)

Fender 7150's

[nad]

Get nickel wound strings, not nickel plated steel like most of them are. I don't think many people realize the difference. Well, less than what should anyhow.

TI Jazz Bass rounds are a great mellow nickel wound string. A bit too mellow for my tastes but they feel absolutely AMAZING.

I see several people are recommending DR Sunbeams. I love these strings myself, they are on all my basses (except my P which has flats), but they don't get mellow until a few weeks to break in. TI Jazz strings are much less zingy.

[Eublet]

I agree with Nad. I wouldn't call Sunbeams warm at all, at least not initially. They're very bright and zingy, and since they are very flexible, they tend to get clackety if you aren't in good control of your technique. Having said that, I really like them, but they aren't on my list of warm strings.

[JimmyM]

This is why nobody should ask questions about strings on Talkbass. Everyone has their favorite strings, and nobody will ever recommend anything but their favorites, regardless if it fits the bill or not.

[Eublet]

Sunbeams are my favorites, but I didn't recommend them as being warm.

[KYJazzy]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

This is why nobody should ask questions about strings on Talkbass. Everyone has their favorite strings, and nobody will ever recommend anything but their favorites, regardless if it fits the bill or not.

Good observation I appreciate the opinions though. I always hear about Sunbeams this and sunbeams that, but I'm pretty sure the SUN in "Sunbeams" doesn't mean warm, they'd likely be harshly bright to my ears.

right now I'm leaning toward the fenders because it won't cost me an arm and a leg like the TIs will. any other pure nickel strings? Are the fenders mellower than the XL's simply because the XL's have steel in them? thanks again

[BillytheBassist]

Originally Posted by KYJazzy

Good observation I appreciate the opinions though. I always hear about Sunbeams this and sunbeams that, but I'm pretty sure the SUN in "Sunbeams" doesn't mean warm, they'd likely be harshly bright to my ears.

right now I'm leaning toward the fenders because it won't cost me an arm and a leg like the TIs will. any other pure nickel strings? Are the fenders mellower than the XL's simply because the XL's have steel in them? thanks again

Rotosound swing nickels, pure nickel, wear in very nicely warm and smooth yet articulate... too my ears anyway.

[bassbrock]

I've found Curt Mangan's nickel wounds to be quite warm sounding...

http://www.curtmangan.com/

[mrcircle]

[quote=KYJright now I'm leaning toward the fenders because it won't cost me an arm and a leg like the TIs will.[/QUOTE]

The TI Super Alloys are very long-lasting strings, IME -- way more than conventional strings -- so they actually end up being cheaper in the long run, at least for me.

[KYJazzy]

well I went with the 7150's. we'll see how it goes and I'll post what I think later in the evening

[fretlessrock]

The Superalloys are a great choice, and they break in pretty quickly to a darker nickel sound. The Jazz Rounds, however, are the warmest I have ever used. They break in pretty quickly and once they age a bit they are positively deep-city. The nice broken in set that came on my SR5 fretless (the seller is a friend, I know where they have been) make that bass sound like Ray Brown would play it. I had to swap them out because they were just too dark for what I am playing.

[KYJazzy]

well I put the Fender 7150s (M gauge, 45-105) on and surprisingly even after having a set of ML chromes on there it still needed a tweak of the old truss. What I'm happy to say is that I'm delighted with these strings! Its my first nickel set and I now know what I was missing.

The first thing I noticed of course was the complete recovery of my high-end. The chromes had nothing up there (doesn't help my C# on the G string is a nasty dead spot) and died quick, which was great for emulating a double bass, but my band leader actually started picking our criteria based that he only had an electric bassist to work with - so lots of sambas, bossas, and west coast charts. anyway at first I thought they were a little twangy, but after a period of regular practice I can already hear them taking a more mellow shape.

They sound excellent! I'm surprised at how warm they actually get - technique and tone-shaping with these strings really makes a difference between getting a roundwound or more flatwound sound. Very versatile. Oh, and did I mention they feel like butter? I even like how the gold silks look against my midnight wine P - very slick. Overall couldn't be happier with the strings and can only see the sound getting better as they age some more.

[SGT. Pepper]

Those are probably the best Nickel strings on the market PURE NICKEL! I wish they made a five string set. Glad you like'em KY.