| I totally agree with James, because I have absolutely the opposite opinion. I love nickel strings; they have a warmth that Stainless cannot match. Stainless tends to sound cold when played fingerstyle, and sounds too brittle when slapped.
I do use stainless, but only on basses I don't pull out that often, for the simple fact that stainless strings last 2-3x longer than nickels before they become unplayably dead. Therefore putting Blue Steels on the basses I rarely play ensures I have little chance of having to restring them as soon as I take them out for a little love. The ones I rarely play also tend to have darker sounds, so a set of stainless strings brightens em up and the pickups make up a little of the warmth with their darker voicing (it's just not the same though). My Yamaha TRB fiver and my Fender Jazz both get D'Addario XL Mediums (45-65-80-100[-130]). My acoustic and my Yammie BB 4-string get the Blue Steels in similar gauges. I've tried phosphor bronze and 80/20 on the accoustic, but although they start out very bright, they're dead in two weeks, played or not. I haul my acoustic out maybe once or twice a year, so it's just not worth having the "correct" strings on it.
So, just like James said, you have to find the string that's right for *you*. We can give you hints, but we really cannot make your decision.
General breakdown:
Nickel-steel Rounds: warm, sweet, yet still brilliant sound. These comprise probably 75-80% of bass strings sold. Nickel normally refers to a stainless core wrapped with either a high-nickel alloy winding or a nickel-plated stainless winding. Both methods give similar results. Nickels have a decent lifetime, but will deaden after a while, losing their bright snap and warm center and starting to sound like a rubber band. Dead strings can be an asset in some genres like Motown, but on the whole a newer string is preferable. Nickel is softer than stainless and so will not wear away frets as fast, though nylon of course is far softer.
Stainless Rounds: very bright, scooped sound (heavy on bass and treble, lighter on midrange overtones). Stainless strings last several times longer than nickel before deadening. Stainless is the hardest string material, so bassists that use stainless will eventually have to cough up for a refret or fingerboard refinishing. Both nickel and stainless rounds are generally used only on fretted basses, but they can be used on fretless if precautions are taken to avoid gouging or marking the board.
Bronze Rounds: These generally come in two flavors, phosphor bronze and 80/20. Phosphor bronze is a high-bronze alloy (the phosphor hardens it for durability), while 80/20 is 80% steel, 20% bronze. Both of these refer to the wrapping; the core is almost always stainless. Bronze is softer even than nickel, however it has a brilliance rivalling steel. Bronze strings are normally used on acoustic or piezoelectric instruments, but due to the stainless core they have enough iron to produce a good signal with a magnetic pickup. Bronze also oxidizes and ages faster than almost any metal used for a string and thus bronze strings have a short life.
Coated strings: These are ordinary roundwounds to which a thin polymer coating has been applied. The coating prevents oxidation, a major source of string aging, however it also mellows the string. Nickel and bronze strings are coated to extend their useable life; stainless usually has a long enough life without being coated.
Flatwounds: These can also be found in nickel-steel and all-stainless versions as well. Instead of a winding with a round cross-section, flatwounds are wound with a square cross-section so the surface of the string is flat. Without the air spaces that a roundwound has inside the string, a flatwound is far more mellow no matter whether the string is stainless or nickel. Flatwounds are normally used on fretless basses to simulate an upright's gut string, and to prevent fretboard wear. They are sometimes used on fretted basses for a smooth mellow groove sound.
Ground-round: These are hybrids between roundwounds and flatwounds. Ground-rounds are wrapped with a round winding wire, but after the winding/fusing process is complete a special machine grinds the top half of the winding off, leaving a flat surface. Alternately the wrapping can be formed as a half-circle before being applied to the core. These retain much of the snap and brilliance of a roundwound, but with the flat outer surface. Generally used by fretless players wanting a bright string that won't mark up the fretboard.
Compression-wound: Compression-wounds are also constructed similar to a roundwound, but the string is then fed through a machine that presses the winding with tremendous force against the core, flattening the wrapping's outside and forming the inside into the core. This produces a string not as brilliant as a roundwound, but not as mellow as a flatwound. Used by fretless players, this string is also used by fretted players wanting a mellow upright sound.
Tapewound: These are otherwise normal strings (usually roundwound) around which an extra wrapping of a nylon tape has been applied. The tape deadens the noise the string makes when it contacts a fret or the fingerboard and softens the feel of the string against fingers. It also drastically mellows the tone of the string. Because nylon is very soft, its use on a fretted instrument will very quickly destroy the winding. Despite this, it is used on acoustic instruments, both fretted and fretless, and sometimes on electric basses.
Nylon: These are rare, but available. They are nylon core strings, sometimes wound with a silver wrapping, and are similar in look, feel and sound to nylon classical guitar strings. They do not react magnetically, and as such are suitable only for acoustic, piezoelectric, and optical pickups. The sound is probably the most mellow of any string, and gives a very upright-ish tone suitable for fretless acoustic basses.
Last edited by Liko : 09-07-2007 at 03:00 PM.
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