Worst string manufactuer you know

[FourBanger]

I like the sound of worn-in/dead Boomers and have not had problems with GHS strings, though most of my GHS use was for years as a guitarist on electrics and acoustics, so where you would give them a thumbs down I would give Boomers a big thumbs up.

I wouldn't want to judge the sound of any string when it was new. No string stays sounding that way. To me it would be like judging what a steak will taste like by licking it raw beforhand.

[jamminology101]

IME, every bass almost always has its favorite string. I have a 2012 fender select jazz that has very strong, almost overwound sounding pickups in it of almost a p quality in the jazz positions ....so i put some chromes on it and those were the perfect string for it!! All the balls of a round with none of the string noise or tinty highs because of the balsy pickups on em. I have always liked rotos on my jazzes, but they sound pretty uninspiring on my sadowsky uv70 metro because of the natural scooped sound of their hum cancelling singles. Sadowsky blues seem to sound pretty damn good on all of my basses(17)....especially on the uv and my will lee...better thsn the rotos66 but i prefer the sound of the rotos on my fenders with their more mid present aggressive sounding single coils. My ibanez grooveline was tinty and thin sounding but dr low riders brought it to life. I think every bass has its own string demands to get that "right" sound we all have in our heads. Desert island string....sadowsky blues(dislike the blacks btw)

[alexlocurto]

Ernie Ball bass strings always make me sad.... Apparently they have great guitar strings, but their bass strings don't do it for me. :P

[Tactician]

Its funny - this question about strings is one of thoes you get asked occasionally by someone who sounds like Kermit the Frog. "Excuse me, did I decern that slight nasal tone whilst you were playing Rebel Yell that denotes a string of your choice is the ground rounds from the former East German company xx?"


The answer is always - yes mate, but I'm rather busy playing right now!

[punkjazzben]

I don't know which brands I dislike. All I know is that I like Fodera for rounds, LaBella for flats, and Corelli for double bass.

[NekoTheWolf]

The worst strings I've ever used are GHS Coated Boomers, they sounded decent, but they had awful life. I had them on for a week and a half and the high G string just unwound, never ever had it happen before,EVER. The whole reason i bought them is because they were supposed to last longer then the regular boomers. I don't like Fender strings, or Elixirs.

[DudeLeap]

Ernie Balls have to shortest life span in my experience.

[BWB]

Originally Posted by Direct Box Rox

for me it was DR. Only time I ever broke a string while tuning up. It was a set of DR Low Riders & GHS strings have always lost their luster after a week or so.

I've been playing bass for ... 30 years. I've broken ... 5 strings or less in 30 years. 2 of them were from a single set of DR's within 1 week of putting them on my bass.

When I reported this duly to TalkBass, I was shouted down about blah blah blah, I didn't know anything and I must have done something to cause them to break ...

... and then other people reported the same thing ...

... and then the repostings of email from DR customer service admitting they had QC problems started ...

Haven't bought a DR string since. Never will.

[jpTron]

Ernie Ball. They feel new for a day before feeling like they've been on my guitar or bass for years. Sure my favorite strings, Rotosounds, lose their incredibly snappy sound after a few days, but they still sound awesome after that. Ernie Ball just sounds awful from day one and gets worse and worse by the hour.

[zmBass]

RotoSound(swing) nuff' said

[Duke21]

Originally Posted by zmBass

RotoSound(swing) nuff' said

That is a new one, never heard this one before.

[petrus61]

Originally Posted by Duke21

That is a new one, never heard this one before.

Thing with Roto's, IMO, is that they are slightly over priced. The traditional stainless Swingbass strings sound great for a week of normal playing and then just die, IME. Totally scooped mids and a very harsh, brittle top end. Got an SVT with an 8x10 and a P-Bass?Nothing better than some new Rotosounds. After that, not so much.

[cfsporn]

Originally Posted by petrus61

Thing with Roto's, IMO, is that they are slightly over priced. The traditional stainless Swingbass strings sound great for a week of normal playing and then just die, IME. Totally scooped mids and a very harsh, brittle top end. Got an SVT with an 8x10 and a P-Bass?Nothing better than some new Rotosounds. After that, not so much.

I've found Rotosounds to be the most mid-heavy SS strings out there followed by Dean Markley SR2000s, Dunlop SS strings, D'Addario Pro Steels, and then DR SS strings.

Also, they are pretty cheap over at Bass Strings Online.

[tylerwylie]

Originally Posted by cfsporn

I've found Rotosounds to be the most mid-heavy SS strings out there followed by Dean Markley SR2000s, Dunlop SS strings, D'Addario Pro Steels, and then DR SS strings.

Also, they are pretty cheap over at Bass Strings Online.

They've lasted longer than every other string on my fretless too. Got a couple months on em so far, Hi Beams didn't even sound this good.

[petrus61]

Originally Posted by cfsporn

I've found Rotosounds to be the most mid-heavy SS strings out there followed by Dean Markley SR2000s, Dunlop SS strings, D'Addario Pro Steels, and then DR SS strings.

Also, they are pretty cheap over at Bass Strings Online.

I don't have too much experience with the strings you mentioned, aside from the ProSteels. Like I said, the Roto's are great when new, but lose the magic when they die, which is quickly, IME. They certainly are far from being the worst string out there

[kirkm24]

In my experience, I have found that certain basses "like" certain strings better than others.

On all MusicMan basses, I've experimented with virtually all the brands and honestly the cheap Slinky's sound the best, especially on the Stingray.. at least to me.

Fenders seem to work well with pretty much anything but for me, La Bellas and Chromes are best on a P Bass.

The absolute worst strings I've ever used regardless of bass are Cleartone strings..... Nasty!

[petrus61]

Originally Posted by kirkm24

In my experience, I have found that certain basses "like" certain strings better than others.

On all MusicMan basses, I've experimented with virtually all the brands and honestly the cheap Slinky's sound the best, especially on the Stingray.. at least to me.

Fenders seem to work well with pretty much anything but for me, La Bellas and Chromes are best on a P Bass.

The absolute worst strings I've ever used regardless of bass are Cleartone strings..... Nasty!

Despite all my naysaying, I recently found this to be true as well. I was convinced that because TI's had worked well on my last two favorite basses (80's Van Nuys Schecter Jazz, 50's Classic P) that they would be the same for my latest:


Not quite. I think that although they both shared vintage size frets, the other thing they had in common was that they were both used, with moderate fret ware. My theory is that the TI Jazz Flats liked the worn frets better, being a result of a low tension/gauge string and already what was a smaller spec fret size.

So many variables come into play, but I found that if I wanted the TI's to sit right on this particular P, I was going to have to play with higher action (no, not gonna do it). So just to see, I threw on the Fender flats that are coming as case candy with all the new AV series basses.

To my surprise (as someone who tried and hated all Fender strings except the old Pure Nickel), they brought the bass to life! 40-100 ga. Flat wound, stainless steel Fender strings pretty much eradicated TI from the rotation. I'm down to one bass and I'ma do what she say.

[fleahead]

Gibson Thunder Plus were my faves until they closed their plant in 2005. Made their own, they were SS and always loved them. Playing bass for 42 years, I have tried most all. Rotos died within hours and were always too expensive.

I used to work at Gibson's plant, so I watched them being made....and when I left at the end of 2004 I made sure I got a whole bunch to last a while.

Funny thing is I play in an AC/DC tribute band (Downpour) for the last 11 years, and dead bass strings actually found the best doing their music. So when I put on new strings (every 2 years!!) I have to roll off my tone control almost all the way.

[Mr. Ray]

Tried all the major brands of stainless steel roundwounds and I always come back to Rotosound 66 Swingbass...there is no other strings have that sound.

Installing strings properly makes a big difference on how they sound,play and last.

When first installing Rotos for the first time on a bass I find you usually have to tighten the truss rod just a bit..it really helps making them less stiff if the action is adjusted properly.Take some time to tweak the action.
Also when installing strings tune them to pitch slowly and don't overtune them way pass the recommended pitch...it really effects how long the string lasts . Don't overstretch the strings too much.

Also the last winding on the string post should be as close to the bottom as possible..the break angle over the nut does effect the sound.

Also make sure the strings dont bind or stick in the nut when tuning.

Also make sure there are not any sharp burrs on the bridge/saddles.

Sometimes its not the strings fault

[BassLife77]

Dunlops. The SS set I bought for $12 was DOA. Every string was dead. Dunlop sent me 2 packs and they were a little better but not much