making my own set

Before you say it: I am not really a mid scoop player so that's not the deal. i don't know if it is one factor or many (amp, cab, bass, effect, playing style, etc..) of why my E string just seemed to overpower my A string and D string, so yesterday i went out and bought an individual set of strings.

the price was about double than usual when buying a packaged set, but i wanted to experiment. i usually use XL170s or XL165s or even XL160s, but the ratio of E to A string is too big sometimes or the G loses its sting.

So, I bought individual Ernie ball slinky 100/85/65/40 and my bass seemed to even out much more. with the bigger A the volume increase effect of playing a D (10th fret E string) vs an open D string or D (5th fret A) was much less pronounced, and with the smaller G added a bit of brightness to chords and the smaller E made the low end a bit tighter.

fun...

DRs

i used to not like em (and i cannot remember which ones i used that i didn't dig), but now i do like DRs (at least hi-beams).

i recently had a EMG PU replacement/set up done on my Fender Duff PJ at a small shop and they didn't have my usual d'addarios XL170s, so i asked what they had, and they said some DR hi-beam lite (40, 60, 80, 100). so i said, "do it"

when i got my bass back it was a new animal (not just because the PU change from passive to active) the tone was the crystal clearest i've heard. it was the strings.

it wasn't 100% what i was looking for on the PJ tonewise (it was a little too clean and not quacky enough in the jazz PU) so I AB'd a bunch of sets/brands and ernie ball (40-65-85-100) seems to be the winner for the PJ so far. so i put the hibeam lites on my old 77 pbass and i've never heard her sound better. the smaller gage and less tention of the hi-beams really help give her some piano-like sparkle. i am happy there! DR hibeams lites will remain on the pbass.

i tried putting those DR blue peacock strings on the PJ (45, 65, 85, 105) and it really wasn't happy with them. they looked cool and sounded pretty good (but much fuller than the hibeams), but they felt weird, plus i don't like 105 E strings. So i put those blue strings on my maiden p-bass. they look really awesome on that bass, and sound much better on that bass too. maybe DRs like my pbasses but not my jazz basses??? go figure.

yeah i might want to try out some hi-beams or fatbeams or sunbeams in 40-65-85-100 (i dig the round core). i talk to a local shop. maybe that paticular gage will sound okay on the jazz style basses i own.