Alternative for Roto Swing66 lasts longer

[BklynKen]

@Clemouze I used RS66 for a long time and love the sound and tension. I've tried pretty much all the strings mentioned here and the only ones to give me the "wow" factor of the RS66 is the La Bella Stainless Steel (M45), previously called Hard Rockin' Steel. I highly recommend giving them a try.

 

[LanEvo]

LanEvo and/or Bass Man Dan : can you define slinky for me? i think i'd love a "slinky" string but i'm not sure what you guys mean by the term. thanks.

Slinky basically means the string has low tension when tuned to pitch and feels a little loose/floppy/rubbery under your fingers. Slinky strings are generally easy to bend and have some give when you pluck them. Folks who do a lot of slapping and popping seem to like the feel of slinkier strings.

Rotosound Swing 66 and GHS Bass Boomers are at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. When tuned to pitch, they have very high tension and feel stiff. Makes them harder to bend (which most bass players don’t do much anyway). When you’re playing really hard and fast either with fingers of pick, having more tension can make your right-hand attack a little more consistent.

 

[JRA]

Slinky basically means the string has low tension when tuned to pitch and feels a little loose/floppy/rubbery under your fingers.

yeah --- that's the description i'd expect...my take, too. thanks!

 

[Clemouze]

True story, why I did this post

I have several basses with several strings

Jazz bass with labella flats
Modulus Flea Bass with GHS flea bass boomers
Musicman Stingray with Ernie ball super slinky
Geddy Lee jazz with 2 weeks old rotosound swing 66

All these strings are older than the roto
When passing through the corridor and touching the G string of each bass on the wall it goes like ( in the order mentionned) :

Donk ( normal )
Tzing
Tzing
Tzonk ( NOT NORMAL)

That's why !!!
I don't even play that geddy so much !

 

[Roxbororob]

True story, why I did this post

I have several basses with several strings

Jazz bass with labella flats
Modulus Flea Bass with GHS flea bass boomers
Musicman Stingray with Ernie ball super slinky
Geddy Lee jazz with 2 weeks old rotosound swing 66

All these strings are older than the roto
When passing through the corridor and touching the G string of each bass on the wall it goes like ( in the order mentionned) :

Donk ( normal )
Tzing
Tzing
Tzonk ( NOT NORMAL)

That's why !!!
I don't even play that geddy so much !

Maybe you have a dud string (quality control at Roto has grestly improved but they still can ship a cople of duds)?
I have been playing Rotos for years, yes the do lose zing quick, but not nearly as quickly as you describe. But they must be played to loose zing. Its not a tension thing, its all about that stainless grit pulling skin cells and oils off you fingers and trapping between the winds.

 

[Oly Spart]

I confirm, my last set of Rotosound came with the G string in bad state. It was like dead already, with gray areas. Reseler had to give me another one.

 

[jeffb28451]

The old Warwick Red Labels are some of the nastiest, cheapest strings I’ve ever used...I like ‘em!

 

[Clemouze]

Ok I A/B 'ed fresh roto swing 66 and fresh dunlop MM super bright

Comparative video with tone samples :



First clip is always the Rotosound RS66LD 45-105
Second clip is always Dunlop Marcus Miller Super Bright 45-105
(Poorly ) Played on a Fender Geddy Lee Jazz Bass (mex) moded, low action
Recorded with the Rocksmith jack to usb cable, and audacity
1/ Pick
2/ Slap
3/ soft fingerstyle
4/ Hard fingerstyle close to the neck ( those f***** CLONKs on the E string for rotos ?! )
5/ Very hard finegrstyle

I will do another comparaitve video maybe in a week. ( I will not play them until that other video to keep them equal, I suspect the rotos lost brightness even without playing them )

My thoughts :
Very similar
Dunlop MM slighty midscooped, less high medium, less boomy/uncontrolled low medium maybe. More zing, more focus bass/sub . Overall a more balanced set of strings, I think I will LOVE them ( if they lasts longer than rotos )

 

[eriky4003]

Thanks for the comparison, Clemouze. The MM signature 'reminded' me of Rotos in the way they cut more than any other string I had tried recently so that is what stuck in my mind. I'm also in for two more 5string sets ordered today. I was playing a set of DR Fat Beams at last nights gig and I still stand by what I've said before on this forum - a more polite sounding string then the MM DSBs - similar in tone heft (lows & highs) but not as cutting in the mids.

 

[Stan_da_man]

Salut les gars (et filles)

Ok another " swing 66 alternative " thread I know sorry! But I didnt find the same idea on the other threads.
I don't want softer strings. I don't want less bright strings .
I want to know if an alternative exists that lasts longer but sounds like swing 66.

The rotos lost their brightness sooo fast !
Ok they still sound cool after that loss but come on I buy them for that bright clanky crunch, low action and everything .

I wash my hands before, I clean the strings after, I use some dunlop blue thing to keep them alive, I slap them TO HELL before playing to work on their elasticity, etc
I am Ok to change them before every gig ( which is not often ) but not every week !

Any proposals?

Thanks for Reading
Clément

Nothing sounds like Rotos - that's why they're still going after 50+ years! Dr Lo Rider Steels will get you close.

 

[Clemouze]

Nothing sounds like Rotos - that's why they're still going after 50+ years! Dr Lo Rider Steels will get you close.

Thank you
Dunlop marcus Miller also seem very close

 

[Stan_da_man]

I found the MM strings to be much less brighter than Rotos or DRs. In fact, I would say go for the standard Super Bright Steels over the MM strings on the basis that they're much brighter fresh on.

 

[Roxbororob]

Thanks for taking the time to do the comparisons guys. Really good stuff.

Clemouze posting the Audacity video along with the audio is was very interesting to zoom in on.

Stan_da_man your double stops and chords really brought out the best in both sets of strings.

I was suprised at how close both came but its clear to me that Rotos are still the string for "that" sound (I think the MMs are closer but its probably splitting hairs).

I really dont see how the others can last significantly longer unless their windings are much tigher (closer together/smaller diameter winding wire). And if they are, then that might be the tradeoff to matching the roto sound exactly.

As I mentioned before, with extra cleaning care my Rotos last me fine enough and they are actually slightly cheaper (plus I dont see MM in heavy gauge which I prefer):
Rotosound Heavy Guage $23.99
Dunlop Marcus Miller Super Bright $24.99
DR LO-RIDER HEAVY $25.99

 

[Clemouze]

I found the MM strings to be much less brighter than Rotos or DRs. In fact, I would say go for the standard Super Bright Steels over the MM strings on the basis that they're much brighter fresh on.

Do you find them less brighter in my comparative video?
I don't heard that

 

[eriky4003]

My experience with the DSBs was - I purchased the MM DSBs first and had them on my five-string bass. I really liked the tone but decided to try the regular DSBs on the same five-string bass which then I found lacked the heft of tone I found in the MM's (similar to my experience of DR Hi-Beams vs DR Fat Beams). In the last year, I modified one of my cabinets to give it a 'Fearful-type' sound which brings out more mids from my basses and I've found the MMs-grind really sound nice with my gear. So much so, that I'd say I appreciate those strings more than my former favourite on my five-string - DR Fat Beams.

 

[Clemouze]

My experience with the DSBs was - I purchased the MM DSBs first and had them on my five-string bass. I really liked the tone but decided to try the regular DSBs on the same five-string bass which then I found lacked the heft of tone I found in the MM's (similar to my experience of DR Hi-Beams vs DR Fat Beams). In the last year, I modified one of my cabinets to give it a 'Fearful-type' sound which brings out more mids from my basses and I've found the MMs-grind really sound nice with my gear. So much so, that I'd say I appreciate those strings more than my former favourite on my five-string - DR Fat Beams.

Nice !
I think I will install Dunlop super Bright MM on my stingray and flea bass , maybe on the geddy Lee, but will keep rotos on the Rick

 

[BklynKen]

Please also give the La Bella Stainless Steel (M45) a chance.

 

[eriky4003]

BklynKen, I looked up the M45s - that's a good price! How about longevity of tone? I just tried the MM DSBs that I've had on my Rick since August and they still sound amazing. Are you getting 4-6 months of desired tone from the M45s? Thanks!

 

[BklynKen]

BklynKen, I looked up the M45s - that's a good price! How about longevity of tone? I just tried the MM DSBs that I've had on my Rick since August and they still sound amazing. Are you getting 4-6 months of desired tone from the M45s? Thanks!

I tend to change strings every few months, but as far as I can tell they last a long time. I also find that some of that gets lost in a band mix anyway.

 

[Clemouze]

Can someone do a comparative M45s vs Rotos ?
( it tooks me way too much hours to do mine ..! )