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Anyone try Elixir Bass Strings?

#21
I've got the Nanowebs on a 4-string fretless - price wasn't bad thru juststrings.com (I think I paid $37). They have been on 2 1/2 years and coating is still tight, but I religiously wipe them down during and after playing so I don't leave any finger residue...AND I make sure I don't coat my fingers with chicken fat before playing! :)
 
#22
I'm a big fan of the Nanos, and they are pretty much my string of choice now. Sound great on my J - warm and punchy. I wasn't crazy about the Polywebs, however, as the string coating would fray over time. And I also tried Cleartones for comparison, which feel more like standard roundwounds, but they sounded very average, IMO.
 
#23
I just put a set (Nano-web 45-105) on my Lakland 494 Classic last night. So far I'm not impressed. They do sound like a well broken-in set nickle rounds, and they feel a bit more stiff than the old stainless DR's I took off it. Those strings had been on the bass for over 2 years but it didn't get played a lot in that time. The feel under my left hand is bit more tension than I expected, but that may be just new strings so I'm still keeping an open mind on them. I was hoping for a bit more presence than I'm hearing.

The other thing is that the E string was too short for the full windings to go over the nut if I strung through the body so I 've got it strung through the bridge and the others through the body. This at least confirms my position that the difference between string-through and top-load is pretty much vodoo.

jte
 
#25
me too, I like ELIXIR nanos a lot. they don't loose brilliance through a sweaty gig. sound consistent for weeks and weeks. I hate this "ouch, should I change strings tomorrow or may I wait another week?". with ELIXIRs you avoid this tonal up & down when changing strings regularly: lots of highs => good working sound => starting to become dead => goto waste basket. ELIXIRs just start sounding normal and remain stable for weeks and months.

ELIXIRs are a bit stiff, so you should like this (I do).

If you play much with a plek, you hurt the gore(TM) shilding and sweat may enter by and by and kill the tone (happened to me).
 
#26
I first came across Elixir strings nearly four years ago when I bought my Ibanez BTB 6. They were pre-loaded on the bass. Even though the bass had been in the store for a while and had been played by numerous people, the strings sounded great (played in, as others have pointed out).

It was quite a while before I needed to replace them and even then it was mostly because the coating was starting to disintegrate over the pickups where I play finger style. The tone was still good. This was after a dozen or more gigs and an equal number of rehearsals. I currently have three six-string basses and a vintage Ovation Magnum I, all stringed with Elixir. To be honest, I don't like them so much on the Ovation (perhaps as it is passive and the others are all active? I’m not sure) and may change to uncoated on that bass. As it doesn't get gigged too much, I suspect the strings will last OK.

Equally, one of my six strings is a Sei headless and although they feel and sound great on the bass, I don't like the Allen bolt locking mechanism at the nut for non-double-ball end strings (I even pulled the low B out of the allen bolts grip last week stretching the string whilst tuning) and as Elixir don't do double ball end strings, I've bought some Hotwire round wounds via the Status website (great price) for this bass when the Elixirs need changing.

JTE - they do two string lengths (for the B at least) so you may need the extra long set for your bass.

So, going forward, I will continue to use Elixirs on two six string basses.

Incidentally, the other six-string is a Cort Curbow which I have strung E to E ‘a la’ baritone guitar. Using a standard Elixir set for the lower four strings, I bought their 'high C' string for the B string (are you following this?) but they don't produce a gauge low enough for a high E. I therefore had to use a single (uncoated) .22 from another manufacturer. Not ideal, but I'll see how it works out...

I mostly used Rotosound Swing bass on my basses for the previous 30 years, so it was a big thing for me to change. I agree with most other posters on this thread that the strings sound just about played in from new but they stay that way for a long time. How long they last will be down to your playing technique, aggression level and hand/sweat acidity.

Yes they are expensive to buy, but as they last so long, you need to work out what you would spend on your regular strings over the same period. For me, there is a value advantage.

Bob
 
#29
Insanity^2 said:
How do these compare to DR Lo Riders? I'm still using Fender stock strings (which I hate) and was planning on something new within the next couple of days, I hear the Elixirs are slimy... kinda the same as playing with greased fingers? because I really hate sliding around ^^
Click to expand...

Initially they are slimy, but you could remove this by wiping the strings for a while. They are default on Ibanez gear, like my brand-new ATK. I understand the reasoning; having a bass guitar in a store means a lot of people will play on them and if the strings are bad after such usage the bass gets a bad reputation. Anyway, I will switch to Rotosound very shortly, as I like bass strings with personality -- Elixirs are OK but they sound (IMHO) like a normal bass string set, nothing special. --Kent
 
#31
Insanity^2 said:
How are Roto's as far as feel go? I'm still using a 35 Watt amp so the feel comes first, and Rotosounds are the most easily accessible, and cheaper ;)
Click to expand...

It's hard to write how something sounds, but it does not hurt to put on a set and see if you like the Rotosound sound or not. It's a little bit more rough and tough, but that's just my opinion. As an example, Geddy Lee and Billy Sheehan use Rotosounds as part of their sound.

There are those who don't like Rotosounds, as well. --Kent
 
#33
I had a Fender BG29 Acoustic Bass that came to life with Elixir's. It sounded terrible with the Fender recommended bronze wounds I tried first. It was the best sounding acoustic that I've owned with those Elixirs on it. Wish now that I had never sold it....but those Tacoma Thunderchiefs do sort of call to me... I can't recall if the Elixirs were Nano or Poly web.:hmm:
 
#35
I used them on my spector and just put a new set last week. The previous ones lasted a year. Not that they were dead I just wanted to try new strings again. A year is a long time hey.

Smooth on your hands and fingerboard, good tone awsome growl and they are bright but not hyper bright. I don't think they are dark strings though.
 

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