Bass VI : EXL156 E String Weird

[PianoOfDoom]

So my rather expensive nickel LaBella Bass VI strings that I bought before Christmas for my Eastwood TB64 (Teisco clone) started sounding kind of dull, thunky, and dead. I'm a little surprised they didn't have more life in them. I just put on a set of D'Addario EXL156 24-84, which I did not expect much from, given the lighter gauge, and they actually sound pretty good on the top 5 strings! I adjusted my neck and intonation, but the low E is a little less exciting than the rest of the set when fretted. Open sounds good, but anything above the 3rd fret or so sounds dead-ish.

Does anyone else have this experience, and is there an easy fix? Can I sub in another brand of higher-tension string for the E without it sounding mismatched?

The only other option on the market right now would be Kalium/Circle K. Do these last longer than the LaBella, and how do they sound overall? Any low E issues?

 

[Aidil]

The fix for me is the La Bella's.

My VI, the Ibanez SRC6, came stock with those D'Addario EXL165 and yes, the main issue was the low E string. Even at open string it wasn't able to produce clear low E sound.

I chose La Bella flats, so I have no issue of how long these would last. At least until I'm bored with them.

 

[PianoOfDoom]

Flats are a whole different thing. I considered it, but I would probably get a second dedicated TB64 for that. Need some good nickels, or maybe ss if they are great.

 

[jdthebassman]

I have a music man silhouette bass and use labella stainless steel strings. for me nickels dont last as long nor do they sound as good. also it is the gauge as well, I use 102-80-57-40-30-22 these give a deeper sound and the e string rings out nice.