Better strings: GHS Boomers alternative

[frankie5string]

I’ll give that a try! Also… what’s a witness point?

The witness point is the contact point where the string rests on the bridge saddle. To give it a tighter contact point, once tuned up, press down on the string on the neck-side of the saddle. That should cause the string to de-tune slightly. Tune back up and see if that helps with string longevity.

Otherwise, if the strings are just left to "roll" over the tops of the saddles, they can have vague contact and even some vibration and twisting that could kill the string earlier.

 

[Evan J]

The witness point is the contact point where the string rests on the bridge saddle. To give it a tighter contact point, once tuned up, press down on the string on the neck-side of the saddle. That should cause the string to de-tune slightly. Tune back up and see if that helps with string longevity.

Otherwise, if the strings are just left to "roll" over the tops of the saddles, they can have vague contact and even some vibration and twisting that could kill the string earlier.

Ohhhhh got it. That makes sense. Thanks!

 

[GreyBeard]

Strings go dead from skin and oil getting clogged in the windings. I rotate 2 sets, when I change one set, I clean the other in an ultrasonic cleaner I paid like $50 for on amazon. The water looks like milk after a cleaning and the strings sound much brighter. Boiling does pretty much the same thing. Either way, you need to get the crud out of the windings.

 

[Sam Dingle]

You should check out Labella RX nickels, not as tight but really cool, or if you light the tighter tension Ernie Ball slinky is good, more mids than D’Addario who’s strings never last a month on my basses. Hate them

 

[Minimalist]

Over the last few month i trued several strings. DR lo rider, hi ruder, boomers, Elixir, pure blues and my favorite are the Fender 7250. I play mainly classic rock and blues.

 

[blr2]

Yeah… after listening to a bazillion demos. I think the Da’XLs are calling my name.

D'addario XL are good strings, but they don't sound anything like Boomers. They have well pronounced high mids/ low treble that is somewhat scooped on the Boomers.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

IMO Bass Boomers are pretty unique sounding, and I’m not aware of any other brand that duplicates their sound.

However, I’ve been using Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkys .045 to .105 on a few of my basses, and I’m very impressed with their lifespan. To my ears, they have a bright sound, but it’s pretty balanced. They do have a bit of a “bump” in the high mids, but it can be adjusted with your amp’s eq.

 

[bassfreakah]

These aren’t as bright but last much longer with a great solid tone. IMO


and are still going after months of playing.

 

[vindibona1]

Looking for strings that sound similar to the GHS Boomers… but higher quality.

I like the punch and the balanced top end of the Boomers. I also like what they do with the mids, not too scooped and not too nasally.

…but I would like strings that last a little longer. The E string on the Boomers seems to die really fast. I know it’s a heavier string so it will be darker… but this is like WAY darker.

They are going on my 2018 MIM Fender Jazz with stock “vintage voiced” Alnico pickups.

Any suggestions?

If you're looking for a sound like GHS Boomers I can't help you as I've never had a set of them. But what I can tell you is that DR Sunbeams sound marvelous on my Jazz basses. I have tried a few other different sets on my Jazz 5 but always go back to Sunbeams while my other basses have other string set.

 

[NC_Rob]

GHS Bassics are different from the Boomers in the sense only the final cover is nickel-plated steel with stainless steel inner layers. This results in a very different tonal character. I would describe them as "clean, crisp and clear".

I've also liked DR Nickel Lo-Riders on my Jazz in the past. Warmer and smoother than the Boomers with a clear midrange.

I've been trying out the SIT Power Wound Nickels on one of my Yamahas for the last couple of months and really like them. I would put their tonal character somewhere between the Boomers and the Nickel Lo-Riders. Not quite as dark and gritty as the Boomers but still with a nice low-mid punch. And they're priced lower than the other three I mentioned.

I have GHS Pressurewounds on my Yamaha and following all of your testing. How are the SIT strings working out (sound wise and longevity) compared the the GHS PWs?

 

[michael_t]

I have GHS Pressurewounds on my Yamaha and following all of your testing. How are the SIT strings working out (sound wise and longevity) compared the the GHS PWs?

I've tried four different SIT strings on my two Yamahas in the last year - Power Wound Nickels, Power Steels, Fusion Wound Nickels and Fusion Wound Stainless. Out of those four the Power Wound Nickels have worked the best for me as an all-purpose NPS rounds. Didn't care for either of the Fusion Wounds.

That being said, my two Yamahas are wearing the Ken Smith Compressors now, which are the closest sibling to the GHS Pressurewounds as the same Alloy 52 "rollerwound" also made by GHS.

When I replaced the Power Wound Nickels on my TRBX505 with the Compressors after 8 mths, I decided to keep the 125B (exposed core) just as an experiment to see how it would match up with the Compressors 40-102. I've been pleasantly surprised at how well they actually match in terms of tonal balance.

 

[NC_Rob]

I've tried four different SIT strings on my two Yamahas in the last year - Power Wound Nickels, Power Steels, Fusion Wound Nickels and Fusion Wound Stainless. Out of those four the Power Wound Nickels have worked the best for me as an all-purpose NPS rounds. Didn't care for either of the Fusion Wounds.

That being said, my two Yamahas are wearing the Ken Smith Compressors now, which are the closest sibling to the GHS Pressurewounds as the same Alloy 52 "rollerwound" also made by GHS.

When I replaced the Power Wound Nickels on my TRBX505 with the Compressors after 8 mths, I decided to keep the 125B (exposed core) just as an experiment to see how it would match up with the Compressors 40-102. I've been pleasantly surprised at how well they actually match in terms of tonal balance.

Much appreciated! Since you switched to something close to GHS Pressurewounds I assume you were not as happy with the SIT as you were with the GHS PWs (and Ken Smith Compressors). For now I might just stick with the GHS PWs until something amazing comes along.

 

[michael_t]

Much appreciated! Since you switched to something close to GHS Pressurewounds I assume you were not as happy with the SIT as you were with the GHS PWs (and Ken Smith Compressors). For now I might just stick with the GHS PWs until something amazing comes along.

As far as NPS rounds go, SIT Power Wound Nickels are very nice strings, not to mention they're well-priced. I will always keep a set or two in my personal stock.

I just prefer the smoother feel of Pressurewounds/Compressors as well as the mid-forward character of Alloy 52.

 

[GIBrat51]

Strings aren't "scooped" - the differences between different round wound strings is all in the treble region. You might think that a set of strings "scoops" the mids, but they don't - they just have more treble, and that is distracting you from hearing the mids clearly.

Strings all follow the same general sonic pattern over time = brightest at first, they lose their initial "zing" quickly, and then settle into a long period of relatively stable sound, and then eventually, they get to where you decide to change them. If a set of strings sounds good out of the pack, but they "go dead fast", what is happening is not that the strings are dying fast - you just bought the wrong strings. If you want long lasting strings, they need to sound too bright out of the pack - that way, when they settle in, they will sound like you want them to for a good long time.

Said another way, Boomers don't die fast, they're just not bright enough for some people's taste - their settled in sound isn't what you want. You want/need brighter strings.

I use Boomers on one bass that needs strings that aren't too bright, I use SIT Power wounds on a couple basses, and the brightest strings I use are Kalium Hybrids. The Kaliums will "last" the longest if you put them all on the same bass, but it's just because they're the brightest - on a bass that needs strings that aren't too bright, they're too bright.....for a very long time.

Yeah; definitely ^THIS^.
As for GHS Bass Boomers? I've had them on more than one of my 2 dozen basses; and I liked them very much. I've only ever had one set of them "die". But, that was "won't stay in tune; won't intonate at all" die. They were the short scale ones, on an '82 Kramer Dike Deluxe when I bought it. God only knows how old they were when I got the bass, but it took me about 4 years of playing the snot out of them, to finally, really kill them. If my nerve-damaged, badly frostbitten fingers could stand to play round wounds for more than 10-15 minutes at a time? That Kramer would still be wearing them - and so would several other basses - especially my '88 Tokai TB48 Thunderbird. The Gibson T-Bird, though, is definitely keeping it flats - regardless...