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Biggest string disappointment ever - whats yours?

Trying the new Dunlop SuperBright strings.

I love them so much that I'm super disappointed they didn't start making them years earlier. Can't tell you how much time I've wasted on strings.

Thats kind of how I felt after trying my first set of Lo-Riders. I couldn't believe I wasted so much time D'Addario XL's. Which I still consider good strings, but Lo-Riders are amazing
 
I've yet to find a string that hasn't had something disappointment in some way. Boomers, ugh. Rotosound nickels, Elixirs, D'Addario EXPs, DRs were great but they had so many intonation problems, Ken Smiths were my fav for a long time but they didn't last very long either. The original Dunlops were so stiff.

+1 on wishing there were more balanced sets. Why does everything have to be so symmetrical? .45 to .105? I wish more guys did stuff Ken Smith did with .44s to 106.

Currently, I'm using Chromes and they seem to have the least amount of complaints garnered from me, though I had to get custom sets, too.
 
Sunbeams. I bought some, in hopes that they would be warm-sounding rounds, but they just sounded kind of dead to me, and with some unpleasant overtones. I swapped them around on a few different basses, but was just never happy with them. They're just not my string.
 
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I'm wondering if something has recently changed with the Dean Markley Blue Steel strings? In the past, they were consistent, bright and would last fairly long. My last set went deader than old flats in 1 week. The previous set didn't last much longer. Are they being made in a new factory? I had heard that they had moved.
 
I have two monster disappointments in strings:

1.) Elixer Black Beauties- The black wrapping is put on the outer wire BEFORE it is wrapped around the string. This process resulted in my receiving "rope burns" when sliding on the fret board.

2.) GHS Brite Flats- I don't know what it is about the manufacturing process, but these strings seem to be coated in super glue. They are hands down the stickiest strings that I have ever encountered. And it's not just me, there are many reviews saying how terribly sticky they are. No amount of cleaning, oiling, or use ever changed the fact that they were nearly impossible to slide with, and slowed down my overall ability to play at speed.
 
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Been using just the standard Slinkys on both my SBMM basses because I figured hey that's what they come with and might be designed to work together.

However I've been itching to try the cobalts and got my first set last week. Took them off after a half hour and put the Slinkys back on. Too bright and had no midrange punch at all. Some have said they're too rough but I didn't notice much difference. $25 down the drain.
 
The worst strings For me were Dean Markley Blue Steel. Cryogenically activated (what is that)? They were deader than dead sounding right out of the box.
Bingo!!!!!!
Exactly the same to me, looks like the strings arrived dead, unique strings untill now that i couldn't live with.
Strings are not cheap in Brazil and this was my worst purchase ever...
Just for fun: are they made by Behringer?
Ok, i use something from Behringer too!!
 
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Depends what you mean by disappointment. I have basses that I've tried several brands/types of strings on to find the sound I want from that particular bass (and a couple I'm still experimenting with), but that's not the string's fault. I am disappointed with D'Addario electric bass and guitar strings, but it's because I'm allergic to something they use in the final polishing/finishing process. I always wonder if some of them might give me the sound I'm looking for; but we'll never know.. Their phosphor-bronze mandolin and acoustic 12-string sets are great, though. Honestly, other than the factory strings on my Rogue and Starfire violin basses, I can't remember ever having strings that were simply "bad"-just lucky, I suppose. And, finally, I'm disappointed that only one company (John Hearse) makes strings for my long-scale banjo; but that's my punishment for being weird enough to have one, I guess..:D
 
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That's crazy because back when GC carried them (6-7 years ago) it's all I bought, because I could get months and months out of them. I once had 3 set ups in a year, once every 3-4 months, and I kept the same Blue Steels on every time. I could not get them to die. They were amazing. Always had great luck and great tone with those bad boys. They were a magic set. I've moved on since, but I'll hold a place in my heart for Blue Steels.
Funny, maybe who loves the uggly can see it beauty...
imo worst strings ever!!!
 
I wonder how many of these dislikes would not be if the same strings had been tried on different bass- some strings just don't work on certain basses.

My biggest disappointment:
D'Addario Half-Rounds- ok on someone else's bass (that's where they went after trying them on several of different construction).

You can get GHS precisions in 38 inch winding length from BSO now

I saw where they are making some (most?) 37.5" now, to fit more basses.

38" is too long for many 34" scale basses, especially w/o stringing thru-body, or have a B or E tuner close to the nut. No idea why they want to limit their sales that way.
 
I'm wondering if something has recently changed with the Dean Markley Blue Steel strings? In the past, they were consistent, bright and would last fairly long. My last set went deader than old flats in 1 week. The previous set didn't last much longer. Are they being made in a new factory? I had heard that they had moved.

Yeah I think DM has changed a lot of things in the past year or so.