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Bottom and growl...
- Thread starter T D S
- Start date
There are so many factors beyond strings. If you solo your bridge pickup and play hard with a pick right next to the saddles you aren't going to get any growl or bottom end regardless of what strings you slap on that bass.
Similarly, if you get super light strings and play with light but super clean technique, EQ your bass/amp well, and know how to fit your playing into the context of the mix and song, the bottom end is going to sound just fine regardless of what brand the strings are.
Similarly, if you get super light strings and play with light but super clean technique, EQ your bass/amp well, and know how to fit your playing into the context of the mix and song, the bottom end is going to sound just fine regardless of what brand the strings are.
That depends upon which bass you put them on.
Ernie Ball Cobalt, i think they are one of the best sets of strings.
True. But I switched to Sadowsky black label. They are more present IMO.
I haven’t tried every string available but I would go with Marcus Miller Dunlop Super Brights or the more polite DR Fat Beams.
IMO "growly low mids" is oxymoron. Growl is in upper mids, it's ritch upper harmonic content helping bass guitar be heard over other instruments that dominate same frequencies (mostly guitars). Overdrive or distortion can further highlight that content, that's why light OD is very often used in recording, even if you can't really distinguish it.
Low mids are OTOH the "body" of bass guitar sound, they by themselves sound "round" and "fill in" the sound just below guitars, but sound flubby and farty if over-accentuated.
So for growly sound, you want idealy a bass that has bridge pickup, light OD, and/or a bit of boost in high mids 2-3.2Khz helps. Treble you can actualy leave or even cut. Bass or low mids adjust to taste with EQ, to best fit your band sound. It' all about the mids.
As for strings, stainless steels and bright nickelwounds work best, but ANY string can growl.
Myself, I use worn-in nickelwounds most of the time.
Low mids are OTOH the "body" of bass guitar sound, they by themselves sound "round" and "fill in" the sound just below guitars, but sound flubby and farty if over-accentuated.
So for growly sound, you want idealy a bass that has bridge pickup, light OD, and/or a bit of boost in high mids 2-3.2Khz helps. Treble you can actualy leave or even cut. Bass or low mids adjust to taste with EQ, to best fit your band sound. It' all about the mids.
As for strings, stainless steels and bright nickelwounds work best, but ANY string can growl.
Myself, I use worn-in nickelwounds most of the time.
Jazz bass : Dunlop Marcus Miller stainless steel super bright rounds
Precision bass : Rotosound 66 stainless steel rounds
Precision bass : Rotosound 66 stainless steel rounds
I really like the Ken Smith Taper Core stainless strings for exactly this, big but not muddy, low end, and crisp, bitting high-mids and highs that aren't harsh and overly bright. End up paying more for them now than I ever did, but they keep that sound a long time so don't need to switch that often, even when I'm gigging regularly.
I know experimentation can get expensive, but from the looks of the many answers here, many strings can get you "there" along with some different fingering techniques and eq-ing. Not much help, I know, but this is how I alter tones.
What's the bass and the am;p? The same strings will sound very different on a Hofner, Jack Cassady or 4005 vs. a Sadowsky or Warwick, then what amp is it going through?
All the ingredients matter. Your Instrument = (Bass Guitar [Strings+Technique] + Amp[Effects]). It all works together to make Your Tone.
Generally for most people, stainless roundwounds will often be brighter than nickel rounds, which most will hear as more bass, deeper.
All the ingredients matter. Your Instrument = (Bass Guitar [Strings+Technique] + Amp[Effects]). It all works together to make Your Tone.
Generally for most people, stainless roundwounds will often be brighter than nickel rounds, which most will hear as more bass, deeper.
Your amp. Your settings on your amp. Your bass. Your settings on your bass. The way and how you play your bass. In the whole continuum of what makes "bass sound", strings are not nearly important as the other things I mentioned.
At the moment I'm playing mostly direct into my DAW and monitoring via headphones. I have a Yamaha TRBX504. I quite like the sound of Boomers and Rotos...and wanted to see what else was in a similar vein.
IF the Boomers are working for your DAW/'phones setup, I'd stick with them, as there is no more consistent string in the known Universe than Boomers: I've been using them off and on since the late 1970's, and today they sound, feel, and last EXACTLY as the first set I bought almost 50 years ago. I find it's far harder to find strings that sound right over headphones than through an amp in the room.
