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Brightest Nickel Rounds
- Thread starter Lo-E
- Start date
I wonder what the 40s are then cause that's what I just bought. Did you measure more than one pack?
Read through the entire thread and it was well worth my time spent reading through it all to the point it got me inspired to go to my local guitar center and pick myself up some d addario nickels for my bass.
Can't wait to try em out and see for myself if they are really "the brightest" nickels out there from what the OP was highly appraising.
Can't wait to try em out and see for myself if they are really "the brightest" nickels out there from what the OP was highly appraising.
My Dunlop super bright nickels came in today. 
They sound really great, but I haven't had them on long. I got the 40 60 80 100s. There is absolutely no floppiness, but at the same time the tension is pretty low. My hands don't know what to think about these awesome strings.
They sound really great, but I haven't had them on long. I got the 40 60 80 100s. There is absolutely no floppiness, but at the same time the tension is pretty low. My hands don't know what to think about these awesome strings.
My Dunlop super bright nickels came in today.
Hopefully the sale on these at BSO lasts until the weekend. I want to get a set of the medium nickel super brights but have to wait until payday.
Any chance you could measure them? I've really wondered about those since the 105-45 set is so much smaller than spec.My Dunlop super bright nickels came in today.
97, 79, 59, 41
That's what I got, but I'm sure each set is going to be slightly different.
That's what I got, but I'm sure each set is going to be slightly different.
I ordered a set of Dunlop Super Bright NPS (45-105) and a set of D'Addario XL (also 45-105) from BSO, which came in today. Decided to try the Super Brights first, for no other reason than they are local (Benicia is only a 60 minute drive away). Both sets will be going on my Nate Mendel Precision, which previously had Rotosound RS66s and Fender 7250s.
Quick thoughts on the Super Brights: Yup, they are super bright LOL. These are slapping strings, for sure, but since I don't slap that won't be a factor. As it's late evening here, I can't really do much other than listen through my Pandora headphone amp. Very flexible, I have to adjust my touch a bit from years of using RS66s, but it's not a huge issue. I'll play with them some more tomorrow, amplified this time.
Quick thoughts on the Super Brights: Yup, they are super bright LOL. These are slapping strings, for sure, but since I don't slap that won't be a factor. As it's late evening here, I can't really do much other than listen through my Pandora headphone amp. Very flexible, I have to adjust my touch a bit from years of using RS66s, but it's not a huge issue. I'll play with them some more tomorrow, amplified this time.
Okay, five months in and I can say with authority now that the Hartkes still sound the way I described them, that I still feel they're okay strings except for slightly flabby bass and are not especially bright compared to other nickel strings. I can also say with authority that I am one lazy bum when it comes to changing strings! ...although I am pretty impressed with the longevity of the Hartkes; they've played a lot of gigs in the past five months.
I will once again offer my sincere thanks to whomever is still sticking around on this thread as I only update it a couple of times a year. When I finally do find the strings I love, there will probably be five more on the market that I haven't tried yet (and no, I have not yet ordered the Super Brights which, by everybody's description, might just end my search)!
Now... about that search: I just put a set of Fodera nickel round cores on the bass. A lot of people suggested these so I'm looking forward to playing them for a while.
The out-of-the-pack impression:
Much more clarity in the lows than the Hartkes.
The usual zing that comes with new strings.
A little bit of oomph in the low mids, but not overpowering.
Overall tone is pretty even, but does not strike me as being overly bright.
Seems almost like a mid-point between the Sadowsky Black Labels and the Ken Smith Burners - and those are two very nice sets of strings to be between.
The feel of the windings is a little rougher than I expected - almost like SS - but not bad. I think they'll burnish a bit after some playing time.
I'll rehearse with them tonight in a full band situation and gig with them next week. By then I'll have a better idea of what they're about. For now, though, they seems like very nice strings, but more even and clear than bright.
I will once again offer my sincere thanks to whomever is still sticking around on this thread as I only update it a couple of times a year. When I finally do find the strings I love, there will probably be five more on the market that I haven't tried yet (and no, I have not yet ordered the Super Brights which, by everybody's description, might just end my search)!
Now... about that search: I just put a set of Fodera nickel round cores on the bass. A lot of people suggested these so I'm looking forward to playing them for a while.
The out-of-the-pack impression:
Much more clarity in the lows than the Hartkes.
The usual zing that comes with new strings.
A little bit of oomph in the low mids, but not overpowering.
Overall tone is pretty even, but does not strike me as being overly bright.
Seems almost like a mid-point between the Sadowsky Black Labels and the Ken Smith Burners - and those are two very nice sets of strings to be between.
The feel of the windings is a little rougher than I expected - almost like SS - but not bad. I think they'll burnish a bit after some playing time.
I'll rehearse with them tonight in a full band situation and gig with them next week. By then I'll have a better idea of what they're about. For now, though, they seems like very nice strings, but more even and clear than bright.
Thank you Maiden Bass. I'll put them on the list for the next string order.
I do read all of your suggestions, even if I don't reply to all of them, folks. Little by little I'm working my way through a very long list of string suggestions that came mostly from your helpful suggestions. I may not be timely, but I really appreciate all your help!
So, a quick update after a two-hour rehearsal: yes, they're bright. 
Living room volumes didn't give me a clear enough picture, as it turns out. At band volumes, the strings have nice high mids and low treble so they're bright without being overly trebly. Nice. They also have a good, overall clarity.
More after they've been on a while....
Living room volumes didn't give me a clear enough picture, as it turns out. At band volumes, the strings have nice high mids and low treble so they're bright without being overly trebly. Nice. They also have a good, overall clarity.
More after they've been on a while....
Thank you for the update. Reading back through the thread, it looks like the comment below, made a few pages back is still in force:
D'Addario XL-
Great tone. Brightness was more in the high mids than the treble. Good low mids, too. Smooth feel and nice tension. The winner so far. Decent longevity.
Incidentally, it doesn't bother me that this project is taking a while. We have too many posts on TB that are based on a few gigs where someone praises their new find. You stay with it until well past the "honeymoon" and I suspect that characteristic keeps this thread quite unbiased. Keep up the great work.
D'Addario XL-
Great tone. Brightness was more in the high mids than the treble. Good low mids, too. Smooth feel and nice tension. The winner so far. Decent longevity.
Incidentally, it doesn't bother me that this project is taking a while. We have too many posts on TB that are based on a few gigs where someone praises their new find. You stay with it until well past the "honeymoon" and I suspect that characteristic keeps this thread quite unbiased. Keep up the great work.
Much of that "staying with it" really just comes down to being both very busy and fairly lazy, I'm afraid, although you might be right that it solidifies my opinions to an extent as well.
Once I get a set of strings on the bass and touch up the setup I tend to just leave it alone unless something stops working. It's also not the only bass I play, but it is the only one I'm using for these tests so... you know how that all goes.
One of the things that concerns me a little bit about dragging it out so long is that I question my own ability to fairly compare strings when it's been months - or longer - since I used the strings I'm comparing to.
For instance, I just compared the Foderas favorably to the Smiths and Sadowskys (which I also liked a lot), but do I really remember what I was hearing with those other strings on the bass? I'm not really sure....
I've joked numerous times about how unscientific this whole experiment is but, at the same time, I really would like to be as fair and impartial as I can. In part, just so I know I really learned something and also out of respect to all of you who have contributed ideas and experience. When I get narrowed down to, perhaps, a top three or maybe five I'll do another comparison, waiting much less time between sets so I can fine-tune the final results and know that I really heard what I think I remember hearing.
Regarding your comment about the D'Addario XL, those strings are sort of a gold standard for a reason. I know they are not to everybody's taste, but they really do offer great tone and feel at a very modest price and have for decades. It's not an accident that they are so popular. I'm having fun doing these tests, but if somebody told me I had to use XLs from now on or they'd hit me with a stick, I wouldn't feel I was settling.
I've been on my own little string journey, trying to find a better string for my Nate Mendel Precision. It's currently strung with XL165s, and I liked them so much that I picked up a couple more sets for that bass and to try out on my Jazz basses. They've been on my NM P for a little over a month now, and surprised at their longevity and tone. I'm not quite as sold with them on my Jazz basses, I might stick with SS rounds for those.
Just chiming in again...
I agree with this assessment of the XLs. In fact, I put them back on my fretless while I was waiting for a shipment of SunBeams (from Jason, of course), and I was struck by the great tone - they're a bit meatier and more aggressive than the SunBeams.
But what always gets me about the XLs is the feel of the strings. They are much stiffer than the SunBeams - they feel closer to steel than nickel - and there seems to be much more friction between string and finger.
So, I have just shown myself (again) that SunBeams are still my #1 choice...
Two months in on my nickel D' Addario strings the last time I posted here wanting to try them out. I was highly disappointed but then I found out it's my Bass guitar that's not giving the addarios any justice.
As I'm now currently saving up for a new bass I stumbled upon an Ibanez that had D'Addario nickel wounds installed. As for the tone of the Addarios on that bass the OP explained it very well. Brightness was indeed brought out in the high mids than treble (which I unfortunately rely on for punk music) but as i still continue my journey of nickel strings I have a set of Sunbeams and will perhaps look into Fodera Nickels when I get my new Ibanez
As I'm now currently saving up for a new bass I stumbled upon an Ibanez that had D'Addario nickel wounds installed. As for the tone of the Addarios on that bass the OP explained it very well. Brightness was indeed brought out in the high mids than treble (which I unfortunately rely on for punk music) but as i still continue my journey of nickel strings I have a set of Sunbeams and will perhaps look into Fodera Nickels when I get my new Ibanez
Sunbeams are not bright. They're great strings. They feel great and they sound great. I use them a lot on other basses, but the bass that started this whole thread has a very dark tone; thus the need for bright strings in the first place.
So, I played the first gig with the Fodera Nickel Round Cores last night. The house backline was not especially to my liking and it made it tough to get a sound that could give me a real impression of the strings, but after some fussing with settings, I think I got what I needed.
Mostly, my assessment matches what I found after that first rehearsal: Very good overall clarity (no muddiness in the bass at all), a slight bump in the low mids and the treble is even and not overly bright, but detailed enough that I would still consider them to be bright sounding strings.
Tonally, I think these are very similar to Ken Smith Burners on this particular bass. I had the Burners on almost a year ago, so I'm basing this more on my notes than on any hope of a super graphic memory. If I had to squeeze every last drop of memory out, I might say that the Burners had a slightly brighter overall tone, but I wouldn't swear to that. It's a close call - too close to make so long after the fact.
I also seem to remember the Burners having a slightly smoother winding and slightly less tension. That's not saying the Foderas are bad, just different. To me, they seem like pretty similar strings.
Bottom line: Very nice strings for all the reasons stated above, and they could certainly work on the test bass with the clarity in the bass and good treble detail, but they're not as bright as D'Addario XL (which are still in the lead so far), and the Burners might just edge them out as well, but I'd have to try them back-to-back with the Burners for the comparison to be really fair.
I don't have another gig lined up until the 7th, so I'll have to decide whether or not to move these to another bass and load up the next set on the list. Pretty soon I'm going to have to put another order together for Jason.
Mostly, my assessment matches what I found after that first rehearsal: Very good overall clarity (no muddiness in the bass at all), a slight bump in the low mids and the treble is even and not overly bright, but detailed enough that I would still consider them to be bright sounding strings.
Tonally, I think these are very similar to Ken Smith Burners on this particular bass. I had the Burners on almost a year ago, so I'm basing this more on my notes than on any hope of a super graphic memory. If I had to squeeze every last drop of memory out, I might say that the Burners had a slightly brighter overall tone, but I wouldn't swear to that. It's a close call - too close to make so long after the fact.
I also seem to remember the Burners having a slightly smoother winding and slightly less tension. That's not saying the Foderas are bad, just different. To me, they seem like pretty similar strings.
Bottom line: Very nice strings for all the reasons stated above, and they could certainly work on the test bass with the clarity in the bass and good treble detail, but they're not as bright as D'Addario XL (which are still in the lead so far), and the Burners might just edge them out as well, but I'd have to try them back-to-back with the Burners for the comparison to be really fair.
I don't have another gig lined up until the 7th, so I'll have to decide whether or not to move these to another bass and load up the next set on the list. Pretty soon I'm going to have to put another order together for Jason.
