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Brightest Nickel Rounds
- Thread starter Lo-E
- Start date
Sadowsky Blue Labels are definitely not overly bright. They are pretty much like other standard nickels like Rotobass, BlueSteel Nickels, or LoRider nickels. I haven't tried Black Labels but they are supposed to be brighter.
You're dead on about FatBeams though. I also love DragonSkins, which are coated HiBeams. Steels, but smoother feeling. Not as smooth as nickels though.
Sadowsky Blue Label Stainless is what I was talking about. Someone told me the Blue Label Stainless strings feel very smooth almost like nickels.
Hmm..I didn't find them 'muffled', although they are not as bright as many steels but I guess it depends what you are comparing them too. Definitely brighter than nickels though.
Check out the test I did of Elixir Steels vs. Cobalts a couple of years ago. Cobalts are brighter, but much rougher. Roughest strings I've used, in fact.
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/elixir-steels-vs-eb-cobalts-my-little-review.865137/
I can't edit the post anymore, top clip (blk) is Cobalts, bottom (grn) is Elixir Steels.
Actually, the Elixirs did sound muffled to me in your test. Compared to the Cobalts, at least. Thanks for linking to that. Interesting.
yeah that's why I say it depends what you compare them to....compared to Cobalts which are overly harshly bright they can seem muffled, but compared to nickels they are very bright and snappy. I wish I would have compared nickels at that time too, since that's what I actually use!
No. Both of them are strings I didn't buy a second time
I was set with DR Dragon Skins and Fodera nickels until Dunlop Super Brights came out and I tried them. I've never experienced a string like SuperBrights..they are just so articulate and expressive. I was truly shocked by them, they are something really special. Despite the name (I actually wish they had a different name) they are not what I'd call overly bright, they are just right. They have more of a midrange airiness than a high end brightness....they just purrrrrr.
Hmmm... well, I've got Foderas on deck for testing, now it looks like I might need to check out Super Brights.
...just when I thought I was narrowing things down.
Just out of curiosity, have you tried the Smith Burners?
...just when I thought I was narrowing things down.
Just out of curiosity, have you tried the Smith Burners?
I think you'll like the Foderas! They are great strings. Definitely try the SuperBrights too, just to see if you like them. They definitely have a sweetness all their own, just a question of whether that works for you or not.
Not a fan of Burners...they sounded like most other standard nickels...pretty dull with a stiffer feel.
I
So hoping these new Labellas will be the answer!
I had been using Dunlop super bright nickels for awhile and liked them at first, but I found a couple problems with them so I moved on. I had 2 dead A strings in a row, and also found the lower tension causes way too much fret buzz if you have a stronger right hand attack.
So hoping these new Labellas will be the answer!
Yeah if you like a real stiff string the SuperBrights are not what you want. They don't buzz on any of my basses even with my ham fisted attack, but I've used low tension or really light strings for years so I have my setup dialed in pretty good.
And during all this talk about bright nickels, I forgot one...Circle K. Dang those things are bright! Low tension too, so maybe check those out as well.
Interesting that we have had such divergent results with a couple of different string types. I didn't find either of these things to be the case with the Burners at all. Just goes to show how different people's perception can be. Of course, I'm also not applying any science to the testing whatsoever so my results could have been skewed by what I had for breakfast. Okay, maybe not that bad, but you get the idea....
Circle K is on the list already, although I haven't purchased any yet. It looks like Elixirs, SuperBrights and Circle K will all be part of round three, along with whatever else crops up in the meantime. I just received some sets from Jason the other day that I'll start moving through for what we can loosely call round two.
I think I'm going to start moving strings to other basses just to move things along a little faster. After a set's been evaluated, I'll move them to another instrument rather than waiting 'til they go dead. It'll probably save us five years at the rate I've been progressing! Besides; you guys keep coming up with more suggestions faster than I can try them out. So many choices out there, now! An embarrassment of riches!
Elixirs have good brightness. There are probably brighter strings than Elixirs.
A. The brightness which they do have, they basically keep, for a long time. If you don't take the strings off and on or have to mess a bunch with trussrodding and intonation, so that the strings aren't tweaked a whole bunch (tweaking like that kills your strings): you'll probably find that after a week or so, they will be essentially unchanged for 6 months. Maybe more. When normal strings are going through some major brightness loss at 1 month, elixirs sound the same as they did after week 1. When normal strings are completely dead after two months. Elixirs sound the same as they did, after week 1. When you've bought new strings or pulled a batch out of an alchohol bath: Elixirs sound the same as they did after week 1.
B. For most basses I have tried them on, Elixirs bring out a chimey, saturated sweetness to the highs and an airy midrange. This sweetness and air also helps them to feel bright. They do lack some authority in the low mid. But once you dial in a good low end compliment, you are on the way to some pretty sweet, unique tone.
For me, Elixirs have two flaws. 1. they don't make balanced tension sets. 2. The coating does make them feel a bit stiff, compared to some uncoated hex core strings.
However, you probably won't ever play another true roundwound which feels smoother. And they have a nice, predictable slickness to them. They used to be super duper slick, with a bit of a butter/oily feel to them. Even though they aren't oiled. However, they changed the coating so they are about half as slick as they used to be, without the weird phantom grease feel.
* I would posit to say there probably isn't a better gigging/touring string. Provided you don't have noise issues which depend upon string conductivity. However, if your bass requires string conductivity: In my opinion, that's a problem. Your bass should not need that. Even with single coils.
A. The brightness which they do have, they basically keep, for a long time. If you don't take the strings off and on or have to mess a bunch with trussrodding and intonation, so that the strings aren't tweaked a whole bunch (tweaking like that kills your strings): you'll probably find that after a week or so, they will be essentially unchanged for 6 months. Maybe more. When normal strings are going through some major brightness loss at 1 month, elixirs sound the same as they did after week 1. When normal strings are completely dead after two months. Elixirs sound the same as they did, after week 1. When you've bought new strings or pulled a batch out of an alchohol bath: Elixirs sound the same as they did after week 1.
B. For most basses I have tried them on, Elixirs bring out a chimey, saturated sweetness to the highs and an airy midrange. This sweetness and air also helps them to feel bright. They do lack some authority in the low mid. But once you dial in a good low end compliment, you are on the way to some pretty sweet, unique tone.
For me, Elixirs have two flaws. 1. they don't make balanced tension sets. 2. The coating does make them feel a bit stiff, compared to some uncoated hex core strings.
However, you probably won't ever play another true roundwound which feels smoother. And they have a nice, predictable slickness to them. They used to be super duper slick, with a bit of a butter/oily feel to them. Even though they aren't oiled. However, they changed the coating so they are about half as slick as they used to be, without the weird phantom grease feel.
* I would posit to say there probably isn't a better gigging/touring string. Provided you don't have noise issues which depend upon string conductivity. However, if your bass requires string conductivity: In my opinion, that's a problem. Your bass should not need that. Even with single coils.
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All sound like good reasons to try them! A little lack of low end will never be a problem with this bass - it has more low end than I could ever find a use for. The "buttery" feel was a problem for me with earlier generations of these. I'm glad they dialed that in.
Have never tried Circle K cause they are tapered. I've been trying to stay away from tapered strings! The only bass I have liked with tapered strings is a Dingwall.
