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Considering Stringjoy

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Dan_reeves

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Jun 14, 2013
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1,810
#1
I am considering picking up some Stringjoy strings. Probably just nickel plated steel rounds of some variety.

I did a search and haven’t found much from super recent. So for those who have tried them, I have a couple of questions:
  • What brand would you say they most sound like?
  • What brand would you say they most feel like?
  • What is longevity like for them?

In one post I read, someone likened them to DR Sunbeams - fair comparison? I am fairly familiar with Daddario, Fender, Ernie Ball and GHS nickel offerings. I haven’t played Sunbeams before - I love Fat Beams, don’t like either High Beams or Pure Blues. So, I know it’s a try it and find out kind of thing, but I’d be interested in opinions before I place an order. Thanks!
 
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#2
Funny you should mention Stringjoy. I was exchanging emails with Tom Mulvaney there just last week. I give them full credit for being very responsive with emails!

They specialize in nickel-plated steel hex-core roundwound for bass. My hesitation has to do with their pricing - $29.90 USD for a 4-string set, plus $6.95 flat-rate shipping to Canada. What would make them twice as expensive as the hex-core NPS rounds by other companies, for example GHS Bassics for $14.99 USD?

If you can be the tester for the rest of us, that would be great! ;):D
 
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#3
I may - I have been impressed with the breath of offerings they have given they are a newer operation in the grand scheme of things.

What I am most concerned about is that I am going to end up buying something just like Daddario XLs when a) Daddario is cheaper, b) more readily available and c) I already have some. I know I just need to take a leap and I probably will eventually. Just mulling it over first. I have a lot of unopened Daddario and GHS strings at the moment so it’s not really like I need them. More a curiosity. I saw a vid by RumblinMan on YouTube where I thought they sounded amazing, but he was using a Tone Hammer which I also love and could’ve made maybe anything sound really good.
 
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#6
Hey Dan!

I bought a set a couple years ago after talking with Scott at Stringjoy. Great response every time I emailed.

A thread here.
Stringjoy Strings!

A thread I started in 2019. My take on them is included.
Stringjoy Nickel Wound Bass Guitar Strings? Any thoughts?

Briefly I would say they likely sound similar to GHS Boomers, which Scott admitted they were pretty close to in sound. I find that Boomers have more bite and Stringjoy's possibly a little more tame version of Boomers. Somewhere in between regular Boomers and Round Core Boomers might be right where they sit. That said, they are not a slightly more expensive version of Boomers.

They tend to be stiff. What I do really like is you can order a set in various gauges to customize however you like at no extra cost. They are great to deal with. I'd send you the set I have but I will likely but them back on something at some point.
 
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#7
dagrev said:
Hey Dan!

I bought a set a couple years ago after talking with Scott at Stringjoy. Great response every time I emailed.

A thread here.
Stringjoy Strings!

A thread I started in 2019. My take on them is included.
Stringjoy Nickel Wound Bass Guitar Strings? Any thoughts?

Briefly I would say they likely sound similar to GHS Boomers, which Scott admitted they were pretty close to in sound. I find that Boomers have more bite and Stringjoy's possibly a little more tame version of Boomers. Somewhere in between regular Boomers and Round Core Boomers might be right where they sit. That said, they are not a slightly more expensive version of Boomers.

They tend to be stiff. What I do really like is you can order a set in various gauges to customize however you like at no extra cost. They are great to deal with. I'd send you the set I have but I will likely but them back on something at some point.
Click to expand...

Ah thank you very much! I am not sure how I missed that post. My bad! Thanks for the thoughts, very interesting. So they’d be darker than XLs, but a bit mellower than hex Boomers…that sounds a bit like some SITs I tried a few years ago. Hmmm….decisions…
 
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#8
Dan_reeves said:
Ah thank you very much! I am not sure how I missed that post. My bad! Thanks for the thoughts, very interesting. So they’d be darker than XLs, but a bit mellower than hex Boomers…that sounds a bit like some SITs I tried a few years ago. Hmmm….decisions…
Click to expand...
I haven't played XLs in years so I can't comment there.

Having just put a new set of Boomers on a Thunderbird, I was really expecting more bite and even new string zing, but that was absent. The bass that I mostly had the Stringjoy's on was that bass, so I they may lean toward hex Boomers than Round Cores.

To your other questions, which I unintentionally skipped:
They feel about like Boomers as far as being rough or smooth. They don't feel like Roto's--but Roto's don't bother me at all.

I played them on several basses and were on one for a while and they still sounded about the same to me, so I would say they have good life to them.

The reason for them not staying on a bass--I was searching for the "right" string for one of my basses and was trying various strings, both rounds and some flats, many of which I already had at home. That they didn't stay on a bass is no reflection on the strings. As I said, they will likely end up on a bass before the end of the year.
 
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#9
dagrev said:
I haven't played XLs in years so I can't comment there.

Having just put a new set of Boomers on a Thunderbird, I was really expecting more bite and even new string zing, but that was absent. The bass that I mostly had the Stringjoy's on was that bass, so I they may lean toward hex Boomers than Round Cores.

To your other questions, which I unintentionally skipped:
They feel about like Boomers as far as being rough or smooth. They don't feel like Roto's--but Roto's don't bother me at all.

I played them on several basses and were on one for a while and they still sounded about the same to me, so I would say they have good life to them.

The reason for them not staying on a bass--I was searching for the "right" string for one of my basses and was trying various strings, both rounds and some flats, many of which I already had at home. That they didn't stay on a bass is no reflection on the strings. As I said, they will likely end up on a bass before the end of the year.
Click to expand...

I like XLs as a sort of generic starting point and they end up staying on in some cases. My favorite strings ever are probably Precision Flats - but I am floating back towards rounds at the moment. I primarily have a box of Boomers, XLs and P Flats in a box ready to go.

But…I recently put together a 5 string passive jazz bass that is super dark for some reason. I have a 4 string jazz also - both are alder bodies with maple necks - and both are stacked pot passive with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound jazz pickups. But the 5 string is way darker than the 4 string - so I am looking at brighter options. I might just have to go SS on this bass - but I am not sure yet.
 
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#11
Dan_reeves said:
I recently put together a 5 string passive jazz bass that is super dark for some reason. I have a 4 string jazz also - both are alder bodies with maple necks - and both are stacked pot passive with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound jazz pickups. But the 5 string is way darker than the 4 string - so I am looking at brighter options.
Click to expand...

I would suggest the GHS Bassics as a slightly brighter alternative to the Boomers. They utilize a hybrid NPS-SS construction, meaning only the final cover is nickel-plated steel with stainless steel inner layers. More neutral and balanced in their tonal character than the Boomers with a clear, crisp top end and less of the low-mid grind.

Products - BASSICS™ - GHS Strings
 
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#12
michael_t said:
I would suggest the GHS Bassics as a slightly brighter alternative to the Boomers. They utilize a hybrid NPS-SS construction, meaning only the final cover is nickel-plated steel with stainless steel inner layers. More neutral and balanced in their tonal character than the Boomers with a clear, crisp top end and less of the low-mid grind.

Products - BASSICS™ - GHS Strings
Click to expand...

How do Bassics compare with XLs in your opinion? Similar flavor?
 
#14
I don’t mind spending money to try a new set of strings that are different from what I’m used to. I’ve tried several. Some that I try stay on the bass longer than others.

I’m not saying the Stringjoys are bad strings. But they stayed on the bass for about an hour. Off they came, back on went the D’addario EXL170s. As do most new strings I try.

I guess I’m partial to the D’addarios.
 
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#16
michael_t said:
I thought you were an EB Slinky guy... no? ;)
Click to expand...

Actually, yes, until a little over a year ago. When I stopped using the Power Slinkies (which I liked just fine, but at my age, I should be playing lighter and using a lighter-gauge string), I tried the Super Slinkies. But they would go dead much sooner than the Power Slinkies. Very odd. So I went with the D’addario EXL170s. Actually, I think I was using the Power Slinkies before and after the Stringjoys.

The ol’ memory ain’t what it used to be…:roflmao::roflmao: Thanx for guiding me straight!
 
#17
Not as tangy as HiBeams. But what is? But I get the DR comparison for feel. I love their guitar strings. Their service is over the top. Wish they made flats too. But outside TB that’s a really low volume in the industry so I get it’s not a priority.
 
#19
I’ve tried them when they were first announced sometime around 2014. From what I can gather, I felt the strings were whatever. Nothing different from Daddario XL strings. Almost felt similar to Daddario XL but after gathering some info years later from sponsored artists, there big market is the custom gauges they offer to consumers.
 
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#20
Ethereal Thorn said:
I switched to stringjoy from using custom sets of Daddario pro steels and I love them they are getting more tension with a 135 gauge b string then my Daddario 145 gauge and feel more flexible and articulate.
Click to expand...

That is really interesting- so, if I am understanding you correctly, they have more tension (less prone to fret buzz I’d assume - did you have to tighten your truss rod?) but they don’t necessarily feel like they are tighter, right? I would like to hear more about that. I kind of think that way with P Flats. This bass I would put them on has a nut where the slots have been filed ever so slightly low - I have been too lazy to fix it but a higher tension string would help with the first fret buzz. I don’t notice it too much as I rarely play open strings (and I honestly need to just take an hour or so and fix the nut)…
 

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