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Do Strings Make The Bass?

#41
I see many responses speaking to tone. Yes, certainly the strings affect the tone.

What about playability? The feel of the instrument. If an instrument just isn't comfortable to play, has anyone found that changing strings to have a profound improvement on playability? This is assuming a proper set up, of course.
 
#42
Egg250 said:
What about playability? The feel of the instrument. If an instrument just isn't comfortable to play, has anyone found that changing strings to have a profound improvement on playability? This is assuming a proper set up, of course.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, and this is where being open to going up/down in gauge matters. People are too quick to jump to a different brand of string, even though they like the current tone, because "brand x is too stiff." There are different gauge sets for a reason.

Find the one that works for you, and don't be afraid to go "off the beaten path" and put a custom set together from singles.
 
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#43
IMO, strings make a big difference. Over the years I’ve become pretty familiar with 4 different brands, and what to expect from them tonally, surface feel, string tension, and lifespan.

I used to “tailor” the sound of my basses by which brand of strings I put on them. For instance, back when I wanted my basses to sound bright, I used D’Addario XLs, because they had the brightest sound, and they stayed bright sounding the longest. My Alembics and Spectors sounded too bright, so I used GHS Bass Boomers on them. Bass Boomers are the least bright sounding strings that I use, and I found that they made my Spectors and Alembics sound slightly warmer.

I bought an EBMM U.S. made Sterling, which came with EB Hybrid Slinkys. I experimented with my favorite brands, and I found that it sounded it’s best using Hybrid Slinkys.

For the last several years I’ve been using a fatter sound, with a lot less high end, so I’ve been using GHS Bass Boomers on most of my basses.

I use GHS Pressurewounds on one of my main basses. The sound of these strings match up perfectly with what I want from it.

And I use Rotosound Swing Bass 66’s on my P-Bass. I feel the sound of SB66’s on a P-Bass is a very iconic Rock bass tone.
 
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#44
I say it differently than @Jon Moody says it above. But it is the same thing, only from the other direction. In my experience, the right strings can bring out what a bass has to offer, and the wrong strings can kill the tone of a bass. Personal examples (list truncated to the best and worst sets, or general descriptions), leaving out most of the other sets I may have tried on a particular bass):
1) Rickenbacker 4002 (yes, "2," not "1" or "3": best with GHS Progressives and their meatiness; worst with D'A XL's; due to the lower mids having the dip characteristic of Rickenbacker basses;
2) Custom fanned fret P-style bass, usual alder/rosewood: best with Fender flats and their growly goodness; Second with Roto or GHS stainless rounds, nothing really bad due to the classic recipe, so some better than others although NPS can sound thin.
3) Ibby SRA305: best with D'A XL's, since the mahogany body has resonance where the strings have a scoop and a presence peak where the tone of the body starts to roll off; worst Fender flats due to the clash of mid resonances giving a nasal tone;
4) Jaguar mid-scale H: best are La Bella flats giving the classic round tone; everything else meh, or too light because the strings of other companies are not engineered to a mid scale;
5) Mitchell short scale: best with GHS Balanced Nickels to give a big consistent tone and feel, worst everything else that either doesn't fit or is too light a gauge to be stable.
Your mileage WILL vary - I encourage experimentation. The best way to experiment is to purchase slightly used sets on the forum, be careful with them, and if they don't work out you might be able to recoup some of the cost selling them on down the line.
 
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#45
Egg250 said:
I see many responses speaking to tone. Yes, certainly the strings affect the tone.

What about playability? The feel of the instrument. If an instrument just isn't comfortable to play, has anyone found that changing strings to have a profound improvement on playability? This is assuming a proper set up, of course.
Click to expand...

I have a touch that varies from subtle to extremely heavy depending on genre and mood, and I have hands that can kill strings. When I was young, I had a lot more oil in my fingers when sweating and would kill a new set of strings dead in a week. I even broke strings back then (including a low B during one memorable session!) . Now my strings last much longer and I don't break them, but they will still go dead after a while from normal use.

This is where not just the tone but the FEEL is affected. Dead strings cause more friction. If the dead strings have funk on them, it's even worse. Does this affect my (subjective) opinion of a bass? Absolutely. Unfortunately.

Example: I have a bass that I'm in love with for the past year or so since I bought it. This is bad news for a few of my 10 basses that are lower on the totem pole of affection. If I haven't picked them up to practice on enough, the strings have oxidized, which feels horrible. The psychology of this is that it reflects poorly on that instrument, which is unfair. The instinct goes like this: "I haven't played my SoundGear in a while... [picks up, plugs in, tries to play] "UGH! This is horrible!" I know it's because the poor thing was neglected, and now I will neglect it even more if I can't be bothered to spend the extra money to change out the strings.

My solution to this problem is to use the coated strings from DR like the Red Devils and Black Beauties for my instruments that I don't gig on regularly. These strings have a slightly muted tone compared to my regular strings, and they have a unique feel, but they stay nice and snappy for months longer.

The bottom line is that clearly the kind of strings we use matter. If we can notice dramatic differences between different types of strings (roundwound vs flats) and if the age of strings makes a difference, it stands to reason that more subtle differences will affect the playability of a bass as well.
 
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#46
Jon Moody said:
Absolutely, and this is where being open to going up/down in gauge matters. People are too quick to jump to a different brand of string, even though they like the current tone, because "brand x is too stiff." There are different gauge sets for a reason.
.
Click to expand...

You sound like you have much more experience experimenting than me. I'm about to change the strings on an Ibanez BTB 6 (which I use for both hard rock and jazz) and logged on here to ask a question that's probably good for this discussion... I love the sound and feel of BTBs but the normal strings I use do indeed feel "too stiff" on them. On other basses, if I use regular light strings I can get a wide vibrato and bend 1.5 steps on the G-string. On my BTBs, I can barely bend a full step.

I'm intrigued by your mention of a very light set of strings that has .108 on the low B. Who makes those? And do you have any recommendations for me if I'm looking for a more flexible string set that still sounds good?
 
#47
Kragnorak said:
I love the sound and feel of BTBs but the normal strings I use do indeed feel "too stiff" on them. On other basses, if I use regular light strings I can get a wide vibrato and bend 1.5 steps on the G-string. On my BTBs, I can barely bend a full step.
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Is the BTB you have a 35" scale neck? That's probably why on your other basses the light gauge strings are not as stiff as the BTB.

If that's the case and you like the sound, maybe experiment with an extra light gauge set on the BTB. A quick test is to detune the BTB a half step, and then play around with it. If you like the feel of the strings, and the vibrato and bending is closer to what you deal with on your other basses, an extra light set on the BTB will probably be a good thing, and help you keep a consistent feel across all instruments.


Kragnorak said:
I'm intrigued by your mention of a very light set of strings that has .108 on the low B. Who makes those?
Click to expand...

I had them made as a prototype run for a project (check my sig :thumbsup:).
 
#48
I think they’re as important as any other major tonal factor. The right strings can make a dog a keeper, or turn a keeper into your number one. I absolutely love the quest to find the right ones for a particular bass.

They are one of the simplest changes you can make, and also one of the most dramatic.
 
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#51
Something I've found, I don't know whether it's odd, is that for playability sake I prefer stiffer strings on my P bass that has a C width/wide and thick neck versus lighter and more flexible strings on my skinny jazz bass neck.

The two necks are about as extremely different from one another as they come on 34" scale Fender/FSO basses; big and clunky versus slim, fast and easy.

The P bass currently has 45-105 Dunlop stainless flats while the Jazz bass has 40-100 Dunlop stainless flats. When I tried to 40-100 set on the P bass they felt too loose for how I play that bass.
 
#52
The impact string choice makes is absolutely huge. Over the years it has saved me from selling a bass or changing pickups for sure. I’ve tried everything in playing for 38 years and I’ve consistently found that every bass I’ve owed always sounds objectively better if I use any string made by DR. It’s not even close really.
 
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#53
tindrum said:
The impact string choice makes is absolutely huge. Over the years it has saved me from selling a bass or changing pickups for sure. I’ve tried everything in playing for 38 years and I’ve consistently found that every bass I’ve owed always sounds objectively better if I use any string made by DR. It’s not even close really.
Click to expand...

Knowing what you like makes life go easier.
 
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#56
I would say it's bad specific. I have a 1970 lucite short scale that i couldn't get to sound good. I started a thread and everyone pretty much recommended GHS nickel balanced, the bass came alive. Sounds great and feels even better.

I would say it comes down to the bass. Some basses need a good string, other bases sound good with anything
 
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#58
ThomasTronics said:
I would say it's bad specific. I have a 1970 lucite short scale that i couldn't get to sound good. I started a thread and everyone pretty much recommended GHS nickel balanced, the bass came alive. Sounds great and feels even better.

I would say it comes down to the bass. Some basses need a good string, other bases sound good with anything
Click to expand...
Steve Slate said:
Proper setup makes the Bass. That allows the string to perform/Play at it's best!!
Click to expand...
It's both of those combined with decent amplification or headphone set up. But it's really amazing how some strings will suit a certain bass better than others.
 
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