Don't get the "roughness" hate for Rotosound Swings

[buldog5151bass]

For three decades, I have played primarily Rotosound Swing strings. All the time, I hear "they are so rough on your fingers/strings, they go dead immediately". Frankly, they seemed to last as long as other rounds, and my frets on my jazz are still fine 30-something years later.

So last week, I bought a set of Lo Riders - after talking with @SLaPiNFuNK I figured with a similar core, they would have a similar stiffness, but warmer tone. Put them on yesterday afternoon before leaving for a gig. They felt just as rough as the Rotos - felt like a round wound string. Tone was nice, though - two band members asked if I was playing a different bass, and they liked my tone.

What am I missing here?

 

[michael_t]

For three decades, I have played primarily Rotosound Swing strings.

Just to make sure, you're talking about the stainless steel, not nickel-plated steel... are you?

 

[buldog5151bass]

Just to make sure, you're talking about the stainless steel, not nickel-plated steel... are you?

Yep, Roto steels.

 

[Lee Moses]

I played Rotos for decades, and was never bothered in the slightest by their roughness. But when I tried DR Sunbeams...I was blown away by how smooth feeling they were. The difference was very obvious between them and Rotos. I don't think it would bother me, per se, to go back to Rotos, but I would miss that sweet silky smoothness. I've never played Lo Riders, but I imagine they have the same tight winding as Sunbeams.

Play what you like.

 

[JRA]

All the time, I hear "they are so rough on your fingers/strings, they go dead immediately". Frankly, they seemed to last as long as other rounds, and my frets on my jazz are still fine 30-something years later.

a lot of folks posting on the subject in other TB threads may not have:
- 30 years experience
- what you and i might call 'proper calluses'
- knowledge/experience/faith(?) in the longevity/life of frets and fingerboards (they're the funnier ones/posters!)
- technique
- other stuff

i honestly don't remember the year i started with SS roto 66's (maybe 77ish?). but i have always used them as my go-to* even if i tried other strings because of recommendations/fad. the business about "they're too rough" is probably made by players with considerably less callus than some of us may sport. i generally suspect that it's a lack of callus which might lead some (but not all!) players to prefer flats.

rounds vs. flats = to each his/her own. there are no rules on this one.


* my actual go-to these days is probably TI jazz rounds...but i still use the roto SS's.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I played Rotos for decades, and was never bothered in the slightest by their roughness. But when I tried DR Sunbeams...I was blown away by how smooth feeling they were. The difference was very obvious between them and Rotos. I don't think it would bother me, per se, to go back to Rotos, but I would miss that sweet silky smoothness. I've never played Lo Riders, but I imagine they have the same tight winding as Sunbeams.

Play what you like.

I tried Sunbeams, but found them too flexible. Such was the reason for trying Lo Riders - with the hex core, the flexibility (or lack thereof) was closer to the Rotos.

a lot of folks posting on the subject in other TB threads may not have:
- 30 years experience
- what you and i might call 'proper calluses'
- knowledge/experience/faith(?) in the longevity/life of frets and fingerboards (they're the funnier ones/posters!)
- technique
- other stuff

i honestly don't remember the year i started with SS roto 66's (maybe 77ish?). but i have always used them as my go-to* even if i tried other strings because of recommendations/fad. the business about "they're too rough" is probably made by players with considerably less callus than some of us may sport. i generally suspect that it's a lack of callus which might lead some (but not all!) players to prefer flats.

rounds vs. flats = to each his/her own. there are no rules on this one.


* my actual go-to these days is probably TI jazz rounds...but i still use the roto SS's.

Everything I was reading was that Rotos were worse than other rounds.

Thanks for the feedback. At least I'm not the only one...

 

[JGbassman]

I cut my teeth with rotosound 66's because that was the sound i craved. at the time I was younger, and couldn't afford to change them out all the time to keep them fresh. (nor was there an internet with a forum telling me how much gear I needed, lol) I would boil them every few weeks to keep them fresh until they would eventually break. once I scraped together enough money to buy new ones, it was as if i have a new bass. the sound was so harmonically rich and satisfying.... tone Nirvana.

In my first road band, I was forced to buy nickel and other SS RW strings made by other manufacturers, as not every mom and pop shop on the road carried my beloved Rotos. it was there that I realized the roughness of the rotos compared to other brands. 66's were all I had know to that point, and everything is relative.

Roughness was never a deterrent, and I have never seen SS rounds to be an Issue with eating frets. I too have a mid 80's P bass I bought new that still have good frets, and have endured SS rounds most of its life.

I only switched from Rotosound after a period of getting multiple sets of new '66's with dead e strings straight from the box. this happened over the span of a year, and I finally had enough, switching to DiAddario Pro Steels, which carry about 99% of the rotos sound, but are a tough less rough sounding (less string noise) but more importantly, I've never had a dead string with the prosteels. add to the fact they last a lot longer than the 66's before they start to die, and it's an easy choice where I will spend my money.

I will still use the '66s every now and then when I need a set and I haven't ordered the ProSteels, but for the most part I got burned too many times with the rotosounds to fully trust them anymore. Call me weird, but another thing I like about the Pro Steels is they don't have the silks on the head stock end of the string, which I found I'm not a huge fan of.

I know the dead string issue has mostly been addressed by rotosound these days. But for me, I'm all about the DiAddario string sets now. I just tried a set of nickel wound balanced tension sets on a new bass, and was completely surprised on how good they sound. If they last very long before they go dead, I'll be a happy camper.

So no hate here at all for rotosound and their '66 sets, they were the grandaddy of ssrw strings that started it all. I've just moved in another direction once I got burned a few times. Their strings are probably the roughest feeling sets I've ever used, but it was never an issue for me.

 

[BassLife77]

my only concern with Rotos is will my new pack have any dead strings

 

[eriky4003]

It was only after I joined TB that I realized the 'feel' of the string was a 'thing'. If I liked the string, the feel was the price of rockin' the brand - and I paid no heed and still don't.

 

[jallenbass]

I have flats, tapewounds, pressurewounds, and SS rounds (Rotosound RS 66) on my basses and while I certainly notice the differences I never play the Rotosounds and think "ouch" or anything close to that.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

I swore by Swing Bass 66's for seven or eight years, which was from 1978 to 1985. There weren't as many brands of strings fo choose from, but I don't honestly remember them feeling any rougher than the other brands of rounds that I tried in those days.

They did seem to be a little harder on frets, though. I remember them being kind of gray colored, and not as shiny as other brands. A guy at my local music store said they were "Unfinished" was why they weren't shiny.

Their tone was radically different from all of the other brands I tried in those days. Very rich in harmonics, solid low end, raw, gnarly mids, and killer top end. Their extreme "zing" died off in a few days, but they kept a useable tone for about a month, for me.

I haven't played them in years, but IMO they had a sound I haven't found in any other brand.

 

[mdogs]

I am a SS round wound guy, always will be. But, Rotos are much rougher than most other SS rounds, doesn’t bother me when I use them occasionally. You have to remember that a lot of people around here use flats because that can’t handle rounds.

 

[Bassist4]

after using the rotosound Steve Harris signature strings for almost 10 yrs...the rotosound SS 66 feel sooo good and sound sooo much better.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Way back in the way back,I originally used Rotosound Swing 66's.
Because that's what Stanley used.
And by golly,I was gonna do the same!

They felt a bit rough,but so what!
Compared to flatwounds,which I loathed,they were supreme!

Decades later I am playing the six string bass.
I've used GHS,D'Addario's,S.I.T's,Ken Smiths and La Bella.
Now I'm going to go back to the beginning.
A set of Rotosound RS666LD for my sixers.

 

[Mrmatt1972]

I had a Kramer Spector (Korean) in my 20s. Put rotos on and liked them. Was dismayed to see they had chewed my bridge saddles (brass) in a way Smith Bass Burners never had. I still use Rotos on guitar, but never again on bass.

 

[bassboysam]

the same people that complain about rough strings also complain about single coil hum and loud fans, so...

having said that what i have found with rotos is they are more rough (does not bother me) and do die more quickly (is somewhat annoying). the larger the gauge the rougher they get and quicker they die i find.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

I never considered Roto66s as too rough. However, I bought a set of Optima Black Label Flats for another bass and was instantly amazed by their glass-like smoothness.

Body chemistry and local atmospheric conditions all factor in on how long a set of Roto66s can sound ‘fresh’.

Right now, I have a set of LoRider Steels on that Rick as for me, the DRs seem to last much longer than the Rotos.

YMMV

 

[edr]

Way back in the way back,I originally used Rotosound Swing 66's.
Because that's what Stanley used.
And by golly,I was gonna do the same!

They felt a bit rough,but so what!
Compared to flatwounds,which I loathed,they were supreme!

Decades later I am playing the six string bass.
I've used GHS,D'Addario's,S.I.T's,Ken Smiths and La Bella.
Now I'm going to go back to the beginning.
A set of Rotosound RS666LD for my sixers.
View attachment 3371902

How is the high C on the roto set? I have one I’ve been meaning to try out. But a .35 is one of the heaviest Cs I’ve come across.
I like the other 5 strings in the set (except maybe the B, but that might be up to my bass)

 

[GIBrat51]

I don't think the "hate" for Roto 66's is for their roughness per se, as much as it is for their legendary fret eating abilities. And, way back in the days of soft, small frets and nothing but flat wound bass strings, their bad rep was probably fairly well deserved. Personally, I have no experience with that one way or the other - on a bass. I can say that their guitar string equivalent ("British Steels") certainly ate the frets right off this '87 Rick 330 guitar. Cost me a small fortune to have them replaced, and it will never see another set of those things while I own it...
However... I don't have any particular hate for Roto 66's. I have tried them; I just don't use them, because they fall into all 3 of the categories of bass strings I won't use:
- Round wounds in general;
- Obnoxiously twangy Stainless round wounds; and
- Strings that die between one song and the next, and have to be replaced over.. and over.. and over..
But AFAIC, they aren't any rougher on my fingers than any other round wound strings. I don't hate them; I just ignore the bejeezus out of them...

 

[RasGK]

For many years I've used roundwound stainless steels or nickle strings, and I've tried various models of D'addario, DR, Elixir, Ernie Ball, Olympia, Jimmy Wess, La Bella, GHS, Dean Markley and Rotosound swing 66 strings.
From all of those, the Rotosound were the ones that felt rougher to the touch, even to a point where they felt like they were slowing me down when I did some fast runs, slides or thrills, so I can tell you, when you've been playing other strings for 10+ years and then try the Rotosounds, the difference can be very noticeble, specially after playing a set of smooth strings like the Elixir.
It's not such a big deal, eventually you get used to it, and it doesn't stop you from being able to play (much less hurt your fingers in any way) , but it certainly can be uncomfortable to make that switch from other strings, and you may initially feel like you are fighting the strings to play or that they get in the way of your technique.
I could also understand if it was the opposite, if I had started playing with Rotosound, and used them for years, then it wouldn't be a problem at all, but since in my case it was the other way around, I have no reason to ever use Rotosound again, since I didn't experienced them lasting longer than the other brands nor having a specially nice sound I liked more.