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Elixir 14202 Bass Strings
- Thread starter Whaleform
- Start date
IIRC Strings by Mail and Strings and Beyond are Canada-friendly US vendors:
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Elixir Strings for Guitar and Bass - Strings and Beyond
yup just placed an order for the Super Long from strings by mail. ended up being the same cost as buying longs from Canada.. so why bother risking it? just go for the Xlong - save a few $ and get the assurance that they will fit on my 35" without paranoia
I live in Canada and have dealt with Matt at Strings By Mail for years. Even with the current exchange rate and the crazy USPS international shipping cost, I can still save money ordering online over buying locally. I stopped buying strings at L&M 10 yrs ago.
You can contact Matt at [email protected] and let him know what you need.
As for Strings And Beyond, I dealt with them a couple of times in the past when they used to offer free shipping to Canada. But they're no longer "Canada-friendly" and their customer service is not nearly as responsive and helpful as Matt at SBM.
Thanks for this, yea i did go ahead and place an order with them.. Its bizarre how some US companies treat Canada like we are on Mars or something.. folks we are literally next door. its business as usual as far as im concerned!
Unfortunately, there is such a thing as overly long strings, but hopefully the superlong low B should fit your toploading 35" scale bass.
I wasn’t aware Polyweb wasn’t available for bass strings. I still use Polyweb for my acoustic guitar. I only tried Elixir bass strings briefly in the early 2010s (during a half price sale!) & they were both available then.
Per the Elixir web site, the Nanoweb bass strings are made like the Polywebs used to be made (one coating over the completed wound string vs. coating on winding wire only). I suppose the coated winding wire for bass strings was so large it still let gunk build up in the windings….
i mean i can cut no? damn .. i thought i was playing it safe .. now im unsure again... lol ..
would a pic of the bass help ?
the length from the rear of the bridge to the end of the nut and it's 36.375"
and the elixir website says
Elixir Bass String Winding Length:
- Long Scale = 36.5" Ball to Taper
- Extra Long Scale = 38" Ball to Taper"
i still think XLONG was the right choice?
Have you got a source for guitar Nanowebs being coated pre-winding? All I find on their website points to both types being coated over the finished string.
You can (and pretty much have to, if you feed the string end inside the tuning post hole as most bassists do) cut the excess section of tapered string.
The problem is that a fat string (typically a low E or B) can break - not a given, but a possibility - if wound on the post at its full diameter, because they don't like brusque turns: ideally, the tapering should happen between nut and post.
A number of companies provide their winding lengths, but in this case there's a discrepancy between what I've seen quoted online and my (extremely anecdotal) experience. Hence my suggestion to buy a single first.
Or search for recent first-hand accounts, and ask members about length of their E's and the B's:
https://www.talkbass.com/search/37064522/?q=elixir&t=post&o=date&c[title_only]=1&c[node]=16
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What's the distance on your bass from the ball end to the B tuner post? If it's less than 38", that would mean the full winding will end up wrapping around the post, which is something you might want to avoid.
Thanks for posting this thread. I use Elixers on my Taylor 510 for the last 20 years and love them. I even did some field testing for them a while back. (Got a nice logo’d golf shirt for my trouble).
Strings Direct have them, but yeah, certainly pricey!
Elixir Nanoweb Bass Strings 45-105 Nickel, Extra Long Scale
Tuning all the strings down a whole step is another can of worms, but fretless basses take it better than fretted. That whole step is ALOT less tension.
it is .. but i still went with the super long over long .. feeling unsure about long based on the info presented so far
I’ve used Elixirs exclusively on all my basses except my P-Bass that wear flats. (For flats I use Thomastik Infelds ) Elixirs feel like roundwounds but with a silky texture to them. They are plenty bright, but not very very bright like new uncoated roundwounds. I recently used a set of D’addario NYC’s on a bass, which are uncoated. They were 90% dead after 2 gigs. I’ve had Elixirs on some basses for a year or more, and they sound close to new for the entire time. They do not require stretching or break in, are a pleasure under your hands, and are far less expensive than having to keep swapping strings to get a new string sound.
Once you get used to the silky feel, it’s hard to go back to “grabby” uncoated strings. And they really do last a loooong time. I recommend the tapered B for a 5 string. They also offer extra long lengths which I’ve used on my Lakland 5’s (35” scale).
Cannot recommend enough.
Once you get used to the silky feel, it’s hard to go back to “grabby” uncoated strings. And they really do last a loooong time. I recommend the tapered B for a 5 string. They also offer extra long lengths which I’ve used on my Lakland 5’s (35” scale).
Cannot recommend enough.
Just a vague memory of early 2k Bass Player magazine article(s) describing the how the new Nanowebs were made so they would be brighter. Not sure either the articles or my memory are correct.
How do the Nanowebs compare to the DR coated strings? I've used the DR Black beauties and I'm currently using the Neons. Are the Nanowebs worth it?
ive tried the guitar polywebs before , thats the only elixir product i have experience with and ive tried the black beauties. I found them to be quite different in feel for sure. the polyweb had a plasticy thing to it i didnt enjoy much i remember (on accoustic guitar)
The main difference between the Elixir nanoweb coating and the DR K3 coating is the nanoweb coating is applied after the string is wound, while the K3 coating is applied to the outer wire before it's wound.
Elixir has always marketed their strings as being "superior and longer-lasting" because the coating itself prevents any gunk from getting into the little gaps between the outer windings, which is one of the factors in strings "going dead".
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I consider them the worst of both worlds as you don’t get the crispness of rounds nor do you get the thump of flats. They are just overpriced gimmicks in my opinion and Roger Sadowsky is not a fan either.
https://sadowsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/BassGear_Coated-Strings-1.pdf
https://sadowsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/BassGear_Coated-Strings-1.pdf
