Favourite nickel-plated string?

[bassbooty]

Elixir Nanoweb NPS
Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky

 

[Luckydog]

26043358[/URL], member: 384096"]thanks! What gauge are you using?

you know, I’ve been thinking of trying balanced sets, but I already have so many 45-65-80-105 sets here that I cant justify buying more right now. If I had known 25 years ago that balanced sets of strings were “a thing”, I would probably have gone nuts trying out all iterations of each type!

 

[funkmasterron]

I've tried Daddario, Rotosound, Fender, Fodera, and DR nickel sets. I love the Daddario XL Nickels over all of the others because they are comfortable for both hands, slowly loose brightness so they last really long, are available in lots of different gauge sets, and Daddario actually publishes tensions of all of their sets.

I like the EXL220BT for active basses where I do alot of slapping and tapping.

I like the EXL170 for my fretless.

 

[StringslamDan]

Galli strings Nickel 40-100's have been my go to lately. They are also hex core and sound somewhere in between a DR Nickel Lo-Rider and D'addario xl nickels. DR Nickel Lo Riders are great too though!

 

[Barry Vestal]

After my long and expensive journey with flats I came back home to my Fender 7250l set.... they last a good long time for me are inexpensive and sound great even when they start dying....

 

[Zak TMD]

Rotosound 66 swing nickel. On every bass. Cuz I love them.

 

[JazzyJacuzzi]

After my long and expensive journey with flats I came back home to my Fender 7250l set.... they last a good long time for me are inexpensive and sound great even when they start dying....

My bass came with Fender 7250M. I was surprised at how good they sounded. Seemed to have a mid punch in just the right place. And but then TBers made it seem like they were akin to convenient store cappuccino...

 

[Lo-E]

I use nickel strings almost exclusively and I’ve tried a bunch of different brands.

After a whole lot of experimenting I’ve found that I like D’Addario XLs as my go-to strings and Sunbeams if I want a warmer tone.

I’ll also give honorable mentions to Sfarzo and R.Cocco as I’ve liked the strings of theirs that I’ve tried.

I still use other strings from time to time to try something new or to taylor the tone of a particular instrument but those two I listed first are my standards.

 

[deff]

Dunlop Nickel wound
Dunlop Superbright
Rotos if I'm unlucky. I need to try something else with my new bass. Basses definitely pick the strings.

 

[tindrum]

DR Pure Blues or Sunbeams depending on the bass.

Dunlop Super Brights 40-100 for my fretless.

 

[Hounddog409]

Yeah, yeah the bass chooses the string, not the other way around.

Anyway, what's YOUR favourite nickel-plated string?

EB Super Slinky. 45-100. On all my bases except the fretless,

 

[buldog5151bass]

Lol riders on my P. Roto swing on my jazz.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

D'addario Nickel Rounds EXL220

 

[Al T.]

DR Nickel Lo-Riders for great feel and tone and they last pretty well too.

 

[mmbongo]

Partly due to COVID boredom, but also because I recently went from two basses to one. I had a Precision with flats and a Jazz with rounds. Now I just have the one Jazz. As much as I love flats, truth is, they aren’t all that versatile. I want a nickel-plated string.

I had light Sunbeams on the Jazz, but I don’t know. Not enough tension and they had this strange feeling as if they were rolling over when playing. I’m thinking maybe regular Sunbeams or Nickel Lo-Riders, but I also want to hear what else is out there. I’ve been hearing a lot about SIT, for example, which is intriguing.

You won’t like any of the strings I listed, then. But if you want to try SIT you may like the Power Wound Nickels.

 

[Basvarken]

 

[butterfingers1]

DR Pure Blues. Definite difference, tone knob on split-coil opens up otherwise unheard harmonics. On my single-coil precision bass (Squier Classic Vibe early 1950s) it is almost shocking, a wavy searing distortion I never heard from a bass guitar, although admittedly this single-coil p bass is almost its own instrument category.

 

[sotua]

Yeah, yeah the bass chooses the string, not the other way around.

Anyway, what's YOUR favourite nickel-plated string?

D'Addario XL. Bright enough to cover any needs, and a mids-roar that really works with my JBasses when digging in.

 

[Phaidrus]

As much as I love flats, truth is, they aren’t all that versatile.

Versatile? How can you play dub/reggae without flats?

My favorite nps is Pyramid Pure Nickel that of course are not nps but - at least so far - do sound like nps. In fact they sound like a very musical and refined nps set with strong top end presence in addition to strong mids and low mids.

 

[Low Commotion]

DR Sunbeams hands down. They feel great and sound awesome. I have tried most of the nickel rounds and these are my favourites. I play in three different groups and they work great with all three groups.