Going from XL Nickles to Chromes, which gauge to best match the feel?

The Chrome are going to be a little stiffer no matter what. (I've been playing XLs for thirty years and have a P bass with Chromes.) The lighter you go on the Chromes the more similar the feel. But you won't get all the way there. They'll still feel different.

Be advised, some people's body chemistry reacts differently to steel strings. They stick to my fingers like glue. I had to plow through and play the crap out of my Chromes and get a little gunk on them to get them to release my fingers. But once they settle in and get some mojo on them, they sound great. (Your hands might have zero issues with steel to begin with.)

 

Go for 105-80-60-45. Its balanced and they are more supple than other flats I've used ie: LaBella & roto's. Order them from singles as they don't make the set.

 

Nah. You'll be fine. Chromes do take some breaking in. So be patient. What they sound like on day one doesn't even closely resemble what they will sound like after 10-12 hours of playing time. They will be bright (for flats) and "clanky" out of the pack. But they settle in beautifully.

 

I started out with EXL165 (45-65-85-105) and ended up with Chromes ECB84 (40-60-80-100) for something with similar overall playing feel (ie stiffness).

They also have similar tension numbers. - 174.3 lbs. (EXL165) vs. 173.1 lbs. (ECB84).

That said, Jason at Fret Nation offers a custom balanced tension set of the Chromes, 45-60-80-105.

D'Addario Chromes Flatwound Balanced Tension String Set - 4-

 

ECB80 40-95 or ECB84 40-100. Your fingers will easier to adapt to the more familiar tensions than similar gauges, cause you are going to use different surfaces of string sets anyway.

 

Call me picky, I've never liked the traditional 45-65-80-100 set as G and D always felt tighter under my fingers, both for plucking and fretting, compared to E and A. 45-60-80-105 felt more even across all strings.

For an alternative to the Chromes that feel similar to the EXL165, you might also want to consider the Fender 9050L (45-60-80-100). The only thing I didn't like about the above-mentioned Chromes ECB84 (40-60-80-100) was the 40G tended to be a bit too "twangy" for my taste. The 9050L with the 45G solved that problem as the whole set was nicely balanced both in tone and playing feel.

When I posted the link for Fret Nation earlier, I had missed the part about you being in the UK. Sorry about that. That said, they do ship internationally. You might want to get in touch with Jason there and ask him if he might be able to work out a deal to offset the cost of shipping. I'm in Canada and Jason has always been good about being flexible with his pricing. He can be reached at info@fretnation.com.

 

I understand completely.

 

45-65-85-105 (EXL165)

 

I go between Chromes and 105-45 rounds everyday. I use the 40-100 ECB84 set and find them nicely balanced and not very stiff.

 

Nice choice! I have been using the same 45-60-80-105 chromes (ordered as singles) for several years on my MIJ Jazz bass, and love the balance.

I had been using d'addario nickel wounds in 45-65-85-105 for a long time, then tried chromes in 40-60-80-100. I found that I wanted a little more tension on the outer strings, but the inner strings were perfect.

I also enjoyed the labella 45-105 set (black silks on the peg end). I found the sleek, luxurious feel addictive, but the rich, dark tone, beautiful as it was, wasn't as versatile as the chromes for my gigs and technique.

 

I also find Chromes to be just a little bright/sparkly/kaboingy for a really short time when they're new. Don't panic. Not like you're doing anything else, right? It's a friggin' pandemic. So depending how much you play probably a week(?) and you'll be in your happy place. To my baby hands they are pretty high tension. I play them on an old P fretless that is extra mellow and kinda on the deep side so the Chromes put a little sugar in its tank. I actually have a set of TI waiting to use and I'm hesitating because this P responds really well to the Chromes. It's cool, I'll stick the TI on my J.

 

From XL to chrome ecb81, you will get unbalance string stiffness and tension between EA and DG. Plus the E string get dull pretty quick and the metalic G string sound stay lasting than any roundwound G string ！！

Don't waste your time and money.

On my opinion , EB cobalt flat sound very nice on trbx604 , i suggest EB cobalt flat 2814 which has tiny bit higher tension to XL , but very nice string to string stiffness balance plus extra output.
The E string has the best clarity and solid tone than others brand Flatwound except Ti flat and EB Group Ill .
The fresh tone keep longlasting than any Flatwound I been use except Ti flat.

I just strung a set 2814 on my trbx504 couple days ago, really enjoy ！！

Hopehelp