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Harmonic response, high tension, long life?

IconBasser

IconBasser

Scuba Viking
Feb 28, 2007
7,227
1,648
34
Fontana, California
#1
I'm forever searching for the perfect string to satisfy these 3 criteria. Every one I try will usually match two, but one will be left out completely. Longetivity is a problem for me; my hands eat strings alive. The longest that I've had strings last is around three weeks. This is what I've used in recent memory:

DR Hi Beams - great with harmonics, decent tension, die in a week or two.

DR Black Beauties - okay harmonics, floppy as hell, last up to 3 weeks.

DR Lo Riders - meh with harmonics, decent tension, die in a week or two

Rotosound SS - Good with harmonics, perfect tension/feel, great tone, die after 3 hours of playing

Elixer nanoweb nickel - Abysmal harmonics response, good tension, longetivity purportedly good (just put em on, I've yet to see how they actually do)

D'Addario everything - bad harmonics, crap tone, horridly floppy, die in a week

Are there any strings that you guys know of that would better satisfy these goals?
 
#3
Dunlop Super Bright nickels, especially if you like HiBeams. Not sure they will last longer, but they cost a lot less!

Fodera strings would also be good to try.

GHS Progressives, like Jon said they are Alloy 52. Stiffer than DR, but no stiffer than anything else on your list. May want to go with a lighter gauge of these for better harmonics and looser feel.

Of course, www.bassstringsonline.com is the place to get any of them :)
 
#4
I see a list of string gauges on the site for singles of the Progressives, no mention of designated tuning for any of them though. I need to get a high C string. I know next to nothing about the engineering or physics of guitar strings; could one of those .35's actually be made for a G, and snap if I tuned it 5 notes higher? Is there a difference? I'd rather not waste 5 bucks on a silly mistake if I can avoid it.
 
#5
GHS shows an .030 for a C @30.5# (Progressives) in their Tension Chart, and the .035 is 46.3 @C, but I couldn't find access to the chart on their site.
Maybe someone's got a link?;)

BSO also shows a .025.
 
Last edited:
#6
Do you, by chance, have a really heavy right hand technique?

IconBasser said:
I'm forever searching for the perfect string to satisfy these 3 criteria. Every one I try will usually match two, but one will be left out completely. Longetivity is a problem for me; my hands eat strings alive. The longest that I've had strings last is around three weeks. This is what I've used in recent memory:

DR Hi Beams - great with harmonics, decent tension, die in a week or two.

DR Black Beauties - okay harmonics, floppy as hell, last up to 3 weeks.

DR Lo Riders - meh with harmonics, decent tension, die in a week or two

Rotosound SS - Good with harmonics, perfect tension/feel, great tone, die after 3 hours of playing

Elixer nanoweb nickel - Abysmal harmonics response, good tension, longetivity purportedly good (just put em on, I've yet to see how they actually do)

D'Addario everything - bad harmonics, crap tone, horridly floppy, die in a week

Are there any strings that you guys know of that would better satisfy these goals?
Click to expand...
 
#9
My experience with strings is very different from yours. For example, I thinks most D'Addario strings that I've tried are fine, especially the Flexsteels. I don't mean to be pointing fingers, but I think your lack of harmonics, upper frequencies, and short life may have more to do with your technique than the strings. (And I am NOT an 'its all in the hands' zealot.) :)
 
#10
#11
monkeyfinger said:
My experience with strings is very different from yours. For example, I thinks most D'Addario strings that I've tried are fine, especially the Flexsteels. I don't mean to be pointing fingers, but I think your lack of harmonics, upper frequencies, and short life may have more to do with your technique than the strings. (And I am NOT an 'its all in the hands' zealot.) :)
Click to expand...

I agree that it is possible that my technique can diminish the overall effectiveness of my harmonics, but that doesn't account for the reported variance of harmonic response from string to string. Notice the "Great" and "Good" descriptions on the Hi Beams and Rotos; I have zero problems with easily getting solid harmonics out of those. Using the exact same finger technique, I have a terrible time doing it with Elixers and D'Addarios. That to me says that the strings themselves aren't as responsive.

You could also be implying that different strings require different/harder techniques for harmonics. I suppose this is plausible. However, I don't want to waste time and creative energy reinventing a wheel simply because an inexpensive and easily replaced piece of gear requires me to. I'd rather replace the gear.
 
#12
Lighter gauge strings will have more harmonic content and ring longer because they have less mass. The will also have lower tension. Also light attack will allow the high frequencies to ring more. In your case, the best option would be to go with an extra long scale bass and thinner strings.
 
#13
Let me suggest Circle K/Kalium strings.

If you can get over their funky website... there are a lot of good options there.
I really like the nickel/steel hybrid they use for their wraps. I also dig the balanced tension sets. I wasn't about to jump on either of those boats, but I inadvertently have.

I'm normally a nickel string guy by default - I've never found a set of steels that I genuinely liked. Usually because of brightness/twang that didn't right true for the tone I wanted - even though I like a good bright tone a lot.
The Circle K's have impressed me in the tone and harmonics department - fullness of nickel with a little extra clarity and top end.
I use their .112 balanced tension set on my main bass. It's pretty high tension at standard pitch, and I'm comfortable dropping to DGCF with those strings too [though it becomes a bit loose].

Life is much better than any other set of strings I've used. I used to like Sunbeams - but they don't last more than 2 weeks and are too low tension for me.
I've had mine of for three months and still rockin. I clean them often to help with the issue. They don't have the new string zing, but still plenty of clarity for me at this point.
 
#14
Well, I've ordered some GHS Progressives. I'll let you guys know what I think of them when they arrive. Thanks for the advice guys!

Oh, and BFunk, I agree that I would do better with a longer scale bass. When I play 35" models, it usually feels better to my fingers than my 34" Carvin. Unfortunately, I just don't have the budget to get anything else at the moment,
 
#17
Okay, well, I got those GHS Progressives in the mail, and I've had em' on for about a week. They're ok. To their credit, I do get a very nice loud piano like ping every time I do any harmonics on them. For that, they're great. Also, they haven't shown any auditory signs of wear yet. Most other strings would already be starting to dull for me by now, and they are still holding up strong. There is some visible tarnishing though. Fair enough.

I find everything else about them to be pretty lacking though. They're very floppy, to the point where I've had to do two 1/4 turn truss adjustments to keep the strings from excessively buzzing while keeping the string height less than an inch from the 12th fret. The tone itself is very weak. I can't dig into them and get any further response, either. I feel like I'm playing at half volume relative to the other strings I've tried recently, and the mids have been sliced out of my bass completely. I tried recording some tracks yesterday and compared them to prior ones I've done. Same result. Insipid, dull, weak, and easily lost in the mix.

I think I can safely say at this point that in general, I prefer the sound and feel of stainless steel over nickel (or nickel hybrid) strings.
 
#20
IconBasser said:
Okay, well, I got those GHS Progressives in the mail, and I've had em' on for about a week. They're ok. To their credit, I do get a very nice loud piano like ping every time I do any harmonics on them. For that, they're great. Also, they haven't shown any auditory signs of wear yet. Most other strings would already be starting to dull for me by now, and they are still holding up strong. There is some visible tarnishing though. Fair enough.

I find everything else about them to be pretty lacking though. They're very floppy, to the point where I've had to do two 1/4 turn truss adjustments to keep the strings from excessively buzzing while keeping the string height less than an inch from the 12th fret. The tone itself is very weak. I can't dig into them and get any further response, either. I feel like I'm playing at half volume relative to the other strings I've tried recently, and the mids have been sliced out of my bass completely. I tried recording some tracks yesterday and compared them to prior ones I've done. Same result. Insipid, dull, weak, and easily lost in the mix.

I think I can safely say at this point that in general, I prefer the sound and feel of stainless steel over nickel (or nickel hybrid) strings.
Click to expand...
GHS tension chart and tunings:
http://www.ghsrep.net/uploads/2/2/2/5/22258814/ghs_bass_string_guide.pdf

It's very strange for me to see you describe progressives as "floppy". They have a larger core than the industry average (that means they should be a bit stiffer/are a bit stiffer) and the core material tends to be more rigid. I found sets of progressives to play like a set that should be a half gauge larger. In other words, the .102 E feels like a typical .105 from another brand, etc.

Additionally, alloy 52 strings tend to be louder than other string types. And I have known progressives to be quite response to varied attack with fingers (digging in, playing soft, playing toward the neck, exaggerating for a funkier tone, etc).

However, it is accurate that they are "cold" sounding strings. The mids from them are not warm. They are a growly, edgy string. Yet, they don't clank or otherwise sound too sharp.
 

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