Great strings! If I didn't have to buy them I'd use them all the time. They die within a couple of weeks possibly due to my body chemistry? I switched to DR Highbeams and find they have all the good qualities of the 66's and last month's longer. Ymmv
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How do people like Rotosound Swing 66 strings?
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I used them in the 1980s then went to d'addario for a long time, but went back to the 5 string Swing Bass 66 set about 2 years ago for my EBMM SR5. They are a little rough on the fingers at first. Like the full bodied round wound tone. They sound good even after the initial brightness wears off. I have a new set ready to go when we get going again. I practice and rehearse on my Sub Ray 5 to minimize string wear and wear and tear on the SR5.
Will make any bass sound like British Prog but That tone only lasts a short while after playing which is why endorsers replace them after every show .
After many years, they dug grooves into my frets but was Never an issue .
If you find a set of washers in the pack...set them aside Don’t use them !
I used what my heroes did. Loved em, until something changed. I don't know what, and, it could have been ME that changed. However, I tried a set of D'Addario Prism strings on a Modulus bass a buddy owned. I used those til they switched them to ProSteels, and my main string is now ProSteels. A bit rough? Yup. Love it. Stiff? A bit. Love it. They last. And last. For me. They are consistent, string to string and set to set, sound great even older, and are financially responsible.
DR High and Fat beams I use on occasion. For a change. But they don't last as long for me. And each string dies at a different time. ProSteels die evenly. For me. And I can use a set far longer because of that. I've tried a ton of different sets. But I just like the ProSteels.
This. Used to love them years and years ago when I had them on a Ric, but once the quality started to slip, I went elsewhere. The last thing I tried from Rotosound were the Billy Sheehan signature string. To say there were terrible would be an understatement. Maybe it was just a bad set, but at the price of bass strings, and given the overall QC problems I was seeing, it kinda put me off Rotosound for good.
I voted love them but only on my passive basses. Prefer D'Addario's on my active instruments. Like anything else, it depends.
I have used Roto's for years too. The nickel ones. I love that they die fast.( I'm strange I know) But have noticed seemingly the g-string seems stiffer/dead/ weak on my last few packs. This is on a few different bass's ??
I've been using them since the 70s. I use a lot of other strings as well, but I have the sound of the swing 66s
stuck in my head from my youth. I like to use them on old school Jazz and P basses for that familiar tone
I know how they are and how they feel so that stuff doesn't bother me. It's like flats, you deal with them if you want that sound
stuck in my head from my youth. I like to use them on old school Jazz and P basses for that familiar tone
I know how they are and how they feel so that stuff doesn't bother me. It's like flats, you deal with them if you want that sound
only started using them the past cpl yrs..game changer imo, especially on my P bass......never tried fender strings.
Only rounds I use, even though I tried not to like them! Every time I tried something else I went running back to the 66s.
I used them for years and liked them, although they did seem to break fairly easily.
I use nickel-wound EB Slinkys now.
I use nickel-wound EB Slinkys now.
I started using them a few years ago on my P Bass, became my go-to string. Love them, I don't feel they loose their zing, maybe it's not what I want out of a string the way others do.
I used Rotosound Swing bass strings almost exclusively for the better part of 20 years. I love them, but with that said, I like Dunlop Super Bright Stainless strings almost as much and they are less expensive.
They sound great, but they die quite quickly.
Loved loved loved my Roto 66s, but my string budget didn't allow me to change them as often as I liked. DR Hi-Beams seem to keep their zing longer.
LOL and QFT at the hacksaw blades. I actually miss that about them.
LOL and QFT at the hacksaw blades. I actually miss that about them.
My favorite in the 80's. Used years till the quality goes down, now I only tried one 66 set. Neutral feeling. Used flats years but now I found the round wound DR Hi-Beams (45-105). They sound very good (especially studio), last long.
Just a thought - I wouldn't put a "haven't tried them option" on a poll like this as it skews the results (good/bad/ok). For example, without those extra votes then the love them category goes from 51 to 65%.
Anyway I'm just bored as heck stuck at home with a 4 year old and this is how I waste time...
Anyway I'm just bored as heck stuck at home with a 4 year old and this is how I waste time...
I like them. Never experienced any of the deadly side effects of using them, no digits severed, never had one break and garrotte me to death. I don't use them anymore unless it's an emergency and they are all I can get on short notice, but only because I prefer the lighter gauge Funk Masters.
I used them for a long time but they changed something. It used to be that right out of the package, when they were brand new, the strings had a kind of dry feel to them and they sounded really bright. I can't really explain it any better than that but then RotoSound changed something and to me the strings didn't feel or sound the same. I even brought this up to a guy at the RotoSound booth at the NAMM show one year but he said they hadn't changed anything. I switched to Ernie Balls and D'addario after that.
