The material the strings are made of also oxidize. Different formulas, different rates of oxidation. Roto 66’s have always had the tendency to die pretty fast. Pros like Geddy and Squire would put on a fresh set each gig or session.
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How do people like Rotosound Swing 66 strings?
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It’s a love-hate thing. They sound phenomenal when new. After that, kinda so-so. Whereas other strings build up your callouses, RotoSounds actually wear them away - they are coarse! It’s funny this thread came up, I got out my Thunderbird for the first time in months, and it has Rotos on it, and between the coarseness and the fact that the Thunderbird seems to require a wingspan of a B-52 to play it, it gave me a real workout!
D
Are you talking about the Rotosound Steel 66 (orange packaging) or the Rotosound Nickel 66 (blue packaging)? I love both but they're extremely different so you need to specify which one if you want accurate answers.
Taste in strings can be highly subjective of course but here MY take on the Roto 66s:
Steel 66
The Steel 66s are very bright but it's not really an airy, zingy kind of bright. It's more about ultra-aggressive upper mids. More ROCK than slap. The brighness won't last long though. Personally I like their broken in sound (very 70s british rock) but most people buy these for their ultra-aggressive brightness (think Entwistle or Chris Squire) and they won't stay that way for long, 2-3 weeks at most. Some would say they need replacing after every gig. This is the main criticism about these strings, plus the fact that they can be a bit rough on your fingers. They're probably the roughest feeling strings for sale today.
I often see people compare the Roto Steel 66s to DR Hi-Beams but I honestly don't understand why. They are both bright strings but they don't sound even remotely similar. The Hi-Beams are kinda scooped, the Roto Steel 66s are extremely mid-forward. Or to put it another way: Personally I think the Hi-Beams sound more like 90s death metal while the Roto Steel 66s sound more like 70s British prog. They also feel completely different and have different construction (round vs hex core). Personally I love the Rotos but I'm not a big fan of the Hi-Beams (the DRs will stay bright for a LOT longer though).
However, even though I love these Rotos I also find them to be a "speciality" string for when I need THAT sound. I usually have them installed on a couple of basses (usually a T-bird + my Rick 4003 + a P-bass) but unless I only worked within one specific genre that needed this specific sound I wouldn't use them on my main instrument. They're excellent for what they do but not very good allrounders IMO.
Nickel 66
The Nickel 66s are totally different. They're much better allrounders and I like them a lot. They are a bit bright (metallic clank rather than zing) when new but mellow out nicely for a very warm and well balanced sound. Brightness wise I would say they're slightly on the warm side of medium. I have seen some people (and dealers) on this forum say the cheaper Rotobass strings are the same as the Roto 66 Nickels. That's simply not true (and I got this confirmed directly from Rotosound). The Rotobass strings sound closer to cheap nickel plated strings like Fenders or D'Addario Xls and don't last very long before they go COMPLETELY dead. The Roto 66 Nickels are much better quality, last longer, sound much nicer and have a lot more character too IMO. I could easily use the Nickel 66s on my main instrument and be happy. They're probably my number 3 favourite roundwound after Pyramid Pure Nickels and Thomastik-Infeldt Superalloys (but I love all of them).
Taste in strings can be highly subjective of course but here MY take on the Roto 66s:
Steel 66
The Steel 66s are very bright but it's not really an airy, zingy kind of bright. It's more about ultra-aggressive upper mids. More ROCK than slap. The brighness won't last long though. Personally I like their broken in sound (very 70s british rock) but most people buy these for their ultra-aggressive brightness (think Entwistle or Chris Squire) and they won't stay that way for long, 2-3 weeks at most. Some would say they need replacing after every gig. This is the main criticism about these strings, plus the fact that they can be a bit rough on your fingers. They're probably the roughest feeling strings for sale today.
I often see people compare the Roto Steel 66s to DR Hi-Beams but I honestly don't understand why. They are both bright strings but they don't sound even remotely similar. The Hi-Beams are kinda scooped, the Roto Steel 66s are extremely mid-forward. Or to put it another way: Personally I think the Hi-Beams sound more like 90s death metal while the Roto Steel 66s sound more like 70s British prog. They also feel completely different and have different construction (round vs hex core). Personally I love the Rotos but I'm not a big fan of the Hi-Beams (the DRs will stay bright for a LOT longer though).
However, even though I love these Rotos I also find them to be a "speciality" string for when I need THAT sound. I usually have them installed on a couple of basses (usually a T-bird + my Rick 4003 + a P-bass) but unless I only worked within one specific genre that needed this specific sound I wouldn't use them on my main instrument. They're excellent for what they do but not very good allrounders IMO.
Nickel 66
The Nickel 66s are totally different. They're much better allrounders and I like them a lot. They are a bit bright (metallic clank rather than zing) when new but mellow out nicely for a very warm and well balanced sound. Brightness wise I would say they're slightly on the warm side of medium. I have seen some people (and dealers) on this forum say the cheaper Rotobass strings are the same as the Roto 66 Nickels. That's simply not true (and I got this confirmed directly from Rotosound). The Rotobass strings sound closer to cheap nickel plated strings like Fenders or D'Addario Xls and don't last very long before they go COMPLETELY dead. The Roto 66 Nickels are much better quality, last longer, sound much nicer and have a lot more character too IMO. I could easily use the Nickel 66s on my main instrument and be happy. They're probably my number 3 favourite roundwound after Pyramid Pure Nickels and Thomastik-Infeldt Superalloys (but I love all of them).
They do lose their shine but not as quickly as some say and it is only so noticeable because there aren't any other strings that have that incredible sound when new (some come close).
Can't deny the claims of a bad QA period but I personally have never had a bad string. The only successful music instrument mass producer who hasn't had a bad quality period IMO might be Yamaha (popcorn time).
Soak them with strong alcohol (in a long tube if you have one, to keep the silks dry) and they are like new and last for years. Save the alcohol, rotate string sets.
They still sound great dead.
Coarse? Yes, but a long long list of great bassists get used to it.
Can't deny the claims of a bad QA period but I personally have never had a bad string. The only successful music instrument mass producer who hasn't had a bad quality period IMO might be Yamaha (popcorn time).
Soak them with strong alcohol (in a long tube if you have one, to keep the silks dry) and they are like new and last for years. Save the alcohol, rotate string sets.
They still sound great dead.
Coarse? Yes, but a long long list of great bassists get used to it.
I HATE Rotosound RS66L strings! Even more than I hate creamed turnips. The feel, the sound, the way they chew up frets...everything about them is horrible, IMHO...
I used them for a little while. They were good, but they didn't seem to last too long for my playing. Guess it depends on what you're after.
I think it’s safe to say that when someone is talking about 66’s, they are talking about the SS ones. Those are, after all, the famous strings that contributed to some of the greatest bassists signature sounds. John Entwistle, Chris Squire, Geddy Lee.
wmhill
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They are not my go-to string, I prefer the Labella RX stainless or the D'addario NYXL. However, I use them on one bass as they are one of the few companies that offer a 50-110 gauge set. That set works well for the lower tuning I use on that bass.
As for the fender strings, no love whatsoever.
As for the fender strings, no love whatsoever.
Im not quite sure if we are using the same strings as the ROtosounds seem to last forever. Now, if you want strings that die quick, use Ernie Ball As far as the pros, they change strings like that because they get free strings
IMO Swing Bass 66’s are fantastic. To me, they’re the roundwounds to which all other roundwounds are judged by. They have a tone that I haven’t found in any other brand of SS roundwounds. When they’re new they have that famous “Piano string” chime, and a midrange punch that sits perfectly in the mix. And for me, their broken in sound was still great.
I haven’t used Swing Bass 66’s since the mid 80’s, because I started playing styles of music that called for a much warmer tone. I tried nickel plated roundwounds, and I’ve stuck with them ever since.
I haven’t used Swing Bass 66’s since the mid 80’s, because I started playing styles of music that called for a much warmer tone. I tried nickel plated roundwounds, and I’ve stuck with them ever since.
I seem to have caught the bad patch with Rotosound about 28 years ago. I got refunds for two sets purchased on different occasions because of dead strings. I remember taking my bass to the shop where I had purchased a set the day before to demonstrate this with the strings fitted.
Interesting! I had been led to believe that those two string sets were the same, minus the blue silk.
I had tried the cheaper Rotobass set first, and was disappointed. I guess I forgot about it, and later tried the 66 nickel set, and thought that was very nice. Then later found my notes about the Rotobass set, and wondered what went wrong.
Being that they are NOT the same strings, this all makes much more sense now.
D
I would have thought so too but several of the earlier replies in this thread were actually about the nickels so clearly that's not the case. Hence my attempt to clarify. I've never understood why Rotosound call both these strings "Swing Bass 66". Very confusing marketing for two EXTREMELY different strings. The Solo Bass 55s actually sound closer to the Swing Bass 66 Steels than the Swing Bass 66 nickels do.
THE RotoSound 66’s have red silks, are SS, and die pretty fast. The fact that they die so fast is the major reason most people don’t stick with them. It’s like a crack habit.
