How Do You Evaluate Strings?

[DianaBass]

This isn't a "which strings should I get?" question. I have 3 basses, all short scale. A new Gretsch Jet Jr, Sterling Stingray, and an Ibanez Mikro. They all came with their own style strings.

• The EB strings sound rich and thumpy, but they're roundwound and hard to wrestle with.
• The Ibanez strings are okay, not really deep sounding, but easier to play. Also roundwound.
• And my new Gretsch, which is amazing, but the strings are clanky and loud and tuned they sound an octave higher than the others (is that even a thing?.)

I'm thinking flatwound, but my question is this. HOW do I decide? Do I need to have each one restrung and keep trying until I find one I like? Will the person doing the work know, if I tell them how much I love the EB strings but they're too hard to play, which ones to recommend? How did you land on your favorite stings?

 

[buldog5151bass]

Everyone has different tastes, both in sound and feel. I ended up with medium gauge nickel hex core rounds on both basses - Roto Swings on my jazz, and Lo Riders on my P. I like the stiffness of hex core, and nickel is on the darker side - roll off the tone and I can get more of a vintage thump. That's the best overall pick for my style.

 

[GIBrat51]

Well... some of it just comes from experience; after you've been playing for a while, you'll get a feel (if you can use that word for the sound you hear in your head) for which strings - on that bass - will give it to you. I've been playing for 50+ years, now - mostly flat wounds. So, I have a pretty good idea what I want to hear from one of my basses - and, usually, which strings will give it to me;
- Asking another player, if you hear "that sound" from their bass;
- Listening to demo videos (use good headphones) will help, sometimes. That's how I wound up with the new-to-me Galli Jazz Flats on my EBMM 4HH Stingray Special, for example;
- Searching for posts about strings you're interested in - right here on this forum. Lots of people post sound clips along with their reviews, as well; or...
- Just ask about strings you're interested in. Let us know roughly what kind of tone you want from your flats - Old School Thump; Midrange Modern; or Bright - and how much tension/stiffness you're prepared to tolerate, and you'll get all the advice you can handle...

 

[michael_t]

90% of everything I know about bass strings, I learned right here on TB "Strings" section by spending time on a daily basis reading, reading and reading some more about other people's experiences with them.

 

[40Hz]

I try to match the string to the bass. I rarely use the same string set on each of my basses.

 

[truand85]

This isn't a "which strings should I get?" question. I have 3 basses, all short scale. A new Gretsch Jet Jr, Sterling Stingray, and an Ibanez Mikro. They all came with their own style strings.

• The EB strings sound rich and thumpy, but they're roundwound and hard to wrestle with.
• The Ibanez strings are okay, not really deep sounding, but easier to play. Also roundwound.
• And my new Gretsch, which is amazing, but the strings are clanky and loud and tuned they sound an octave higher than the others (is that even a thing?.)

I'm thinking flatwound, but my question is this. HOW do I decide? Do I need to have each one restrung and keep trying until I find one I like? Will the person doing the work know, if I tell them how much I love the EB strings but they're too hard to play, which ones to recommend? How did you land on your favorite stings?

Learn to setup the instrument, or at the very least change strings and intonation/tuning.

The only way you'll know is to try different strings.

 

[OldSchoolFlats]

Some of it depends on your playing style. Ol' timey Motown? Flats.

Marcus Miller? New rounds.

Growl? For me, rounds with the passive tone way down, but definitions of growl vary.

Also depends if you just play at home, or gig and have to "cut through the mix".

Also depends on your bass, and the pickups you have.

Mostly, I read what michael_t posts...

 

[jmattbassplaya]

This isn't a "which strings should I get?" question. I have 3 basses, all short scale. A new Gretsch Jet Jr, Sterling Stingray, and an Ibanez Mikro. They all came with their own style strings.

• The EB strings sound rich and thumpy, but they're roundwound and hard to wrestle with.
• The Ibanez strings are okay, not really deep sounding, but easier to play. Also roundwound.
• And my new Gretsch, which is amazing, but the strings are clanky and loud and tuned they sound an octave higher than the others (is that even a thing?.)

I'm thinking flatwound, but my question is this. HOW do I decide? Do I need to have each one restrung and keep trying until I find one I like? Will the person doing the work know, if I tell them how much I love the EB strings but they're too hard to play, which ones to recommend? How did you land on your favorite stings?

Hi Diana,

A good place to start would be to let us know what sounds you’re hoping to get from your bass. If you can think of any songs that capture that sound then let us know so we can get a sense of what you’re after

In general, flatwounds are the sound of bass in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Think warm, fat, and bassy. Round wounds are a more modern sound - clear, bright, punchy, and perhaps with more sustain. However, not all flats are the same, and neither are all rounds. There’s a lot of variability in sound, tension, texture, and longevity between brands and even different sets of strings from the same brand.

Fortunately, there’s lots of experience on this site that can help get you going in the right direction. Unfortunately, everyone is different and nothing will quite replace your own personal experience testing out and trying new strings. Personally, I like light gauge nickel rounds from DR and D’Addario with a slight preference for sets with round cores.

 

[Killing Floor]

I try as many sets as I can. I have done this for years. Some work for me and some don’t. I keep notes and that’s how I know what I like. I use flats and rounds and even have tapes on one bass so for me I have have found my faves but I have several sets of rounds in my bin to try when I need to change.

To answer the actual question I give any set at least 3-4 days of hard use before I really decide because some great sets sound awful the first day. Heck, LaBella feel like they’re dredged in rosin for a couple days but then suddenly they feel great. just experiment. Take notes of feel and sound. Try different gauges too.

 

[Raoul_Duke]

When I buy a bass, I usually also buy a few sets of strings based on what I’ve had luck with in the past and whats on sale. I usually know right away if I hate them. If they’re not gross, then they stay on awhile and I take note of how they sound. Do I like the sound? Do they excel at anything in particular that I’m looking to do? Do they feel right?

I know that I like light to medium gauges that are comparatively supple (not high tension), so that guides me a bit. My main bass is a jazz and I ride the bridge pickup shamelessly, so they gotta do that well. I don’t want a lot of clank or glassy top end, so I likes em polite.

If you have little in the way of preference then just do what most people do and buy an affordable set from a brand you trust.

 

[conttador]

Tone, tone, tone, tone, tone, tone.

There’s a specific sound I look for with each of my basses. It’s taken time to find the strings that give me the tone I’m looking for.

 

[DianaBass]

Hi Diana,

A good place to start would be to let us know what sounds you’re hoping to get from your bass. If you can think of any songs that capture that sound then let us know so we can get a sense of what you’re after

In general, flatwounds are the sound of bass in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Think warm, fat, and bassy. Round wounds are a more modern sound - clear, bright, punchy, and perhaps with more sustain. However, not all flats are the same, and neither are all rounds. There’s a lot of variability in sound, tension, texture, and longevity between brands and even different sets of strings from the same brand.

Fortunately, there’s lots of experience on this site that can help get you going in the right direction. Unfortunately, everyone is different and nothing will quite replace your own personal experience testing out and trying new strings. Personally, I like light gauge nickel rounds from DR and D’Addario with a slight preference for sets with round cores.

Thanks! Well, I really like the sound of my Stingray. It is a nice dark thumpy sound - I'm thinking like Love - Little Red Book. I'm playing mostly blues, and want a heavy sound, because I love things like Born Under a Bad sign. Though I love Killing Floor, the bass parts are a bit to twangy for me. Does that help at all? Sounds like most flatwouns won't give me that heaviness, but I heard they're easier to play when you have small hands like mine. I mean, the strings on my Gretsch, are literally thin, like for a children's guitar and that is way overboard.

 

[DianaBass]

Tone, tone, tone, tone, tone, tone.

There’s a specific sound I look for with each of my basses. It’s taken time to find the strings that give me the tone I’m looking for.

Even as a newer bass player, I am all about tone. It's like I know the tone I'm after... but didn't know if I just keep having to get them restrung. So, is restringing something I could do? I know my exes did.

 

[conttador]

Even as a newer bass player, I am all about tone. It's like I know the tone I'm after... but didn't know if I just keep having to get them restrung. So, is restringing something I could do? I know my exes did.

Typically, I’ll have a bass setup once & provided string gauges don’t change & ceteris paribus on the bass I should be good to just keep restringing.

I’m in TX and it can get quite humid here so there are some basses that require a setup maybe twice a year because the necks aren’t reinforced.

 

[Isaac_James]

Even as a newer bass player, I am all about tone. It's like I know the tone I'm after... but didn't know if I just keep having to get them restrung. So, is restringing something I could do? I know my exes did.

Restringing is pretty straightforward. You'll want a pair of wire clippers, but that's the only tool you really need to do the job (aside from a tuner).

Lots of tutorial videos out there showing how it works, but if you look closely at what's currently on your basses you can probably get a good idea of what to do.

Putting new strings on my 5er takes maybe 20 minutes, from removing old strings to getting the new ones in tune.

 

[Isaac_James]

As far as how to evaluate strings goes, I spent a while looking at YouTube videos that did string "shootouts" - basically someone playing a bass with one set of strings, then changing to a different set and comparing how the two sound. By using the same bass and amplifier/DI set up, you get a pretty good sense of what makes two sets of strings different.

Of course listening to someone else with a different bass and amplifier than you use won't tell you exactly what you'll sound like, but you can start to get a sense of how roundwound strings vs flatwound strings vs tapewound strings sound, or how stainless steel differs from nickel, and so on.

If you're playing your basses with the strings they came new with, they're almost certainly round wounds - flatwounds are more expensive, and since many people put their preferred strings on after buying a new bass anyway, it doesn't make sense to put flats on them to sell.

When it comes down to it though, you'll just have to do some trial and error on your own.

 

[conttador]

This isn't a "which strings should I get?" question. I have 3 basses, all short scale. A new Gretsch Jet Jr, Sterling Stingray, and an Ibanez Mikro. They all came with their own style strings.

• The EB strings sound rich and thumpy, but they're roundwound and hard to wrestle with.
• The Ibanez strings are okay, not really deep sounding, but easier to play. Also roundwound.
• And my new Gretsch, which is amazing, but the strings are clanky and loud and tuned they sound an octave higher than the others (is that even a thing?.)

I'm thinking flatwound, but my question is this. HOW do I decide? Do I need to have each one restrung and keep trying until I find one I like? Will the person doing the work know, if I tell them how much I love the EB strings but they're too hard to play, which ones to recommend? How did you land on your favorite stings?

What music style(s) are you playing? That will dictate if you’re looking for an modern, mellow or aggressive tone.

I have a 6 that I use for Jazz that’s strung with half rounds which are halfway between rounds & flats.

My 5s are set up for a modern jazz/funk sound and I use Sadowsky Bright Nickels on all but one that is set up with Ken Smith Tapercores.

I have a Fretless 5 & 6 and those are strung with Compressor wound strings (Ken Smith).

it’s taken some time to get where I think I am…

Strings are a small part of the tone equation. There’s amplification, electronics, compression, technique I could go on so don’t get too hung up on strings.

 

[Chrisk-K]

The only way is to try a bunch of different strings and gauges to find what you like. I’ve tried about 30 different strings/gauges and found that DR Hi-Beams 40-100 and Dunlop nickel SBs 40-100 work best for me.

 

[MegaSwing]

I rate strings on how they sound with particular pickups, with all tone controls set flat. The more you have to tweak, the less satisfied you’re likely to be. All strings do not sound great with all pickups. It doesn’t happen for my ears.

 

[OldSchoolFlats]

Thanks! Well, I really like the sound of my Stingray. It is a nice dark thumpy sound - I'm thinking like Love - Little Red Book. I'm playing mostly blues, and want a heavy sound, because I love things like Born Under a Bad sign. Though I love Killing Floor, the bass parts are a bit to twangy for me. Does that help at all? Sounds like most flatwouns won't give me that heaviness, but I heard they're easier to play when you have small hands like mine. I mean, the strings on my Gretsch, are literally thin, like for a children's guitar and that is way overboard.

Small hands?

Ariane Cap talks about small hands in a lot of her videos. I think she's a great player, and teacher.