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I am a string slut!

#41
Gearhead17 said:
Yes, I have gone through a lot. Have you heard of [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

You can order strings one at a time and return them if you do not open them. Rather than buying a set and being out more money.

SIT, GHS, D'Addario, Ernie Ball, Ken Smith, Spector, Elixir.....I finally settled on DR Hi-Beams - nice edgey tone, bright without being annoying, great string to string balance and no dead strings out of the box just yet. Plus, they have plenty of midrange in them, unlike some roundwounds.....

Keep searching, it's worth it.
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Juststrings.com is a great place to order from! I use BOOMERS on my MM Stingrays and love them......
 
#42
mmbongo said:
If you're OCD about strings, stay away from Welcome to Bass Strings Online - Your Custom Bass String Shop... !!!

Not only does he have the best prices, but he has a section where you can put together your own custom sets using all the different gauges of strings. So to satisfy your OCD needs, you can put together balanced tension sets of your favorite strings :)
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This is great advice. The owner is one of us, and he's a great guy. That part about the best prices ain't no jive either.
 
#44
OP I have had the same problem with my Sterling. Such an aggressive sounding bass. I tried flats on it but damn, I wanted to preserve that character slightly without going over the top. On both musicmans I own I am using Sunbeams. They seem to keep the aggression without over doing it. Time will tell though. And yes I have used a plethora of brands, gauges, rounds, flats, nickels, stainless' on all my basses in search of what I am looking for. I have settled on three basses, but have 4 more to decide what I want. String GAS hits the wallet just as hard as amp, pedal or bass gas it seems...
 
#46
mmbongo said:
Jason will handily beat their prices, just ask. As long as the strings at Elderly are not marked down because they are 'old', which they do all the time. I used to buy old strings from them because they were so cheap. Strings are fine, but the packages are destroyed/covered in dust/outdated.
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Not from what I've seen, and I'm in there at least weekly. But it's your money, you do what you want with it.

mmbongo said:
Just ask. He'll beat Elderly's price, plus Elderly does not give you the option to put together custom gauges.
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Elderly will also beat prices. You're right, though, that they won't do custom sets.
 
#47
I found the perfect set to be Daddario EXL 170-5.
They're stock for all the Yamaha bass, and the guys at Yamaha know bass tone for sure.

Nice smooth feel for the hands, bright sounding - piano like, but balanced,
they look great and have an amazing tension for any style and technique.

I've tried Labella slappers, foderas, DRs, Smith's, EB, and none of them sounded or felt like these.
 
#48
RFMac said:
OP I have had the same problem with my Sterling. Such an aggressive sounding bass. I tried flats on it but damn, I wanted to preserve that character slightly without going over the top. On both musicmans I own I am using Sunbeams. They seem to keep the aggression without over doing it. Time will tell though. And yes I have used a plethora of brands, gauges, rounds, flats, nickels, stainless' on all my basses in search of what I am looking for. I have settled on three basses, but have 4 more to decide what I want. String GAS hits the wallet just as hard as amp, pedal or bass gas it seems...
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Nice to hear the opinion of a Sterling owner. I am going to try the Sunbeams; love the sound of the Nickel Lo Riders and am hoping the Sunbeams sound as good (or better) with the benefit of lower tension.

Flats sound good on the Sterling but the tension issue is still there and it just doesn't quite have the "growl" I like with the Lo Riders.
 
#52
Gyver said:
Nice to hear the opinion of a Sterling owner. I am going to try the Sunbeams; love the sound of the Nickel Lo Riders and am hoping the Sunbeams sound as good (or better) with the benefit of lower tension.

Flats sound good on the Sterling but the tension issue is still there and it just doesn't quite have the "growl" I like with the Lo Riders.
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I have had a hell of time with that bass to be honest. It was my main gigger for years. I could never find the right combo in my mind. I always liked the way the bass played but didn't like some of the sounds in certain situations. With tension being an issue for you I would say the sunbeams are great - very low. Not as low as the TI jazz rounds which too sounded good but I found them to be weak sounding on the sterling in the upper register of D and G strings. The sunbeams cut nicely up there and are close to warmth of the TI flats I had on it but preserve the grind the flats lost after a break in period. The Nickel lowriders have more of growl than the sunbeams do on my bass. I would describe them as warmer and mellower especially after they break in. I also find the tension perfect over the bridge humbucker where I do the majority of my playing but a little on the loose side towards the neck.
 
#54
RFMac said:
When it comes to rounds which I use on my Musicman basses, I think you could be on to something. However pressure wounds intrigue me. I always passed them over for straight flats or rounds.
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Give them a try, especially if you like the sound of flats but would like a little more punch and brightness. I just don't like the higher tension.
 
#55
RFMac said:
I have had a hell of time with that bass to be honest. It was my main gigger for years. I could never find the right combo in my mind. I always liked the way the bass played but didn't like some of the sounds in certain situations. With tension being an issue for you I would say the sunbeams are great - very low. Not as low as the TI jazz rounds which too sounded good but I found them to be weak sounding on the sterling in the upper register of D and G strings. The sunbeams cut nicely up there and are close to warmth of the TI flats I had on it but preserve the grind the flats lost after a break in period. The Nickel lowriders have more of growl than the sunbeams do on my bass. I would describe them as warmer and mellower especially after they break in. I also find the tension perfect over the bridge humbucker where I do the majority of my playing but a little on the loose side towards the neck.
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From your experience it sounds like I will love the feel of the Sunbeams but might miss the growl of the Nickel Lo Riders. The Lo Riders have easily been the best strings I have tried as far as consistency of sound throughout each string. I find the Chromes sound as good as the Nickel Lo Riders for pick playing but sound weak on the G string finger style (which is mostly what I do). I am looking forward to trying the Sunbeams!
 
#59
Tried the Sunbeams with the band tonight and I have found my string. Nickel Lo Riders remain a close second. The Sunbeams do not growl quite as much as the Lo Riders (I like a lot of growl) but they growl enough and I like the tension and sound consistency throughout the neck a little better than the Lo Riders. I think I will settle down with the Sunbeams for a while!
 
#60
Happy to hear! I Don't use the Sterling nearly as much as I used to (3-4 night s week!), but when I do its the only combo thus far that I like with the bass. They get better as they age, mine are about 3 1/2 months and sounding better than new! The EQ on those basses is so sensitive that dialing growl is easy almost too easy. A question though; did you find they cut through on the D and G string in the upper register better than other rounds, like the lowriders? -RFMac.
 

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