I bought a Stingray; what strings should I try?

[Flatwound]

GHS Precision flats. I had them on a Stingray years ago, and thought they sounded fantastic.

 

[fishdreams]

Flatwound Cobalt Slinkys and GHS Brite Flats (mentioned earlier) are great flatwounds with a bit of a Roundwound vibe. For rounds, given the type of pre and pickup on a Stingray I'd go with a decent not-too-aggressive allround string that is even sounding across all frequencies (you def. want good mids) , d'addario nickel xls or ghs boomers work perfectly fine and are not expensive to experiment with.

 

[Samatza]

Another vote for Slinkies, 45-100 on both my StingRays. I feel that gauge gives the most balanced sound.
Of course feel free to experiment and find your ideal set. Happy hunting.

 

[FirewalZ]

Im in the same position as the OP. I recently acquired a Stingray Special and have been looking for what strings may work best with it. Ive currently tried my go to's DR Sunbeams, which im pretty happy with. However, i would like to try a few other brands. I have thought of trying Super Slinky, because thats what they were developed with and maybe roundcore boomers.

 

[Jazz Ad]

Stingrays can be clanky. I find that EB Slinky nickel roundwound strings give the right amount of boom and bright to them.

 

[PeaveyPlayer]

Cobalt rounds were my go to

 

[IMMusicRulz]

I would suggest LaBella flatwound model strings, because LaBella makes some very tightly wound strings. John Entwistle used LaBella flatwound strings for his Fender Jazz Bass on My Generation.

 

[CallMeAl]

I would pick a string you are already familiar with, so you're not trying to simultaneously get to know a new pickup and a new set of strings.

I love Sunbeams, I'd go with those.

 

[JazzyJacuzzi]

I bought a set of DR Sunbeams, because they were my favourite rounds on my Jazz; a set of Hi-Beams, because of the recommendations in this thread and because I haven't played stainless steel roundwounds in over five years; and a set of nickel lo-riders, because the DR website site it was an excellent string for funk.

@LowEndLobster I discovered your YouTube channel this weekend when I was looking at Serek basses. I'm usually not a fan of YouTubers, but loved yours -- I watched a bunch of your Stingray and Serek videos. Keep up the great work! And the Ocarina of Time reference

 

[jazzman64]

My Stingray has D'Addario Chromes on it and I instantly get that Bernard Edwards disco tone! The bass still keeps it versatility and signature sound. In the end, it's all up to you. I personally prefer flats on my Stingray!

 

[JazznFunk]

I am a firm believer in that the strings should be chosen to fit the bass's unique characteristics. I owned a couple of 2-band 'Rays back in the day and LOVED flats on them. GHS Precision Flats in a light gauge. Fast forward to the 3-band Ray 34 (ash body/roasted maple neck) I got a few months back, and I put those same strings back on it. As much as I love flats, they didn't cut it for this bass. It was TOO dark for my taste and didn't feel right on this particular 3-band incarnation of the 'Ray. So - I put light gauge DR Sunbeams on and man.... warm and buttery with a pleasantly tamed high-end. Sort of like the tone I got with flats on the old 2-band Rays I had. The bass makes the strings in some cases, not the other way around.

 

[CallMeAl]

I just got my first StingRay (SBMM Ray5) and I started with my favorite rounds- DR Pure Blues. I liked the first set so much I stocked up with two more sets during Fretnation's Black Friday deal. I'm set for a long time!

Low tension, smooth, broken-in feel with the sound of near-new SS rounds. Very happy with them.

Haven't tried these on a Ray but I've had them on a Jazz style and P bass. Sounded exceptionally good on my SB2 (which at times reminds me of a Ray with its aggressive MFD pickups). Sound good on everything!

Fantastic strings, probably my new favorites!

 

[FirewalZ]

I am a firm believer in that the strings should be chosen to fit the bass's unique characteristics. I owned a couple of 2-band 'Rays back in the day and LOVED flats on them. GHS Precision Flats in a light gauge. Fast forward to the 3-band Ray 34 (ash body/roasted maple neck) I got a few months back, and I put those same strings back on it. As much as I love flats, they didn't cut it for this bass. It was TOO dark for my taste and didn't feel right on this particular 3-band incarnation of the 'Ray. So - I put light gauge DR Sunbeams on and man.... warm and buttery with a pleasantly tamed high-end. Sort of like the tone I got with flats on the old 2-band Rays I had. The bass makes the strings in some cases, not the other way around.

I feel the same way...my older ray(1996 3 band) is a LOT more aggressive, treble and upper mid forward, than the newer Specials. As a result flats and dead rounds work great on that bass, less so on the Special. I'm also a big fan of Sunbeams on my Stingray or a P bass, just as you describe. Still searching for the "right" strings for the Special, although I may just sit with Sunbeams

 

[sawzalot]

I love Ernie Ball Cobalt roundwounds on my stingray. Super bright, emphasis in the upper mids and a bump in the low end.

 

[Wood and Wire]

I purchased a four-string Stingray Special HH this morning and I was wondering what strings to try.

I've spent the last decade playing passive Fenders, so I've no idea where to start on such an instrument. My favourite strings on Precisions were La Bella's Deep Talkin' 760FL. I never found anything I absolutely loved on Jazzes, but I was playing DR Sunbeams recently. I did play TI Jazz Flatwounds for a while on both basses. I loved the tension, but preferred the thumpy La Bellas for the Precision and wanted roundwounds for the Jazz.


I don't have a tone in mind. I'm open to anything, but FWIW, I play pop, dance and rock with my band and I'm learning jazz at home. Something not too trebly, maybe? I do like the tone Joe Dart is getting with his signature Stringray strung with Slinky Flatwounds. I think I'd like to go for roundwounds since the Stingray will be only bass, maybe flatwounds?

What are you using with your Stingray?

I don't know why this didn't immediately spring to mind, but @rob_thebassman put a ton of work into the string comparison thread, recording his StingRay with a wide variety of strings.

Here's his highlights feel :




And here are the original posts, that also include several examples that aren't on his SoundCloud page :

Got a comparison here guys! GHS bass boomers roundwound medium light (7 months old) Vs D'addario NYXL regular light (brand new)
Only did old Vs new as these are the same gauges

My chain is Musicman Stingray (flat EQ) > Radial Stagebug passive DI > Focusrite Sapphire 6 > Acoustica Mixcraft 4

Enjoy

Here it is! La Bella stainless steel (hard rockin steel) 45 - 105 Vs Ernie Ball regular slinky 50 - 105. Only used fingers for this one as I lost my pick but thought I'd be abit more creative by putting some drums in with it

My chain is..
Bass Collection jazz bass with a babicz bridge and p bass neck > Radial stagebug active DI > Focusrite Sapphire 6 > acoustica Mixcraft 4

Enjoy!

Got another one here guys, was going to do rotosound Vs fender but I decided to record with the d'addario nyxls again but with my active DI to get more of the high end attack.

My chain is Musicman Stingray > Radial stagebug active DI > Focusrite Sapphire 6 > Acoustica Mixcraft 4

So here's D'addario nyxl 45 - 100 Vs Rotosound Swing 66 nickel 45 - 100



I actually prefered the nickel swing 66 as it's alot more smoother in sound and feel but are similar to the steel ones

Hey guys, finally got round to recording! We have Fender 7250 nickel 45-100 vs La Bella stainless Steel 45-100.

My chain is

Musicman stingray > radial stage bug active DI > focusrite sapphire 6 > mixcraft 4

hey guys, I've done some more recordings of the La Bella Stainless Steel on my Stingray, only this time I've done some examples of other styles and different EQ

My chain is -
Musicman Sting > Radial Stagebug active DI > Focusrite Saffire 6 > Acoustica Mixcraft

Enjoy!!

Right guys, today I have Dunlop Nickel Roundwound vs Ernie Ball Super Slinky.. METAL EDITION \m/

Apologies for the sloppy playing but was in a rush.

The signal chain is -
Musicman Stingray (flat eq)> Zoom MS-60B (volume drop to a passive level> sansamp sim ,bass -1, treble +3, presence +4, 50/50 blend, 80 gain > Eden amp + cab sim flat eq) > instrument input of Focusrite Saffire 6 > mixcraft 4



As much as I liked the dunlops, the ernie balls in my opinion win this particular round.

Enjoy

That whole string comparison thread really ought to be a "sticky", as it covers many different instruments, wearing all sorts of strings.


In fact, I think I'm even going to bookmark this very post, for my own future reference.

 

[Wood and Wire]

Here are more posts from @rob_thebassman from the string comparison thread (TB forum won't allow more than 10 pieces of media per post) :

Hey guys, today we have La Bella Nickel Plated vs Dunlop Nickel vs Rotosound Nickel, as I think these La Bella sound the more similar to these two.





The have a nice feeling to them, and quite a grind to them. A little bit more punchier than the rotos, but not as much mids as the dunlops in my opinion. I'd still use them though

As an additional treat, I've recorded pick and slap style playing, flat EQ of course. Lets see if the La Bellas live up to their former label 'slappers'






10 strings to compare in total now

Right lads, today we have Ernie Ball Group iii flats vs La Bella Deep Talkin Flats FS, bare in mind the ernie balls are brand new out of the bag and the La Bellas are old. Enjoy

 

[Wood and Wire]

And some more string comparisons on a 3 band StingRay :

Hey guys, although they've stopped making them, here's a comparison of rotosound swing 66 steel against la bella stainlesa steels.
Please note that I've bought a custom set of rotos, 45 65 80 100


Also added to the playlist of all string comparisons if you want to have a look


Rotosound vs La Bella




All string comparisons

 

[-Asdfgh-]

The ones McCartney used, the metal ones.

 

[Treeman]

I rotate between Regular Slinkies and EB "Group" Flats on my StingRay Special 4H. Lately I have been really loving the EB Flats. Less friction under my fingers than other flats I have tried, and with the new pre-amp on the Specials you can easily dial the EB flats down into classic thump, or up into modern sustaining zing - all the while the fundamental is nice and focused in the mix just right.

 

[cnltb]

I bought a Stingray; what strings should I try?
If it came with strings I'd say ,use those.
Otherwise newtone strings is what I like best.