Ian Martin Allison strings- 1 week, first gig review

[vindibona1]

I have had the IMA signature strings on my Sandberg bass for a little over a week and just got to play them out this evening. I like the gauge selection. Not too light. Not too heavy. I'm not looking to create a particular sound that emulates someone else, but have a good articulate string set that can be massaged into just about anything I want them to be. My Sandberg is a pretty versatile bass with Stingray style pickups that can be blended, split, and played active or passive.

I had previously used Sandberg Strings, made by GHS and the GHS super steel strings that Sandberg has adoped and relabled. But I think GHS changed the recipe on the Sandberg strings and I'm not crazy about the gauge sets, to the La Bellas seemed to fill the bill. They sounded as good as I needed them to.

The feel being "super polished" is pretty good for stainless strings. They don't feel like typical stainless, but don't feel like flats either. Just like a good set of rounds. And, like I do with all my string sets, I always WIPE them with a bit of Finger-Ease which just adds a little more slickness to them to get around easily.

I think these could be my go-to strings on my Sandberg bass. Because I wanted to try the IMA signature strings, I removed the relatively new Sandberg strings. I may just put the Sandbergs back on this week before Wednesday rehearsal and gigs the following Friday and Monday.

 

[bassist4dalord]

Glad to hear that you’re enjoying them! Trying new strings is one of my favorite things about playing. Thanks for sharing this review of these new strings!

 

[Stranger Danger]

I didn’t care for them at all. Dull sounding and slow under the fingers. But that’s why they make so many different types

 

[vindibona1]

I didn’t care for them at all. Dull sounding and slow under the fingers. But that’s why they make so many different types

I didn't find them slow at all. In fact, I was a bit impressed at how agile my fingers were with these strings. Dull sounding? I suppose if you expect a super bright string then perhaps they aren't for you. I was going to change back to the Sandberg strings, but wanted to give my fresh ears anothe listen, this time with my headphones (AT M50's) in my amp (GK MB112). What I heard with my headphones on was incredible clarity. I can always EQ more brightness in. But that's not what's called for in the type of music I usually play. Just for a comparison, I also played my other favorite side by side, my BTB1825. And while I liked the beefiness of the BTB, it lacked clarity of my Sandberg. FWIW the BTB had NYXL strings on it.

 

[klattman]

I liked the regular super polished well enough. I wouldn’t want them any rougher which I guess is the change for the signature set. I’m mostly fats though.