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In the market for new stainless strings

#22
Fair enough, I appreciate the further explanation. I'm surprised it was not noticeable until after all the tracks were laid. And to disparage not just Hi Beams, but now DRs in general seems suspect to me. Not that I use Hi Beams (i don't), but the whole experience- the fact that such a large a problem wasnt noticed until after your work was done, and then once something was detected, to put the cause on the strings alone, seems not to put the engineer in the best light.
 
#23
I tried rotos a few years back and they were decent strings but not mind blowing to me. I like pro steels, especially on my Gibson $ bass. The bass is already heavy in the mids so the Dads help tighten up the tone, if that makes sense. I'm kind of curious about black diamond steels. There was a review in bass player that said they have great growl when played with a pick. That sounds like the quality many people are looking for with rotos. Can anybody comment on Black Diamond steels?
 
#24
I loved Roto 66's right out of the box. Died too quick for my budget however. I've been through HiBeams, LoRiders, and a bunch more I've forgotten about. LoRiders kept giving me weird harmonic overtones. A couple years back I settled on FatBeams for my Ric 4003 and I couldn't be happier.
 
#25
I am now using the new Dunlop Super Bright Stainless Steel Strings and they are nice. Bass Mods and Carey Nordstrom are now using them. Worth checking out. I switched from D'Addario Pro Steels. My Slap Tone is banging!!!!
 
#27
Prosteels are great strings for the money!

I didnt like DR either....I tried 5 different DRs and they all have this deadness to them that I never heard with other strings....it could just be me but every kind I get is blah.

I like prosteels for bright stainless and Fodera for warm stainless.
 
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#28
catgut said:
I think you missed some context Lucky or I did a bad job explaining it.
I'm not going to attempt 'setting up' my bass after every set of strings in the studio. Do you do a full intonation check after every set of the same strings that were set up on it initially? Time was a factor. I didn't have some fat advance I could wade through slowly. This was probably my 3rd set already. Others were fine and it was so super subtle it was not noticed until mixing and even then it was like "What the hell is that?". After lots of air travel my neck gets messy and I don't want to screw up my truss rod and I have people I trust so I just have regular health checks on it which include the set up. And the engineer never mentioned the strings as the culprit only that it sounded like ass and I felt bummed cuz I thought it was laid down nice. Months later the story was told to the 'luthier' and the strings were pointed to as a possible culprit because it has happened to others who passed through. I asked what I should use and was just told any large factory hex core. D'addario or Dean Markley, doesn't matter just not DR's.
Only correcting as it might seem like you were discounting my experience due to inexperience.
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Sounds to me like you need LaBella Deep Talkin Rounds. They are they most overlooked stainless set out there. Massive core, multiple wraps and no brittle highs or rough finger feel.
 
#29
petrus61 said:
Sounds to me like you need LaBella Deep Talkin Rounds. They are they most overlooked stainless set out there. Massive core, multiple wraps and no brittle highs or rough finger feel.
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Thanks brother. I will do that. I was looking at trying them already next bulk set purchase. I currently have LaBella HRS (Stainless) strung. I like them. I did not care for the LaBella RX variant though and I had doubts about the Deeps if they were as scooped out as the RX line. The HRS's have the mids intact mostly.
 
#30
catgut said:
Thanks brother. I will do that. I was looking at trying them already next bulk set purchase. I currently have LaBella HRS (Stainless) strung. I like them. I did not care for the LaBella RX variant though and I had doubts about the Deeps if they were as scooped out as the RX line. The HRS's have the mids intact mostly.
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I think you'll like them. Completely unlike any other SS set I've tried. They actually have more of a nickel feel and tone without the harsh top end that can make the mids seem non existent on some SS sets. Supposedly they still use the same formula they have since the 70's for the DTR.
 
#32
My Bad, I know it's Nordstrand. Sorry Carey if you see this :-).
Played a Gig last night with the Dunlop Super Bright Satinless Steels. My tone. finger style and slap was absolutely Killing!!!!
 
#33
I've tried a good handful of steels. Roto's I found to be a hair warmer and a little more full in the mids department then ProSteels. I would say Roto's or DR Hi-Beams are gonna be your ticket. If you try the hi beams I recommend getting a gauge higher than you usually do. the round core makes them super flexible and makes them feel like a lighter gauge than what they are.
 
#34
catgut said:
I think you missed some context Lucky or I did a bad job explaining it.
I'm not going to attempt 'setting up' my bass after every set of strings in the studio. Do you do a full intonation check after every set of the same strings that were set up on it initially? Time was a factor. I didn't have some fat advance I could wade through slowly. This was probably my 3rd set already. Others were fine and it was so super subtle it was not noticed until mixing and even then it was like "What the hell is that?". After lots of air travel my neck gets messy and I don't want to screw up my truss rod and I have people I trust so I just have regular health checks on it which include the set up. And the engineer never mentioned the strings as the culprit only that it sounded like ass and I felt bummed cuz I thought it was laid down nice. Months later the story was told to the 'luthier' and the strings were pointed to as a possible culprit because it has happened to others who passed through. I asked what I should use and was just told any large factory hex core. D'addario or Dean Markley, doesn't matter just not DR's.
Only correcting as it might seem like you were discounting my experience due to inexperience.
Click to expand...

Correct me if I'm wrong here but it sound like what your saying is you changed sets of strings (same make/model) but did not check intonation? I understand time is an issue in the studio but your going to spend more time changing strings multiple times than setting intonation on one set. And because they are the same strings doesn't mean they will take to the same settings. Yes they can be the same or even super close but not every set will be the same. I intonate every set of strings. Even ones that I take off and put back on. I usually don't have to make any adjustments but every once in a while I do and it would have shown in a recording if it wasn't fixed.

In regards to the engineers and luthier. They are people just like you and I. I find in my area there are a lot of "pros" and "experts" that have unwarranted disdain against some brands of strings and misc hardware without any actual facts. I've had a tech complain to me about issues with brand A "all the time" when I asked about how many in the past month he had to fix it was something like 4. When I asked how many he fixed of brand b (his personal favorite) it was about a dozen. My point is some people over look facts based on opinion. We are all guilty of it, myself included. I would never dismiss a brand based on what someone said, only my experience. And though it was your experience was that you had issues, it sound to me (possibly incorrectly) that it was a setup issue, not a brand issue. Please correct me if I'm misunderstanding.
 
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#35
Technotitclan said:
Please correct me if I'm misunderstanding.
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You may be correct but it was easy to fix for the rest of my career by never using them again. I have never had the same problem before or after my stint with them. And zero behavior change on my part. So it even could have been bad luck. But it exists and others have complained. So I thought it valid. I had a feeling this might be too much for the DR brand fans out there. They just can't believe it. They have to keep creating reasons or short comings to define it. lol.
 
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#36
catgut said:
You may be correct but it was easy to fix for the rest of my career by never using them again. I have never had the same problem before or after my stint with them. And zero behavior change on my part. So it even could have been bad luck. But it exists and others have complained. So I thought it valid. I had a feeling this might be too much for the DR brand fans out there. They just can't believe it. They have to keep creating reasons or short comings to define it. lol.
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Brand worship is a problem in all fields. I love DR Hi-Beams but I will admit that pack to pack there are differences and it almost always require entire setup for every set, especially after they break in. I've seen this occur with some brands and not with others. I fully understand the desire for a more consistent brand.
 
#37
catgut said:
You may be correct but it was easy to fix for the rest of my career by never using them again. I have never had the same problem before or after my stint with them. And zero behavior change on my part. So it even could have been bad luck. But it exists and others have complained. So I thought it valid. I had a feeling this might be too much for the DR brand fans out there. They just can't believe it. They have to keep creating reasons or short comings to define it. lol.
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No DR fan here, so no need to rationalize anything about them. To discredit an entire brand when you didnt setup the bass, and as you say, you had no issue before, with the strings, and no issue after dropping them, just seems bizarre.
 
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#38
Luckydog said:
No DR fan here, so no need to rationalize anything about them. To discredit an entire brand when you didnt setup the bass, and as you say, you had no issue before, with the strings, and no issue after dropping them, just seems bizarre.
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Why? If you get food poisoning from a restaurant and there are literally hundreds others why would you ever bother going back to the same place that made you sick because maybe the chicken is safe but not the pork you ate? I can discredit anything I want. DR has enough supporters, they will manage. The fact that you would seriously sit in a studio and adjust your bridge and neck after every set is anal and ludicrous to me. It was so much easier to remove the one problem point, the string brand. I have had zero issues since.
 
#40
catgut said:
Why? If you get food poisoning from a restaurant and there are literally hundreds others why would you ever bother going back to the same place that made you sick because maybe the chicken is safe but not the pork you ate? I can discredit anything I want. DR has enough supporters, they will manage. The fact that you would seriously sit in a studio and adjust your bridge and neck after every set is anal and ludicrous to me. It was so much easier to remove the one problem point, the string brand. I have had zero issues since.
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Why? Because you got one small data point, and that was enough for you to slam the entire line of strings. And that data was based on other people's opinions, for the most part. Sure, you can stop going to the DR restaurant (if string selection to you is as highly risky as potentially eating poison food), but you didnt stop there. You discredited the Hi Beams based on your extremely limited "terrible experience", then extended that discredit to DR.
 
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