It don't mean a thing if you don't test some strings :0

[vindibona1]

The other day I created a thread about finally understanding my different basses. But there is another big component that needed to be added, but the Strings section, I think, it the better place to add some thoughts.

Currently I have 4 basses on the wall, a 2010 MIM Jazz5, 2023 USA Fender P5, Yamaha TRBX605 and Sandberg Ken Taylor Signature. My thought is, that if any if these basses is to stay, each has to have its own sonic role and playability. Until today the Sandberg and P5 eclipsed the other two. But things have changed in my mind with some simple string swaps. I think I'm much more pleased with the current string selection on each bass.
Here's a breakdown from how they were previously strung and then today:

Sandberg: Sandberg SS 40-60-80-100-128... 45 swapped in for the 40 (much better)
Fender P5 American Pro II: Fender stock strings> Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats
Yamaha TRBX605: Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats > Elixir Nano 45-130
Fender MIM J5 (upgraded): DR Sunbeam> Elixir 45-130> (final) NYXL 45-130

1) I've loved my Sandberg the first moment I held it. Still love it 15 months later. Loved the strings too which I think lent smoother faster playability to the instrument. However I always thought that the .040 sounded a little "sitar-ish". So I got hold of a .045 and made the G string sound more uniform with the other strings. I'm trying to acquires some .045 Sandberg strings, but even for my rep Sandbergs isn't so responsive. I often play the Sandberg and these strings with gloves. Just sayin'. And BTW, it didn't sound bad with nickel rounds either, but I forget which. Nix to Black Beauties on this bass.

2) New Fender P USA. I guess Fender now ships their precision basses with rounds. Seems kind of counter-intuitive in a way. Had some EBCF's on hand and am so much happer. The Cobalt strings split the difference between the sound of a round and the sound of a traditional flat. I can play it with a much lighter touch, though I can't explain why.

3) YamahaTRBX605. It came with standard cheap D'Addario XL's. I almost returned it and then tried different strings on it. Until today they had ECBF's and I liked them on that bass. with the P bass it lost its distinctiveness. I had some Elixirs that spent 20 minutes on my jazz bass. I think these are doing the trick. These and Sunbeams have an innate "chime" that I think eclipsed the fundamentals on my J bass. I don't see myself going back to EBCF's on this bass soon. FWIW I also had some DR Black Beauties on it for a few minutes. No go.

4). MIM Jazz5. For the longest time I had DR Sunbeams on it. But as my ear became more in tune with the bass sounds, I felt that the overtones and harmonics made it a bit difficulty to hear the fundamental pitch. I had some NYXL's in the drawer and knew they'd feel different. Not so much. And I didn't know how they'd sound. But they weren't crisp enough on my recently sold BTB675, but thought it might be worth a try on my J5. Yes. The NYXL's improved the clarity and the touch on this bass. I had to add a bit of tension to the truss rod and for some reason also lowered some of the strings 1/64". Not sure the string height didn't stay the same. But it plays and sounds better than it did.

Bottom line/take-away: All the components of the bass itself mean little without considering the strings you put on it, and perhaps the amp you plug it into. I'm more convinced than ever that you can't fully judge a bass until you've truly explored it.

 

[Prodigus Filius]

Strings can maketh the bass.

 

[BGroovy]

Absolutely. I’ve been on a similar journey as I’ve traded and sold/acquired a lot of basses the last few years honing in what I really click with as far as neck profiles, weight, balance.

On to strings, I’ve recently found myself in a similar position where I don’t like the Gs on certain string sets. Especially true with a recent switch to LaBella LTFs on two basses. I ended up pulling Gs from older Labella deep talking bass sets and I’m much happier with that paired with the EAD strings from the LTF set.

 

[vindibona1]

I'm finding more and more that strings are everything. I don't think I mentioned in my opening post is that because I was playing my BTB675 less and less (and now sold) that when it came time to restring from the old NYXL's I got some Ernie Ball regular Slinkys because they were cheap. And they were awesome on the BTB. They were also great on my now sold Ibby Gio 6 string. Those strings surprised me a lot considering the price. I changed out the EBCF's on my Yamaha as it needed a "personality change". With the cobalt flats it was too much like my P bass, but didn't have the thickness of sound. Elixirs are a good fit for my Yamaha but didn't do anything for my J or P. Again, J now has NYXL's and P has EBCF's.

I had an interesting conversation with my Sandberg rep this morning. What I discovered is that GHS makes Sandberg strings, stated to their specifications. I'm not sure how different the GHS strings would be, but it's good to know. But my rep says he is securing me with some .045's if DHL would ever deliver them. He also said that it is possible that they will stop producing the 128's. As soon as I have the 45's in hand I will order a 2 year supply of strings with 128's.

 

[Bassamatic]

I go through countless strings - they make so much difference. It astounds me that people will swap out pickups before changing strings!

Just as an example - I Got a great deal on a Guild Starfire I Super nice bass but I was not happy with the sound and feel. I that went through several sets of strings. I just did not like the sound as was going to sell it. Then I found a used set of LaBella black tapewounds and WOW what a difference. Several people have commented on the great sound of that bass. The perfect match. Ya gotta keep exploring.

 

[vindibona1]

I go through countless strings - they make so much difference. It astounds me that people will swap out pickups before changing strings!

Just as an example - I Got a great deal on a Guild Starfire I Super nice bass but I was not happy with the sound and feel. I that went through several sets of strings. I just did not like the sound as was going to sell it. Then I found a used set of LaBella black tapewounds and WOW what a difference. Several people have commented on the great sound of that bass. The perfect match. Ya gotta keep exploring.

In 2017 I had purchased my Yamaha TRBX605 and just didn't like the sound. I had one or two days left to return it and actually had the return label already printed out but as I had some DR Pure Blues on hand I decided to try them "just because". They made such a difference I ended up keeping the bass. Had I not done the TRBX would have gone back. And this bass is particularly sensitive to strings, string height and pickup height!

 

[Derek Kay]

I've given up on sets and concentrated on string sizes instead.
The amount of metal vibrating over the PU poles is the sound I get to play with.

The B & G (or C) strings are the most problematic for reasons of scale. When I found what sounded best I looked to what sizes to fill the gaps evenly.

Surprisingly, the best result was not an even distribution, but decreasing differences, from low to high:
130-100-75-55-40-(30)
and 105-80-60-45 (same distribution but heavier)

Yes, the 5er was lighter than expected, but the tensions were broadly similar, and the continuity of sound-across-strings was the best I could find. It was a compromise but it was easy to adjust to.

Getting an balanced range at the source was a big advantage to EQing my final sound. PU heights are equally important for the same reason. $0.02

 

[MrAB4003]

I totally agree! I started out my life as a bassist playing stock strings. For the first few years, I was a teen who was only concerned about learning the instrument instead of types of strings. I also had no idea about the intricacies of strings at that time. All I knew were roundwounds.

I was loyal to Rotosound from 2012 until the beginning of this year. As a rock and hard rock fan, I decided to go with what many of my bass heroes played. I played their Swing Bass 66 rounds (in both stainless steel and nickel) followed by their Solo Bass 55 pressurewounds as my main strings. The former made my fingers bleed, so I switched to the latter in 2019. I also had a set of Jazz Bass 77 flats on one of my basses, but they were just OK. Earlier this year, I found out that my last set of Solo Bass 55s were 40-100 gauge when I ordered the 45-105 gauge from Amazon. My tech measured the strings and told me that they were the wrong gauge. Between my fingers bleeding multiple times, the cost of their strings, their lack of quality control, and getting the wrong gauge strings, I realized just how bad Rotosound is after 12 years of loyalty.

Thankfully, my tech also put a set of D'Addario nickels in 50-105 gauge on my Ric and they sound incredible! I soon restrung my P bass with D'Addario nickels. I also have their piccolo gauge nickels on my Squier Jazz Bass.

I had a year-long experimentation period with La Bella tapewounds last year. I tried the Blacks, Whites, and Gold Whites. I found that they don't work well for anything lower than standard tuning. I also didn't like the plasticky, dull tone that they offered. I was really looking for a set of strings that were smooth to the touch, but also had a bright tone. So after trying the D'Addario Nickels, I decided to try a set of Chromes on my 2022 Ric 4003. Everything was right tonally and in terms of feel! They had the smoothness of the tapes and a much nicer tone.

I currently play D'Addario strings on all my basses:
1) 2012 Ric 4003 - D'Addario Nickels (50-105 gauge)
2) 2022 Ric 4003 - D'Addario Chromes (45-100 gauge)
3) 2021 7ender American Pro II P Bass - D'Addario Nickels (50-105 gauge)
4) 2008 Squier Piccolo Jazz Bass - D'Addario Nickels (20-52 gauge)

 

[Jon Draffan]

2) New Fender P USA. I guess Fender now ships their precision basses with rounds. Seems kind of counter-intuitive in a way. Had some EBCF's on hand and am so much happer. The Cobalt strings split the difference between the sound of a round and the sound of a traditional flat. I can play it with a much lighter touch, though I can't explain why.

I am so glad you wrote this. Thank you. A couple of years ago I was part of a TRBX thread with you where @Yahboy recommended the EBCB. I tried them out and they might go to string since. Right now, loving them on an American Pro II jazz Bass

Fast forward to today…I just bought an Am Pro ii P and simultaneously picked up a set of cobalt flats. Reading all the comments from the naysayers here and on YouTube about the pick ups, I was concerned about using the cobalt flats and have been hunting around TB to find someone talking about using them on the American precision.

In sum, thanks. I feel much more comfortable with my original plan of swapping the strings as soon as the bass gets here… This afternoon! Yay!

 

[Jon Draffan]

In 2017 I had purchased my Yamaha TRBX605 and just didn't like the sound. I had one or two days left to return it and actually had the return label already printed out but as I had some DR Pure Blues on hand I decided to try them "just because". They made such a difference I ended up keeping the bass. Had I not done the TRBX would have gone back. And this bass is particularly sensitive to strings, string height and pickup height!

It’s because of a thread about this that the Pure Blues and the Cobalt Flats became the only sets I used on 10 or so basses (I fell into ‘pandemic shopping’, now am back to just two) in the last seven years.

I hear what everybody’s saying about sound, but for me, it’s always all about the “feel”. Even though the PB‘s and the EBCF might not be the exactly perfect sound every time, they do have a fantastic feel. Unfortunately, with my playing frequency and style the pure blues take a week to calm down in both feel and sound, so CF’s (which I think feel and sound consistent from day 1), have become my “baseline string“. They are the first thing I put on a new bass that I use to judge the nature of a pick up, and feel of a neck. After that exploration has been done, it becomes a starting point to choose a string based on what’s lacking, if anything.

Luckily for me, the EBCF usually check ALL the boxes for me.

By the way, strange resurrected, zombie thread, I’m just reading this for the first time and really enjoying it

 

[pepj]

I get my Nickel Rounds made up and string all my basses with them.
120, 100, 80, 60 42. iirc with piano core at the bridge and taper at the tuners on B and E to facilitate winds

 

[Geri O]

There does come a time in life when, after years of trying different strings, you just settle on a set that covers everything, works well on all basses, makes me happy, and in turn, makes my clients and bandleaders happy.

A big change I made recently is to go down a gauge. I wanted to make the change that would be easier on my hands while I could make the choice for myself as opposed to being forced to later on.

Past that, the Great String Search is over for me. No interest in that whatsoever,

 

[GrowlerBox]

There does come a time in life when, after years of trying different strings, you just settle on a set that covers everything, works well on all basses, makes me happy, and in turn, makes my clients and bandleaders happy.

A big change I made recently is to go down a gauge. I wanted to make the change that would be easier on my hands while I could make the choice for myself as opposed to being forced to later on.

Past that, the Great String Search is over for me. No interest in that whatsoever,

Somebody call the inquisitors!

 

[GTHintz]

I've said it many times. Strings will change a lot of things so it's good to understand what they do to your sound and it'll save a lot of stress when you get a new bass or new amps/ pedals. Also don't forget that sometimes you can just change the gauges and get better results with the same string.

 

[MrAB4003]

Also don't forget that sometimes you can just change the gauges and get better results with the same string.

Update - I did this recently with my Ric 4003 with Chromes. I switched from light gauge (45-100) to medium gauge (50-105) and they sound better in D Standard. The medium gauge Chromes are still pliable and not too tense in D Standard, while the light gauge was too loose for my downtuning. I still have the sound of the Chromes, but the medium gauge feels better.

 

[Jon Draffan]

Update - I did this recently with my Ric 4003 with Chromes. I switched from light gauge (45-100) to medium gauge (50-105) and they sound better in D Standard. The medium gauge Chromes are still pliable and not too tense in D Standard, while the light gauge was too loose for my downtuning. I still have the sound of the Chromes, but the medium gauge feels better.

+1 on this. I went from 45-100 Cobalt Flats to 45-105 nickel rounds on a P bass, and now I can’t help practicing 3 times a day!

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

I totally agree! I started out my life as a bassist playing stock strings. For the first few years, I was a teen who was only concerned about learning the instrument instead of types of strings. I also had no idea about the intricacies of strings at that time. All I knew were roundwounds.

I was loyal to Rotosound from 2012 until the beginning of this year. As a rock and hard rock fan, I decided to go with what many of my bass heroes played. I played their Swing Bass 66 rounds (in both stainless steel and nickel) followed by their Solo Bass 55 pressurewounds as my main strings. The former made my fingers bleed, so I switched to the latter in 2019. I also had a set of Jazz Bass 77 flats on one of my basses, but they were just OK. Earlier this year, I found out that my last set of Solo Bass 55s were 40-100 gauge when I ordered the 45-105 gauge from Amazon. My tech measured the strings and told me that they were the wrong gauge. Between my fingers bleeding multiple times, the cost of their strings, their lack of quality control, and getting the wrong gauge strings, I realized just how bad Rotosound is after 12 years of loyalty.

Thankfully, my tech also put a set of D'Addario nickels in 50-105 gauge on my Ric and they sound incredible! I soon restrung my P bass with D'Addario nickels. I also have their piccolo gauge nickels on my Squier Jazz Bass.

I had a year-long experimentation period with La Bella tapewounds last year. I tried the Blacks, Whites, and Gold Whites. I found that they don't work well for anything lower than standard tuning. I also didn't like the plasticky, dull tone that they offered. I was really looking for a set of strings that were smooth to the touch, but also had a bright tone. So after trying the D'Addario Nickels, I decided to try a set of Chromes on my 2022 Ric 4003. Everything was right tonally and in terms of feel! They had the smoothness of the tapes and a much nicer tone.

I currently play D'Addario strings on all my basses:
1) 2012 Ric 4003 - D'Addario Nickels (50-105 gauge)
2) 2022 Ric 4003 - D'Addario Chromes (45-100 gauge)
3) 2021 7ender American Pro II P Bass - D'Addario Nickels (50-105 gauge)
4) 2008 Squier Piccolo Jazz Bass - D'Addario Nickels (20-52 gauge)

I used D’Addario strings for a long, long time. I still think they make top notch strings, and their people are absolutely great. But many years back I decided that I needed strings with a “Darker” sound.

I’ve also used GHS strings for a very long time, and because they provide me with the “darker” sound that want, I typically use GHS bass strings exclusively now.

I currently have basses strung with Bass Boomers, Pressurewounds, Precision Flat Wounds, and Brite Flats.

 

[iiipopes]

"It don't mean a thing if you don't test some strings"
Doo-wap doo-wap doo-wap doo-wap doo-wap doo-wap.