Kalium replacement

[garfoid]

I have been a bit frustrated with the overall customer service from Kalium lately.
These are hands down the best bass strings I have ever bought and kept going back for the last 8 years or so. I have my set figured out, .114 to .045 Nickel rounds, along those lines, but getting them shipped to Europe costs more than the strings themselves. On top of that, as the invoice contains the price for Shippment, it always gets stopped at Customs and the bill goes even higher. I have been trying to contact Kalium but no luck hearing back from them.
Moving on.
It would be great to hear from people who are experiencing a similar situation and perhaps have found a good replacement that matches both sound and feel.

 

[Obese Chess]

I am assuming you are using a fanned fret bass - If so, there are fewer options in sizes, but I've been using Payson strings for a few years and have always been very impressed with the quality and customer service. I have also heard good things about Newtone strings out of the UK, but do not have any personal experience with them myself.

 

[Razman]

I'm with you OP, and would hate to give them up. I've read about people waiting over the past few years, but I'm at a point where I need to replace the strings on my custom fiver, put new ones on my son's five string Ibanez, and try out a low F# set on my recently acquired Conklin GT-7. That's about $170 US for those three sets, and while not a huge amount I would think they would be somewhat motivated to get the order done to rebuild their reputation.

Not sure when I'll try but at least I'm on this side of the pond. I feel for you.

Raz

 

[SBassman]

Stringjoy does custom sets - and they actually ship quickly.

 

[Dj0ntyRiffs]

im having probs with kalium too. i mentioned it in my thread i posted. they didnt send a confirm email so i emailed them but got nothing back. later tried calling and that didnt work. then emailed again almost 3 weeks after order but still nothing. kalium be like "whats this customer service you speak of?"

 

[Razman]

Stringjoy does custom sets - and they actually ship quickly.

It's just that I want Kalium's strings, and the sizes they offer. However I haven't looked at Stringjoy's offerings; do they have .200 size strings? I'll have to check. The ones on my custom are like 4 years old and are still usable. I've not encountered a roundwound string that lasts longer than 6 months for me.

 

[mmbongo]

It's just that I want Kalium's strings, and the sizes they offer. However I haven't looked at Stringjoy's offerings; do they have .200 size strings? I'll have to check. The ones on my custom are like 4 years old and are still usable. I've not encountered a roundwound string that lasts longer than 6 months for me.

.145 is the biggest that Stringjoy offers.

 

[SBassman]

Stringjoy does custom sets - and they actually ship quickly.

I'm taking back my Stringjoy endorsement. Tried to work with them, and they are more of the same old. Won't be funding them in the future.

 

[iiipopes]

Where in Europe are you? Depending on where you are, of course, there are several reputable companies easily accessible retail that make good strings, including Optima, Galli, Picato, Rotosound, Thomastik-Infeld, and Pyramid, maybe others I don't know about, and they all make rounds as well as flats.

 

[Stinga1990]

It seems that Kalium is very much a lesson in what not to do if you want to run a business. It sucks because as someone who prefers flats, they are my favorite rounds by far.

 

[Razman]

Bumping this because I ordered two sets last Thursday and they arrived today (and I live on the east coast). Got an extra set for my GT-7 or in case I happen to run into a Conklin Bill Dickens sig model.

Raz