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Ken Smith Compressors

#21
mmbongo said:
Well, Ken Smith strings are made by GHS...so I'd say they're very VERY similar :)
Click to expand...

i didn't find them that similar. As you probably know there are only a few string manufacturers and they make everybody's strings. That said, they make them to the brand's specs so in many cases they are radically different than their own proprietary brand.
 
#23
I'm still loving my compressors, but I'm wondering if I maybe should have gone with the the 44-62-80-102 instead of the 44-62-82-105 set... Sometimes I feel the E strings sounds a little too "fat" compared to the other strings...

Has anyone noticed this, has maybe my E just died out?
 
#24
Hey all,

Until about two years ago, I used DR Sunbeams (45-125), on my Smith BSRMW 5str, with good results. I play with a light touch and the low tension of that particular brand and guage worked well. Following some advice on the Ken Smith forum, I ordered a set of Smith Compressors (44-62-82-105 w/125 taper) and I've used them ever since. The first set had an interesting look when installed and tuned up! The strings had a "crinkled" look as if they had been crimped and then straightened out. I don't believe that this could happen but this is what I observed. Since it was my first experience with this brand, I just played 'em and liked 'em.

The second set looked perfectly smooth like a set of flats. The third set, just installed last week, seems to some of the look of the first but not as obvious.

Has anyone else using these strings noticed this about their set?

When the strings begin to get a little tired, I take them off, clean them and put them on my back-up 5str which is a HumanBase x oc.5

Thanks foe a minute of your time.

Regards, Kirk
 
#29
I play the GHS version of these on my Jazz Bass and to me it's a perfect fit for that bass. I'd play them on my PBass too but I wanted one set up with "old school" flats and it has to be the PBass. Personally I think you'll like them on a PBass if you give them a shot.
 
#31
just received my first set of KS compressors from BassStringsOnline. These have been put on a Lakland 4401D with ChiSonics and LH3. I really really like these so far. I have had a long love hate relationship with flats, and always go back to rounds having the ability to live with their shortcomings more easily that with the flats. These compressors, however, really seem to meet at the halfway point between the two. I have tried groundwounds etc, and really never liked them at all. So far, very happy with this product.
 
#32
:cool:

I've been into Compressors for a long time.
They are the perfect go-between flats and rounds.
I use them both on my Jazz & P-Bass. There not to bright on the Jazz. And have a big thump on my P-Bass.
These are a string you can just put on, and leave on forever.
 
#33
Mojo-Man said:
:cool:

I've been into Compressors for a long time.
They are the perfect go-between flats and rounds.
I use them both on my Jazz & P-Bass. There not to bright on the Jazz. And have a big thump on my P-Bass.
These are a string you can just put on, and leave on forever.
Click to expand...

I was curious as to how long they might last, I usually don't kill strings too fast. How do they age tonally?
 
#34
chunkstyle said:
the only strings i like more than Compressors are Ken Smith Slick Rounds.
Click to expand...

I prefer flats but for the rock band need a little edge that I get from rounds. I go back and forth and am using half-rounds now.

For those who don't like half rounds-Compressors or Slick rounds, are the perfect compromise. Slick rounds feel like flats and are closer to that sound and compressors more like rounds.
 
#35
basss said:
WOW These are some fat sounding strings! Just put a set on my P bass. Low mids galore with a bit less zing than regular rounds - but still basically a round wound sound. Anyone else like these?
Click to expand...
I need strings for my fretless bass guitar and I'm thinking about the Ken Smith Compressor strings, Thomastik or Elixir Nanoweb , I prefer low tension strings
 
#37
filibertin said:
I need strings for my fretless bass guitar and I'm thinking about the Ken Smith Compressor strings, Thomastik or Elixir Nanoweb , I prefer low tension strings
Click to expand...

Ken Smith Compressors are basically the same thing as GHS Pressurewounds, which I wouldn't consider to be "low tension". My Jazz bass wore the ML7200 set (44-58-80-102) for six months and I found them to be slightly stiffer than a typical set of light-gauge hex-core rounds.

For "low tension", you might also want to consider the DR Sunbeams, which are wonderfully supple-feeling and warm-sounding, thanks to the round core.
 
#40
michael_t said:
Ken Smith Compressors are basically the same thing as GHS Pressurewounds, which I wouldn't consider to be "low tension". My Jazz bass wore the ML7200 set (44-58-80-102) for six months and I found them to be slightly stiffer than a typical set of light-gauge hex-core rounds.

For "low tension", you might also want to consider the DR Sunbeams, which are wonderfully supple-feeling and warm-sounding, thanks to the round core.
Click to expand...
 

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