What’s up talkbass people? Long time reader, first time poster. So I just picked up a 5/8 upright off Craigslist for $300, to sort of test the waters on how I feel with it. I’m pretty certain it could use a fresh set of strings, the ones on here are mix and matched. Wondering if anyone has suggestions for some cheaper strings- ideally less than $100. And I’m curious how people feel about nylon. I’m a funk-pseudo-jazz kinda player. Is one better for funky stuff? I’m seeing some on amazon for $20 for the full set (ammoon), are those guaranteed garbage? Considering I only dropped $300 on the bass, it probably won’t sound terrific regardless of string quality, but thought I’d get some help from the peanut gallery.
Used in TB classifieds is your best bet. Even then not much under $100. If new, Corelli 370s are $112 at Golihur. Or ask Mark Golihur for recommendations. He’s very helpful.
"mixed and matched" is not necessarily a bad thing. Photos of the tail and pegbox silks would help us id them for you. I'm going through and experimenting with a bunch of strings I have accumulated over the years and could probably hook you up with a set for $100 or less if you want to go that way. The Spirocores suggested above are the right answer and that is a good price. For new, middle of the road, not too expensive strings that don't suck (assuming you are in the US) D'Addario Helicore Hybrids are probably what you are looking for. Less expensive than European strings and ... perfectly fine.
Ouch! I'd take D'Addario Preludes any day over Red Labels and their solid-steel core. Or Corelli 380Ms. Both sets under $100 as well.
These are what I’m working with. I thought maybe I should go with brand new strings in order to have a reference to what brand new sounds like vs used. As a guitar and bass guitar player, I didn’t think paying for used strings is a thing, but I’m learning that the upright is a completely different beast. The reason I got the notion of getting matching strings is because I read on a thread here that mixed strings could have an effect on the intonation per string, but I’m thinking now it’s my bridge placement. I did read that a lot of players mix and match, but I got the impression from the guy who sold it that he was just piecing together basses and dropping them for cheap cause his pops died and left 23 uprights in the basement of the house he’s trying to sell. I’m starting to think though that there is no right or wrong, just preference, and finding that preference is a costly- trial and error- effort when strings are $200 a set. Thanks so much for the responses TB peeps!
Pay $50 for the used Spirocores, they might last literally forever on your bass, but if you wanted to try something else later, they should be the reference point, not a new set of middle-of-the-road strings.
Spend a little more on a set of Spiros, they’ll last forever and are a great all around set of strings
Spirocore Mittels (medium) or Weichs (light), are the ideal reference point for what a good string should be able to do in any given style of playing. Used is great, Spirocores live longer than horses. If you boil them, you might even get a couple days of that new string zing to enjoy before they settle back in. Once you get your strings, it's well, well worth another $100 to have a knowledgeable person do your setup. You'll basically be good to go for the next decade.
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