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My thoughts on the sets of strings I've tried so far

I'll try to make it short and clear, feel free to ask question, comment, like or hate! :)

Ernie Ball Extra Slinky 40-60-70-95: weirdly enough, the E string is still bright, the other ones sound aged/dead/dull (as you prefer), and I can't explain why. Because usually, the E string gets dull first... maybe the gauge? These strings are confortable on the fingers, their brightness goes away very quick after a few weeks, and they are nice for some vintage tone

D'addario EXL 45-65-85-105: yeah, very common, okay on the fingers, good tone when brand new, but E string gets dull and then I found them boring... They're cheap, and they have nothing special, a lot of bad sets too!

D'addario ProSteels 45-105: worst strings I've tested: very rough on the fingers, can't slap without burning your fingers, high tension bends your necks, not much more brightness than other sets: avoid them

Elixir Stainless Steel 45-65-85-105: tension is a little high for my taste, but on the fingers they are... awesome, Elixir coating is the best if you have a thin layer of skin on your fingers, very good for playing with a pick though

Elixir Nickel 40-60-75-95: my favourite roundwounds ever, awesome tone, low tension and high playability, bright, last forever, the best on the fingers for both of your hands, golden end-balls, no silk, what else?

Fender Stainless Steel Flatwounds 55-105: I was cheap and hoped they'll give me the Steve Harris tone on a P: very wrong, these require a U shaped neck or you'll bend it, unless you wanna max out your trussrod, tonewise they're okay, but at least they're very soft to the fingertips

LaBella Black Nylon 750N 50-105: the lighter gauge of the two offered by LaBella for black tapewounds strings... to me the best flatwounds I had in hands! classic funk / jazzy tone, with lots of thumping if your action is set as it should; in the middle for me... they are letting a lot of expression from the wood, mostly your fingerboard, these don't require a new nut, on the contrary to the 760N (60-110), the tension is super low but once you get used to it, they're perfect, just a bit slippery, but perfect! very underrated, unknown flatwounds/tapewounds in my entourage

GHS Precision Flats 45-95: they're okay, not awesome but at least they are fast to "break in", tension is a bit high, but playable, their purple silk is pretty but loosy, if you want Flea's tone from Stadium Arcadium, you're gonna have to use them a lot before they'll reach the wanted tone!

Thomastik Jazz Flats 43-56-70-100: overrated strings IMHO, and I know a lot of people are gonna want to sue me for that: they require months to break in, and then, even after that, the A string is not balanced with the rest of the strings, it just jumps too much and you have to play it calmly, you can't attack it, I tried to like them, but to me the price was not justified... maybe the ones who like are lucky enough to be older which could be made differently? I was excited every time I was watching a video of someone playing the bass with these strings... I could recognize them without seeing the silk or anything! And I got them, and I was disappointed.

My 46 cents!
 
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Re: TIs being a disappointment. Not all strings work with every bass, some seem to "take" one make better than others. To me that would explain why you like the sound of other people playing them. I've never noticed the A string being unbalanced either. Your pickups do make a difference. What bass did you test your strings on?

Full disclosure: I'm an unapologetic TI fanboy.
 
Re: TIs being a disappointment. Not all strings work with every bass, some seem to "take" one make better than others. To me that would explain why you like the sound of other people playing them. I've never noticed the A string being unbalanced either. Your pickups do make a difference. What bass did you test your strings on?

Full disclosure: I'm an unapologetic TI fanboy.

I've put 2 differents sets (cause I thought the first one was defective) on 4 different basses; same unbalanced behaviour on every of my basses. People accused my nut pieces and setup. I didn't accept that because I know how to setup a bass. Tested them on a P with a maple neck, P with a rosewood neck, a Cort GB34A with a rosewood neck (22 fret and MM-J config) and lastly a J (can't remember which type though)
 
i applaud your willingness to offer a perspective based on your experiences. :thumbsup:

i will check back to see/read your comments on these two:
- rotosound 66 medium-light, 35-55-70-90
- TI jazz rounds, 43-51-68-89

good luck with your string experiences! :thumbsup:
 
i applaud your willingness to offer a perspective based on your experiences. :thumbsup:

i will check back to see/read your comments on these two:
- rotosound 66 medium-light, 35-55-70-90
- TI jazz rounds, 43-51-68-89

good luck with your string experiences! :thumbsup:

Thank you very much! I wanted to try the Rotosound to be honest! These or the even lighter 30-90 ones. TI Jazz Rounds, not so sure. But on the same type as the Jazz Flats from TI, I'd give a try to D'addario Chromes. I'm curious
 
I wanted to try the Rotosound to be honest! These or the even lighter 30-90 ones. TI Jazz Rounds, not so sure. But on the same type as the Jazz Flats from TI, I'd give a try to D'addario Chromes. I'm curious
i honestly think you might find something good about lighter gauge roto 66's. the whole steel 66 collection (stainless steel roundwound) is a 'thing' for a reason...worth trying, maybe.
from other's reports: the TI jazz rounds are different than jazz flats (i've never tried the flats), but both are pricey enough to intimidate.

i like the flexibility of the tones i can get with both of those as well as the literal flexibility of those two choices. but some have tried them and don't care for them at all --- we all have preferences!

if you're in search of your own most preferred string: i wish you enormous good luck! :thumbsup:
 
i honestly think you might find something good about lighter gauge roto 66's. the whole steel 66 collection (stainless steel roundwound) is a 'thing' for a reason...worth trying, maybe.
from other's reports: the TI jazz rounds are different than jazz flats (i've never tried the flats), but both are pricey enough to intimidate.

i like the flexibility of the tones i can get with both of those as well as the literal flexibility of those two choices. but some have tried them and don't care for them at all --- we all have preferences!

if you're in search of your own most preferred string: i wish you enormous good luck! :thumbsup:

I think I already found my fave rounds and fave flats but I'm always curious to try what we are offered :)
 
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I appreciate your perspective and reading your comments makes me want to try some tapewounds. I’ve only been playing long enough to try two different sets on one bass (Dunlop nickel-plated rounds, 45-105; D’Addario chrome flats, 40-100...on a Squier P-bass). I liked the Dunlop’s pretty well after they got dead and I like the Chromes because they are in the same sonic ballpark but feel smoother.

If I may ask, why the jumping around in terms of string gauge? Seems like you’d have less variables if you stayed more constant on the gauge because then you could more directly compare material and wind type.
 
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I think I already found my fave rounds and fave flats but I'm always curious to try what we are offered :)
Try Rotosound 77s before you end the hunt.
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On the A string issue...,I have TI Flats on my the Fender Mustang PJ right now and the A string jumps out on it as well. My Broughton High Pass Filter helps tame it though.

Anyhow, those Rotosound 77s really sound nice. Check them out.
 
I'm in the midst of my first experience with TI flats. They definitely continue to Change in tone the longer i play them. To my ears they sound bad when soloed but continue to improve in a mix, but I like mids and I know that's not everyone's cup of tone.

I'll give them a few more months of playing before I make a decision.

I'm always interested in reading about people's impressions of different strings. I've learned so much from TB that I never could discover on my own. I guess that's why we keep sharing.
 
Different strokes for different folks. I’ve had nearly the exact opposite experiences from you. To each his own.

Could you please care to elaborate? It feels like you just want to disagree with me. I know that experiences are personal, but I also think that some of the things I stated are also very objective. Feel free to share your words, buddy! I don't bite

Try Rotosound 77s before you end the hunt.
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On the A string issue...,I have TI Flats on my the Fender Mustang PJ right now and the A string jumps out on it as well. My Broughton High Pass Filter helps tame it though.

Anyhow, those Rotosound 77s really sound nice. Check them out.

I'll definitively will! Thanks!! :)

I'm in the midst of my first experience with TI flats. They definitely continue to Change in tone the longer i play them. To my ears they sound bad when soloed but continue to improve in a mix, but I like mids and I know that's not everyone's cup of tone.

I'll give them a few more months of playing before I make a decision.

I'm always interested in reading about people's impressions of different strings. I've learned so much from TB that I never could discover on my own. I guess that's why we keep sharing.

Yeah their tone evolves the more you use them, that's not deniable. They are slow to change. To me the tone wasn't the issue but rather the feel under my fingers and their behaviour on the fretboard. Too sad after the cost of them :( I didn't waste them though, they're still in the corner.

Sharing is caring! Feel free to share on your turn about TI's Jazz Flats, man
 
Strings are a pretty personal thing. They sound different with different basses, amps and probably most importantly, players. If the A string violently jumped out at everybody, do you really think anyone would continue buying them?

I like TI flats myself. I played them for years on fretless basses where their heavy mid presence was greatly appreciated. I used them for a bit on a fretted 4003 and liked them there also. On a fretted Lakland 4402, not so much. They are kind of floppy low tension strings and take some getting used to. You can’t really dig into them too hard except really close to the bridge. They sound wonky to me if you pluck too hard. That being said, I find them very expressive, capable of anything from great smoothness to a snarly growl .