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Need Advice Today

Which strings?

  • Fender Nickel Plated Steel Super 7250s

    Votes: 6 23.1%
  • Dunlop Stainless Steel Bass Strings

    Votes: 4 15.4%
  • Ernie Ball Stainless Steel Bass Strings

    Votes: 5 19.2%
  • D'Addario XL ProSteels Bass Strings

    Votes: 11 42.3%

  • Total voters
    26
  • Poll closed .
All the strings you listed are good strings ,none are 'total crap'. Did you do a search on these strings ? There is a lot of information on this forum about these strings.

The point of this was to find a decent string for my emergency. My adjectives may have been unfair, but I feel like it was the only way to get my point across to you. Also, I found out the Fender strings were sub par which would have pissed me off to spend $20 on them.

In this pinch situation, I wanted to setup a poll and people to chime in with their reviews. If I had more time to research it, I would have done that. I am not buying a car here, I felt this thread was all the research I needed. Thank you anyways though. :rolleyes:
 
The point of this was to find a decent string for my emergency. My adjectives may have been unfair, but I feel like it was the only way to get my point across to you. Also, I found out the Fender strings were sub par which would have pissed me off to spend $20 on them.

In this pinch situation, I wanted to setup a poll and people to chime in with their reviews. If I had more time to research it, I would have done that. I am not buying a car here, I felt this thread was all the research I needed. Thank you anyways though. :rolleyes:

No,your not buying a car here....your buying a simple set of bass strings. Your wrong, the Fenders are not 'sub par' as you put it. The point you tried to make, I don't care about. I thought the whole poll thing was very funny and quite silly. Really though let me give you the best advice you will ever get on this forum, try as many brands of bass strings as you can until you find what works best for you. What may work for the other guy, may not work for you. Good luck on your string quest.
 
No,your not buying a car here....your buying a simple set of bass strings. Your wrong, the Fenders are not 'sub par' as you put it. Your point to me, I don't care about. I thought the whole poll thing was very funny and quite silly. Good luck on your string quest.

No, he's not wrong. It's his opinion that he thinks Fender strings are sub-par. However, that's not your opinion. Opinions are just that, opinions. Until there is a string that comes along and sets the standard and every bassist in the world can agree on that standard, we'll all have different opinions on what's par in the bass string world. Until then, no one is wrong about what they like and don't like.
 
No, he's not wrong. It's his opinion that he thinks Fender strings are sub-par. However, that's not your opinion. Opinions are just that, opinions. Until there is a string that comes along and sets the standard and every bassist in the world can agree on that standard, we'll all have different opinions on what's par in the bass string world. Until then, no one is wrong about what they like and don't like.

Read the thread....he didn't try the Fenders. Did you read all of my post ? I told him what may work for the other guy may not work for him....opinions ?
 
Read the thread....he didn't try the Fenders. Did you read all of my post ? I told him what may work for the other guy may not work for him....opinions ?

Come on guys, let's get along. The Fender string was said to have QC issues. It was said to be a hypothetical shot in the dark. If I ask someone about strings and they tell me how they have had a few sets and they are inconsistent. That to me is sub par.

And the best advice I have recieved on this forum, is on what bass is best for metal. You could never top that Blues Bass Man, don't even try. :p
 
Read the thread....he didn't try the Fenders. Did you read all of my post ? I told him what may work for the other guy may not work for him....opinions ?

I do agree with that. I know for a fact that the Dunlops I played on my Cirrus 6'er sound great on the Cirrus but not on my Elrick 5'er. IMO and IME, it also depends on the bass and how it's set up as well. Some strings work for some basses but don't work for others.
 
Best Bass for Metal....LOL ! Good luck on your string quest.

See, I am trying to be a good sport here. I know how the search button works. I've only been here a few years, but I catch on quickly. Time was the motivating factor with me starting this thread. Hopefully my sarcasm was met with good humor and not hate. I got my hater blockers on anyways.


Thanks for all the love Talk Bass! I appreciate your help.
 
So Joe,
what set did you end up with? Inquiring minds want to know. :D

P.S. I voted D'Addario

Yep, went with D'Addario even though the Cap'n made a convincing argument for the Dunlops. They had a decent zing straight out of the package. Not as much flop as my old webstrings. Think I'll use them for awhile and then get those Circle K strings as soon as I decide what I actually want. They have so many options, I am a little dumbfounded by all the choices.
 
Yep, went with D'Addario even though the Cap'n made a convincing argument for the Dunlops. They had a decent zing straight out of the package. Not as much flop as my old webstrings. Think I'll use them for awhile and then get those Circle K strings as soon as I decide what I actually want. They have so many options, I am a little dumbfounded by all the choices.

I don't think Circle Ks are all that confusing - they just all look like one kind of string with different diameters - that's all.

'Might be good for some people, but I would like a little more string-ability information before I pay anything for any strings - even inexpensive ones.

I think the biggest problem with the Fender 7250s is that they are so inconsistent and may very well be made by many different string makers, including their own inhouse shop in Mexico.

There are rumors that they are D'As or whatever, but I think they are made by Mama Cozza's Bass String and Putty Knife Factory, in Tecate.

So it you want any 'consistent' answers, then Fender 7250s are at best a gamble. I've loved some and hated others that were purported as 7250 NPS by Fender.

As a generic string for basses, the 7250s appear to fit nicely if the buyer is tone deaf or consistency doesn't matter.

Yet - I still have a factory set on my VM-Jag, as they just seem to be nice.

At the mo, I also have three sets that were immediate take-offs on new basses I bought and holding them in my hands and feeling them - they are all over the place by the way they feel and look.

I put Elixor Nanos on those three basses and they are sweeter than you can imagine. Of course, they are NPS and coated, so that floats a big one for me.

MY opinion, of course. :D
 
I don't think Circle Ks are all that confusing - they just all look like one kind of string with different diameters - that's all.

'Might be good for some people, but I would like a little more string-ability information before I pay anything for any strings - even inexpensive ones.

What do you mean, "string-ability information"? What are you looking for? Plenty of us who use them could answer questions, and Skip is a member of TB.
 
What do you mean, "string-ability information"? What are you looking for? Plenty of us who use them could answer questions, and Skip is a member of TB.

Well - flats, round-wounds, core material, coatings, alloy, tension - things like that.

I like funky lows, not brightness and I don't see that sonic info being promulgated.

And of course some sound bytes would be nice ala` Rotosound.

What bothers me most is the fact that they are a mail-order business, and with NO allegorical reference from me to their possibly being shady or corrupt, I have a really hard time buying something that I cannot feel and touch before plopping a credit card onto a transaction over the internet.

I totally understand their reluctance to package their strings for the retail market - and more power to them for that as an ideal - but how are they gonna attack a somewhat suspicious and jaded customer if there isn't some sonic related 'string-ability' information and comparisons to strings we CAN touch, feel and might have been on our basses when we bought them originally?

Facts and feeling may be a mixed bag - but there's a prolific amount of chatter on the merits of other strings and even some MP3 posts to hear too.

The 'smoke=fire' logic works here.

I'd like comparisons and maybe I can be moved to make what I feel is a quantum jump for me (buying over the internet) and perhaps a new experience for my ears.

As I see it - their site is rather sterile and non-committal and yet my curiosity is piqued by their strings.


Still on the fence here - but SERIOUSLY- thanks for you response. I hope I haven't kicked a sacred cow.
 
Well - flats, round-wounds, core material, coatings, alloy, tension - things like that.

I like funky lows, not brightness and I don't see that sonic info being promulgated.

And of course some sound bytes would be nice ala` Rotosound.

What bothers me most is the fact that they are a mail-order business, and with NO allegorical reference from me to their possibly being shady or corrupt, I have a really hard time buying something that I cannot feel and touch before plopping a credit card onto a transaction over the internet.

I totally understand their reluctance to package their strings for the retail market - and more power to them for that as an ideal - but how are they gonna attack a somewhat suspicious and jaded customer if there isn't some sonic related 'string-ability' information and comparisons to strings we CAN touch, feel and might have been on our basses when we bought them originally?

Facts and feeling may be a mixed bag - but there's a prolific amount of chatter on the merits of other strings and even some MP3 posts to hear too.

The 'smoke=fire' logic works here.

I'd like comparisons and maybe I can be moved to make what I feel is a quantum jump for me (buying over the internet) and perhaps a new experience for my ears.

As I see it - their site is rather sterile and non-committal and yet my curiosity is piqued by their strings.


Still on the fence here - but SERIOUSLY- thanks for you response. I hope I haven't kicked a sacred cow.
Dunno how helpful it'd be but when I get a set I can do a recording with my daddarios and then one of the circle ks, as I haven't seen any posted on here yet.
 
Well - flats, round-wounds, core material, coatings, alloy, tension - things like that.

I like funky lows, not brightness and I don't see that sonic info being promulgated.

And of course some sound bytes would be nice ala` Rotosound.

What bothers me most is the fact that they are a mail-order business, and with NO allegorical reference from me to their possibly being shady or corrupt, I have a really hard time buying something that I cannot feel and touch before plopping a credit card onto a transaction over the internet.

I totally understand their reluctance to package their strings for the retail market - and more power to them for that as an ideal - but how are they gonna attack a somewhat suspicious and jaded customer if there isn't some sonic related 'string-ability' information and comparisons to strings we CAN touch, feel and might have been on our basses when we bought them originally?

Facts and feeling may be a mixed bag - but there's a prolific amount of chatter on the merits of other strings and even some MP3 posts to hear too.

The 'smoke=fire' logic works here.

I'd like comparisons and maybe I can be moved to make what I feel is a quantum jump for me (buying over the internet) and perhaps a new experience for my ears.

As I see it - their site is rather sterile and non-committal and yet my curiosity is piqued by their strings.


Still on the fence here - but SERIOUSLY- thanks for you response. I hope I haven't kicked a sacred cow.

I understand skepticism, and you have a wealth of experience under your belt, so it's probably well-founded. I had been working on balanced tension string sets for about 2 years when I heard about Circle K, so the first thing I did was order one because he provided tension charts, and had strings in sizes that made sense.

His strings are nickel-plated steel with hex-cores, only available in rounds (currently). In my experience, his strings sound very even across the board - the thinner strings don't sound thin and the thicker strings don't sound muddy. They remind me a lot of my Fodera Heavies (bright, but with plenty going on in the low end), but are completely unlike the D'Addario Chromes that I had.

Compared to EB Slinkies, they have much more definition and low end, and aren't nearly as zingy or scooped.

The life of the strings still baffles me. I've had them on my 8-string for almost 2 months now, and they sound just a little bit broken in even after regular play. They easily last twice as long as other strings I've tried.

When I order a set for my Spector 6-string, I'll do some recordings with my Fodera strings, and then another recording with my Circle Ks. Some comparison is better than none, right?