Nickel of Steel?

[Strane]

Hi there! I'm thinking about giving a try to steel strings since I'm start to look for a brighter sound, but just 'a bit' brighter, that's why I'm not sure and wonder your opinion about it.
I've always used DR Sunbeams Nickel-Plated Round Core. I would try the same strings but stainless steel, like Fat-Beams. Any thoughts?
I like warm but a bit bright and clear sound.

Thnx in advance for your answers.

 

[onda'bass]

I like worn in D'addario exl's. A bit bright new, but settle in nicely.

 

[Ggaa]

I use Dadd XL nickels. Fatbeams have a different tone than XLs but they have a bright but full tone. Fats and other DR strings except LowRiders are more limber feeling than XLs(just a little too limber for me).

 

[Lo-E]

Steel strings, even ones that are touted as feeling smooth, feel much rougher to me than nickel plated steel.

You might want to try nickel plated Dunlop Super Brights. They're not actually super bright, to be honest.
They're just a little bit stiffer and have more prominent mids than Sunbeams. You might also try DR Pure Blues, which also have more mids.

I like D'Addario XLs a lot but they are very much brighter than Sunbeams and a fair amount stiffer as well.

 

[michael_t]

I've always used DR Sunbeams Nickel-Plated Round Core. I would try the same strings but stainless steel, like Fat-Beams. Any thoughts?
I like warm but a bit bright and clear sound.

If you like the general feel of the Sunbeams but want something a bit brighter, try the Hi Beams, which are basically the stainless version of the Sunbeams with similar construction (= round core). The Fat Beams are also round core but slightly stiffer in feel than the Hi Beams and not quite as bright.

 

[Barton Lee]

I've been using DR strings on my Fender Ultra II Jazz, Fatbeams and Pure Blues. Both worked fine (I preferred the Pure Blues and generally prefer nickel) but I can't leave well enough alone and decided to try a set of 45-105 Dogal CarbonSteel roundwounds, which I'd never tried before, on the Jazz. They're round core but not too flexible and feel fairly smooth to the touch (IMO), bright but not too much so. If the bass chooses the strings, mine would like the Dogals please - they play and sound really good on this bass.

They do cost twice as much as a set of DRs though, so there's that of course.

 

[klokker]

From a Stainless Steel guy here. I use DR SS Lo-Riders and much prefer SS. If you like the tone of SS, play them for a while and you'll get used to them. After a while you'll wonder what all the fuss is about.

Everyone has their thing, but don't be put off by all the talk about "stickier" and feel. SS plays just as well as any other string.

 

[monsterthompson]

I've enjoyed DR strings for a while but after trying Hi Beams out on a new bass I was not quite happy with them. I ended up on a long and continuing search for "my" string and I just picked up some SIT Foundation Nickels. I started with the SIT Nickel Power Wound and wanted a bit more of a bright edge, like DR sounds in my head. The Foundation is the brightest nickel they make and there's also a steel Foundation line so I could escalate to that if I need more. The strings just arrived and I'll be loading them up today. I'll try to report back with how they compare to the Hi Beams currently on the bass.

I do find the SS sticky/grabby feel to be a minor issue with some strings. They aren't unplayable but they are a distraction and I've probably become a nickel convert based on the general differences in feel.

 

[michael_t]

Everyone has their thing, but don't be put off by all the talk about "stickier" and feel. SS plays just as well as any other string.

If stainless steel rounds were all I played, it would be easier to get used to the feel. My problem is I have two basses with flats, two basses with pressurewounds, one with nickel rounds and one with stainless rounds. And when I'm regularly rotating all those basses with different strings, that's when I notice the "rough and grabby" feel of SS rounds. I would call it "bass string theory of relativity".

 

[InhumanResource]

Hi there! I'm thinking about giving a try to steel strings since I'm start to look for a brighter sound, but just 'a bit' brighter, that's why I'm not sure and wonder your opinion about it.
I've always used DR Sunbeams Nickel-Plated Round Core. I would try the same strings but stainless steel, like Fat-Beams. Any thoughts?
I like warm but a bit bright and clear sound.

Thnx in advance for your answers.

Gotta try it and see. I like sunbeams too, and I'm also partial to EB power slinkies. Depending on how much zing you want, steel might be the way to go. I find they mellow out quicker/more noticeable than nickels which seem to retain their "new" sound longer and have a less drastic change when they do mellow out.

 

[klokker]

If stainless steel rounds were all I played, it would be easier to get used to the feel. My problem is I have two basses with flats, two basses with pressurewounds, one with nickel rounds and one with stainless rounds. And when I'm regularly rotating all those basses with different strings, that's when I notice the "rough and grabby" feel of SS rounds. I would call it "bass string theory of relativity".

+1. Makes sense. I just have a couple of basses I play and only one I gig with all with the same strings. I didn't think about going back and forth. If you want to play SS though, the rough and grabby doesn't have to be a negative. With a little time, that goes away, that's been my experience.

Sometimes my strings feel sticky, but I think that's more like I"m not warmed up well, or bad technique.

 

[Stranger Danger]

You can order MTD steels from their website and they are my favorite steels. I'm usually a nickel guy but if you want tighter and tad brighter, you should try them.

 

[Strane]

Gotta try it and see. I like sunbeams too, and I'm also partial to EB power slinkies. Depending on how much zing you want, steel might be the way to go. I find they mellow out quicker/more noticeable than nickels which seem to retain their "new" sound longer and have a less drastic change when they do mellow out.

Do they mellow quicker? It was my understanding that SS lasted longer than nickels

 

[PrimitiveMan]

Hi there! I'm thinking about giving a try to steel strings since I'm start to look for a brighter sound, but just 'a bit' brighter, that's why I'm not sure and wonder your opinion about it.
I've always used DR Sunbeams Nickel-Plated Round Core. I would try the same strings but stainless steel, like Fat-Beams. Any thoughts?
I like warm but a bit bright and clear sound.

Thnx in advance for your answers.

If you like DR, then try Pure Blues as they are nickels that sound more like steels.

I've switched over from DR to using SIT Foundations pretty much exclusively. Love both the nickel and stainless sets. The nickel Foundations are significantly brighter than the Sunbeams you have been using

 

[BassicJazzy]

How about chrome? Probably even brighter.

 

[Dincrest]

DR Hi-Beams are a perennial favorite steel string. They last forever, feel smooth for stainless strings, and have a supple but not overly stiff feel due to the round cores. That being said, their texture won't be as smooth or plush feeling as Sunbeams (which are a very plush-feeling string). Steel strings are generally rougher feeling than nickels. (The worst are Rotosound RS66s. Those things feel like cheese graters on my fingers, and they dull out too quickly for my tastes).

I think a good string for nickel players wanting to try out steels are LaBella Rx Steels. https://www.labella.com/strings/category/rx-stainless/ They are, what I'd call, "steel with a nickel feel." They're less clanky than typical steel strings and have a nice nickel-esque mid-bump to them. I think they're smoother to the touch than D'Addario XLs. And those LaBellas are reasonably priced too and have decent longevity in my experience, so that's a plus. I've tried the LaBella nickel RX strings too. Those are meh, but the Rx steels are something special. And if you're a 5-string player, that 118 B is... it's not floppy at all, but its light gauge allows freer vibration so it sounds fatter. I don't know what sorcery LaBella does, but...

Another in-between string that might be worth a try is GHS RoundCore Boomers. Though they're round core strings (like Sunbeams or Pure Blues), they feel stiffer and definitely have a bit more growl to them than Sunbeams (which I found too polite sounding for my tastes). I like them a lot, but GHS jacked up their string prices more than their competitors, so something like DR Pure Blues might be a better value.

Bear in mind, I'm a notorious "gotta try 'em all" string-GASer, so take what I say with that grain of salt.

 

[InhumanResource]

Do they mellow quicker? It was my understanding that SS lasted longer than nickels

My experience is that SS starts wicked bright and falls off quickly, the difference is drastic and fast. You may or may not like that depending on how bright you want to sound.

Nickels are less bright, and mellow in shower and less drastically to my ears. So if you like where they start out at, you'll have a good long time to enjoy them.

Everything is subjective and your mileage may vary of course, but this is what I've observed personally.

 

[winegamd]

FatBeams would be a good start. They are not as bright as HighBeams, have good low mid punch like a nickel, are more even sounding but still have a bit of the stainless scoop to their tone. They also last forever. They are not as limber to the touch as HighBeams or the Foundations mentioned above.

The foundations are brighter than the roundcore DR nickels (both Sunbeam and Pureblues), but for me they died much quicker and lost all definition (like going from a J bridge tone full up to a P neck with tone rolled off). While they are alive they are nice strings, though.

 

[MrAB4003]

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I played the regular XLs for a year or two before switching to the NYXLs. The NYXLs are even nicer than the regular XLs! They feel like nickel, but they sound like a combination of regular XLs and Rotosound 66s (which are made of stainless steel).

 

[lokikallas]

I use sunbeams for my top 40 stuff and Hi-Beams for my metal stuff. Hi beams are a bit more bright, but not overwhelmingly so. The sunbeams have a more mid range punch to my ears.