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Nickel Vs steel

booch29

booch29

Mar 27, 2013
344
307
israel
#1
TL,DR : does steel strings have more low end than nickels?

So, I've been a long time nickel rounds user (and flats), six months ago i put a set of steels on one of my p basses and love the sound, especially the fact that they remained fresh and bright..
Anyway, for my question: i've seen a video of a guy that did a comparison between nickel and steels and he stated that the main differences between them is that the steels are brighter and have more low end while the nickels are more mid forward. I always thought that nickels had more low end and went with that in mind to find my sound...
I would love to hear people's thoughts on this based on your experience.
Thx.
 
#2
String designs vary pretty widely between brands and specific models so it’s hard to make a broad statement like that.

IME, based upon strings sets that I’ve used that came in nickel and SS versions, treble was smoother/more subdued with nickels and I never noticed any big difference in the bass.

Even strings that are available in Ni and SS may be constructed differently from one version to the other so I’m not sure it’s ever really possible to make a direct, 1:1 comparison.
 
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#6
Lo-E said:
String designs vary pretty widely between brands and specific models so it’s hard to make a broad statement like that.

IME, based upon strings sets that I’ve used that came in nickel and SS versions, treble was smoother/more subdued with nickels and I never noticed any big difference in the bass.

Even strings that are available in Ni and SS may be constructed differently from one version to the other so I’m not sure it’s ever really possible to make a direct, 1:1 comparison.
Click to expand...
Yeah, i thought about it when I wrote the post haha...
I use daddario XL's mostly
 
#7
I don't mind the way either pure nickel (TIJR or Dogal Hellborg rounds) or stainless steel (Roto 66, others) break in. I eventually changed them only in the course of string testing. Noticed then how much highs they had lost, but it had happened very smoothly over time.

I can't try to describe or explain why, but the way nickel plated steel breaks in, I can't accept. I've totally rejected them.

I haven't tried yet, but I believe it might be possible to polish SS rounds by hand, for those who would like them to be a little smoother.
 
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#9
booch29 said:
Yeah, i thought about it when I wrote the post haha...
I use daddario XL's mostly
Click to expand...
Nickel XLs are already on the bright end of the nickel string spectrum. TBH, aside from the SS keeping their zing a little longer I don’t think nickel XLs and SS XLs sound all that different. That’s just based upon my own experience, of course.

I can’t speak for the others who have posted other than to say that some of my experience with string longevity varies from some of theirs, which stands to reason when you consider how many factors are involved. Everyone’s experience will not be the same.

I like to think of strings having three stages to their life cycle:
New - that fresh, out-of-the-pack zing.
Broken in - the zing has mellowed and the overall response of the string has settled in.
Dead - All detail and character is gone, the elasticity of the string has been stretched out of it and it won’t properly intonate.

Obviously, there are transitions between these stages and those vary with string types - hopefully we all get those strings off our basses before they reach rigor mortis!

For me, the time strings take to cycle through these stages varies a lot from brand to brand and is not specific to either nickel or steel. To make a broad generalization, I would say most of the nickel strings I’ve used broke in quickly but then took a long time to die. Most of the SS strings I’ve played took longer to break in but then died very abruptly - usually in a shorter amount of time than the nickel equivalents. Extreme examples for me were SS RotoSounds, GHS Boomers and Dean Markleys (are these even still made?), which died far too quickly for me and SS DR, Sadowsky and LaBella rounds, which seem to last forever. With nickel, I can’t think of any that died really fast for me but R. Cocco, Sfarzo, D’Addario, GHS and, again, Sadowsky and DR seem to last a really long time.

All this being a long-winded way to say YMMV!
 
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#11
SS always has more present low and high when fresh, when aged she sound close to nickel round but dry and lifeless voice.

Elixir nano SS are my choice if I back to SS and wanna retain the tone get last. Yes, the low and high are not freaking shine like fresh set SS, but still sound right and keep last.

The only down side are coated string buzz.
 
#12
No, the difference is mainly that SS strings are brighter and (with the exception of Rotos) often more mid scooped than NPS. At least when comparing strings from the same manufacturer. When comparing strings from different manufacturers, all bets are off. For example, GHS strings generally have a fatter, less bright tone than similar types of D'Addario strings.
 
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#14
Comparisons on only one attribute aren’t really helpful. Lots of flatwound strings are steel-wrapped. Some strings have hex cores and some have round cores. There are a lot of variables even without considering how the pickups or the individual bass respond to the strings.
 
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#16
booch29 said:
TL,DR : does steel strings have more low end than nickels?

So, I've been a long time nickel rounds user (and flats), six months ago i put a set of steels on one of my p basses and love the sound, especially the fact that they remained fresh and bright..
Anyway, for my question: i've seen a video of a guy that did a comparison between nickel and steels and he stated that the main differences between them is that the steels are brighter and have more low end while the nickels are more mid forward. I always thought that nickels had more low end and went with that in mind to find my sound...
I would love to hear people's thoughts on this based on your experience.
Thx.
Click to expand...
IME, I haven't noticed much of a difference in low frequencies when comparing steel to nickel plated. I do notice a difference in high-mid and high frequencies. There can be a noticable difference in tone between string gauges.

I use YouTube videos to get a basic idea of products and even product comparisons. Especially when I'm looking at gear that I've never played/owned before. But I tend to rely on my ears during these videos more than I do on the opinions of the people making them. If the person who made the video you watched actually used an EQ plugin in their DAW and clearly demonstrated a bump in lower frequencies then sure, it becomes valid. Otherwise it's just opinion and I would trust my own ears.
 
#18
It depends on your body pH. Mine is highly acidic and can kill stainless steel strings in an hour. I had a stainless steel watch at one time that wound up pitted on the back. Nickel-wound strings last forever for me, and I prefer the sound, too.
 
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#19
Depends on the bass. My Attitude having a P pickup has a subdued top end so SS works well to get a little more clarity and grind yet still sounding smooth.

My JB2 and 50s P are much brighter-sounding basses, so Nickel Plated Steel strings reign in their inherent brightness and reduce clank. SS on these two basses would take your head off if I popped the G string!
 

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