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Poll: How many different brands/styles of strings do you use?

How many different brands/styles of strings do you use?

  • All the same

    Votes: 80 24.9%

  • My rounds are the same and my flats are the same

    Votes: 48 15.0%

  • Every bass is different

    Votes: 164 51.1%

  • Never really thought about it

    Votes: 7 2.2%

  • Carrots

    Votes: 22 6.9%
  • Total voters
    321
tb-player

tb-player

Why so serious?
Mar 6, 2019
6,706
29,954
East Coast, USA
#1
I had a recent conversation with a well-known bass builder. We were discussing strings. I asked him if his brand of strings were perfect for his basses. His response surprised me... "Not really. The bass chooses the string."

Hmmm... that response was a little more hippie than I expected... lol.

I've typically used the same strings on all my basses because I like the consistency of feel. However, in recent years I'm using NYXL nickels on my Lull, Sandberg steels on my Sandberg and Pure Blues on my Bluesman Vintage jazz. It wasn't necessarily intentional. It just sort of happened since, with the exception of the Lull, those are the strings that came with each bass and I liked them. So now I have 3 brands of strings on 3 basses.

Do you use the same brand on all your basses? Or does each bass 'choose' the string? lol
 
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#6
Kijuer said:
Whatever I use, they go dead after 3 weeks. Damn. Makes me wonder whether my idea of "strings dying" is totally wrong if none seem to last as long as I thought they should or I am sweating some weird sort of acid from my skin which destroys them 10x faster than normal!
Click to expand...
I think it just means you're playing your bass. I used to brag that strings lasted me 6 months... but that's when I never picked up my bass. When I'm gigging regularly, I find I'm changing them every few weeks.
 
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Reactions: Geri O
#8
Flats: TI Jazz Bass (I'm sold on these -- try 'em if you never have) or La Bella DTF (decent, but they're no Tis)

Rounds: GHS Balanced Nickels (I LOVE these strings... sound, feel and they age well) or D'Daddario NYXLs
 
#13
For the last 14 years or so, I have used DR primarily, but have bought Ernie Ball Super Slinky, D'Addario.

DR Hi Beam on all my bolt on basses
DR Low Riders on my neck-thru-body basses.

Guages are 40-60-80-100 on Low Riders and 40-60-80-100 on Hi Beam

There are times I will use Hi-Beams
45-65-85-105 on my older Fender Precisions from the 1970's.

My Fender Fretless I use roundwound or sometimes the LaBella nylon wrapped strings,
 
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Reactions: tindrum and ThomasTronics
#14
I’ve tried many different strings over the years and liked/disliked different strings at different times for different reasons. I’ve mostly preferred flats (chromes on jazz and cobalt flats on stingrays) but now also like pressure wound on jazz, havent tried on stingrays yet. Havent found a THE string for the Thumb yet
 
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Reactions: DJ Bebop
#15
tb-player said:
I had a recent conversation with a well-known bass builder. We were discussing strings. I asked him if his brand of strings were perfect for his basses. His response surprised me... "Not really. The bass chooses the string."

Hmmm... that response was a little more hippie than I expected... lol.

I've typically used the same strings on all my basses because I like the consistency of feel. However, in recent years I'm using NYXL nickels on my Lull, Sandberg steels on my Sandberg and Pure Blues on my Bluesman Vintage jazz. It wasn't necessarily intentional. It just sort of happened since, with the exception of the Lull, those are the strings that came with each bass and I liked them. So now I have 3 brands of strings on 3 basses.

Do you use the same brand on all your basses? Or does each bass 'choose' the string? lol
Click to expand...
All roundwounds and stainless. I do have a few brands I stick to. Currently have a bass with pro steels, one with blue Steels, and one with LaBella RX. Right now there's dean markley helix , rotosound 66, Dunlop stainless, and a spare pack of blue Steels in the string drawer. All are great in their own way.
 
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Reactions: tindrum, Arthur U. Poon and DJ Bebop
#16
Always nickel rounds on everything. Depending what's the best deal at the time, either GHS Boomers, D'Adddario XL's, or Fender nickel wounds.

These are generally relatively cheap so I can change them more often. In my time I've tried everything from Black Diamonds to TI's, and without exception they all go dead relatively quickly, so for me I find no real advantage in big dollar strings.
 
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Reactions: Kijuer and Arthur U. Poon
#17
Kijuer said:
Whatever I use, they go dead after 3 weeks. Damn. Makes me wonder whether my idea of "strings dying" is totally wrong if none seem to last as long as I thought they should or I am sweating some weird sort of acid from my skin which destroys them 10x faster than normal!
Click to expand...
Three weeks? I'm lucky if mine last three gigs (without any play time in-between). I figure most of my sets of strings get around ten boils each before I put on a fresh set. :help:

As to the OP's question, I have five different kinds of strings on my various basses. With some it's because the basses came with those strings and they just work. With others it's because I like those particular strings on those basses (as opposed to the strings which originally came installed).
 
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Reactions: fishdude101101
#20
Generally use DR Pure Blues, Hi Beams or Sun Beams, but open to trying different brands and types depending on my mood. Can be good for creativity too. But there are a lot of strings I've liked the sound of but not the tension... Which is why I go back to round core DR generally
 

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