powersound strings?

You mean the Thomastik-Infeld "Powerbass" series?

Just Strings has 4, 5, & 6 string sets between ~$30 to ~$47.

This could be wrong.
<marquee>paging Thomguy </marquee>

 

I tried one set of Powerbass strings and I found them to be comparable with D'Addario Slowound. Not super bright, very balanced sounding. Actually, I was hoping they would be brighter than they were.

 

I've got a set on my G&L, and I love them. I don't think I'll buy another type of rounds again, at least not for quite a while. They aren't as clangy as I had been afraid of, instead they have nicely balanced highs. They're definately there, they just aren't tweeter-clangy. They're sweet, very warm. Plus, the low end from these strings is also nice and balanced, not boomy or non-existant like most rounds I've played. Plus, can't beat the feel of these, and the customer service you get from them (both from Connolly and from Steve Barr, who I bought them from), absolutely top notch.

mike

 

Hey! Thanks for the kind words here folks! I've been down a few days with a fever/flu kinda thing, still feeling a little puny, but I'm here.

Pumo420: If you are talking about the TI Powerbass strings, then it's actually the outer wrapping that's plated with nickel. The inner wraps are stainless steel wound on a hexagonal core. The outermost wrap is stainless, nickel plated and THEN drawn out to gauge. It's a different process than getting the gauge correct and then plating the metal. Our method costs a bit more but the plating don't come off! They are designed to give you the bright, punchy tone without the fretwear associated with stainless steel. Our other jazz strings: Now those are pure nickel...

I hope this was of some help because with a low-grade fever, I can break a sweat typing ;-)

 

>bright, punchy tone without the fretwear associated with stainless steel

Thomguy, as far as the Powerbass strings are concerned, I found them to not be as bright as some other "nickelplated" sets. What they are is very balanced string to string, but I personally wouldn't compare them to bright stainless steel strings.

 

Oddly enough, I found the opposite. Brighter than the GHS plated steels as well as the Rotosound round wounds. They are a stainless steel set. The core is hex, then there are three stainless steel windings after that with the outermost winding being plated with the process described above with nickel. Not enough nickel to get the soft tones that a lot of jazz cats like, but enough to keep out the "brittleness." On my rig I found them to increase output by providing a higher S/N ratio.

 

Actually, I had a similar experience with the powerbass strings; while I wouldn't compare their high-end output to the brightest strings I've used, they instead had useable, msical high end, not jst sheer clanky brightness. I'd compare it to the difference between a cab that has a tweeter for "bright" highs, vs a cab that's actually designed to have a real high end without a tweeter. Still all the presence you'd need in the top, but useable and musical, not just piercing and shrill.

mike

 

I like the way you said it better, Ohiobob!

 

I'm expecting a new set of these any day now and am anxious to try these and compare them to my regular TI Jazz strings. I love the Jazz's for their warmth and vintage tone, clean sound (i.e. no stainless steel clankiness), but the Jazz's are not the best for certain types of playing styles (slap, punchy rock sound). I'm hoping the powerbass strings fit that bill. I'm a little scared that I will like them though, as I fear I'll desire another bass so I can switch between the two string sets. I'm thinkin of strapping the Modulus Quantum with the Powerbass and then getting a Genesis with the TI Jazz. Now, if I can only covince my bank account to grow a bit so I can get a Genesis..

 

Ahh, yes. GAS pains can hurt the wallet...

 

You could help my cause by getting me a better deal on Thomastik strings... With the cost of the TI nylon cores for my acoustic, the TI Jazz for my electric, and possibly the powerbass for my other electric, I should be getting dividends at the end of each quarter courtesy of Thomastik... albeit they are easily worth the cost. Okay, that's my freebie plug for you.

Peace

 

Okay, I've had the powerbass strings on for a few days and here's my initial assesment. The outer nickel plating really does cut down on the "brittleness and/or twangy" high end. It also helps the typical steel clankiness that I hate. A well balanced sound throughout the set with the appropriate tension for hard playing. One thing does kinda bother me. The B strings tension is much lower than the other 4 strings (28 lbs vs. an average of 45 lbs). It would be better IMHO to closer match the tensions of all strings. I would say that these would be perfect if the strings all had an average tension of 36 lbs. I'll patiently wait while all strings manufacturers go back and redesign their sets to my desires........I'm still waiting...

Peace

 

>The B strings tension is much lower than the other 4 strings (28 lbs vs. an average of 45 lbs).<

Yeah, I know. It's one of the things that TI really tries to accomplish when constructing a string. The difficulty is that, with the materials used in those strings, it was either compromise the density of the core for more diameter (which resulted in an inconsistent reproduction of the frequency) or compromise the diameter for the frequency or tone. They obviously went with smaller Gauge:good low B frequency.

 

I just put the Powerbass strings on my new G&L L-2000 and I really like them. They complement the bass very well. The E is a little thicker than I am used to (I usually play a .100) but they are very balanced and have both nice highs and nice lows.
I also like the looser feel (they are not as loose as the DR sunbeams on my Carvin). They make playing the bass very easy. I hope they hold their life for a long time because they are high priced.
Any chance to get a discount ??

-KB

 

Most players report excellent playing life; two to three times more than typical strings in most cases. Please keep us posted as to how long they treat you well for...

 

Check out my review at bass gear reviews.com, not sure of the exact address, but these search words will get you there.