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Preffered strings?

theundecidedone said:
I use Rotosound Swing66's, and absolutely LOVE them. they start out bright, and mellow with age, almost like they mature.

Some may say they go dead, I like your pov! I wish they would stay like new longer, so I'm trying black beauties to see if they stay fresh longer. They sound very much like the Sunbeams I just took off my jazz, that reminded me of new 66's. The beauties so far are just that; beauties.

Also new to me are the LaBella flats on ny P; wonderful. Before all this, 66's were my favorite.
 
Dont judge me by this, but this song, at around 2:17, theres a bit of a breakdown, and the bass comes through. could anybody tell if this is effects or just a really good set of strings teamed with an excellent bass? This is the sort of sound i would like.

Asche zu Asche - Rammstein Lyrics and Translation - YouTube

Sounds like pretty clean playing. Sounds like he is picking back near the bridge to get that tight compressed sound (in addition to multi band compression on the recording as well..)

Cant really say what strings they are, but sound like lighter gauge rounds, most likely nickel plated steel...

Thats what it sounds like to me at least...

:bassist::bassist::bassist:
 
LaBella Stainless Steel M-50M Balanced set . My new string of choice beautiful deep defined low end and mid punch with not to much high end twang as Rotos now that they are broke in . They cut through the mix in my band great . I am talking in a live in the mix situation here KILLER strings .
 
Sounds like pretty clean playing. Sounds like he is picking back near the bridge to get that tight compressed sound (in addition to multi band compression on the recording as well..)

Cant really say what strings they are, but sound like lighter gauge rounds, most likely nickel plated steel...

Thats what it sounds like to me at least...

:bassist::bassist::bassist:

yes, i know a guy who is really into rammstein, he says that the bassist plays with a pick in that song, but i think it sounds great, maybe its just me.
 
IMHO - as a bass player you gotta do what sounds right. I think it sounds pretty good and fits the style / song...

Finger style playing the same notes would not have that extra bite that the pick gives... He is playing about 1.5" / 2" from the bridge at most to get that tight nasal tone.
 
I use Rotosound Swing66's, and absolutely LOVE them. they start out bright, and mellow with age, almost like they mature.

I used to use those for a long time. A very aggressive sounding string, but they were nice.

I'm currently using GHS Progressives on my main Warwick (on my second set of trying them out), and they're growing on me. They're a little more mellow than my previous sets (GHS Super Steel Contact Cores), but still have a good definition and bit of a growl. I'm eq'ing the bass a bit differently, but I'm liking the results thus far.

They also feel very sleek, almost like Elixers but without the crappy coating. I'm told it's from the wire they're wound with.
 
Its good to hear everyones experiences and what you thought of the different type of strings. i remember being told to avoid flat wound strings by another bassist (he uses XL prosteels, so i assume he likes the strings with bright tone). I dont know anything really about Flat wound strings, but would i be right in saying they were the opposite of bright?
 
Honestly, i have only ever bought one set of strings, the D'addario XL Prosteels. I was advised to by my teacher, he really liked them, thought they were brilliant for the price. but since i dont know much about strings, i wanted to know what would be best. i dont know if its the brightness i dont like about the D'addarios, but i just think the strings should sound better than that. maybe i got a set of duds? although the D string seems to sound better than the rest.
 
The D and A strings are generally the higher tensions strings in the D'Addario Sets. This is probably what is making the D sound better than the rest.

Strings are very personal. What you like someone else will dislike. Some strings love a certain bass and make it sound great, some will sound good.

When it comes down to finding a new set of strings you basically need to figure out the kind of tone you are looking for and people can then suggest something that will get you close to that.

The strings you are using are good quality strings. But sounds like you want something more "unique" in a string.
 
The D and A strings are generally the higher tensions strings in the D'Addario Sets. This is probably what is making the D sound better than the rest.

Strings are very personal. What you like someone else will dislike. Some strings love a certain bass and make it sound great, some will sound good.

When it comes down to finding a new set of strings you basically need to figure out the kind of tone you are looking for and people can then suggest something that will get you close to that.

The strings you are using are good quality strings. But sounds like you want something more "unique" in a string.

Yea, they really are good quality strings, but i dont know, maybe its my bass. i have seen them on other basses and they sound great. i dont particularly want something unique, just something with more go on my particular bass. im going to try a few different things between brightness and coatings and winding.
 
When people ask me what kind of strings I prefer my answer is always the same.....OLD ones. Played aggresively as I do they punch well with great clarity and grind through my old svt and 15" cabs. I get asked what I use all the time and I can only say that at one time they were round wounds and probably nickel... but that's it. I've been this way for 10 years, and prior I was a once a month nickel only (loved Trace Elliott strings) changer.

Funny as I'm a total snob with tube amps, effects, tones I like and don't like, etc. Old strings are just my secret sauce.
 
Well, not to say that they are better than anything else, but by far my very very favorite strings are DR Lo Riders. They are tight and bright, and outta... but seriously, I guess what I like the most about them is their feel even more than their sound. To my hands they feel much more responsive; like I can play faster and more accurate on them. I suspect this is just because I'm acclimated to them, but I mention them because to me their are rather different than the average strings... another thing for you to experiment with.

I've messed with about every part of the bass (except I've never gotten caught up in the tone wood thing), and it seems to me strings are one of the biggest "bank for the buck" changes that you can invest in on a bass.
 
yea, ive considered putting in EMG pickups in my bass, but really, i cant justify it. i reakon there are many more ways for me to improve the thing before i get to EMG's. strings might be the start, or the end. i dunno. im going to see red hot chili's at the start of november, so i might have to sell it to afford going to dublin. lol.
 
Its good to hear everyones experiences and what you thought of the different type of strings. i remember being told to avoid flat wound strings by another bassist (he uses XL prosteels, so i assume he likes the strings with bright tone). I dont know anything really about Flat wound strings, but would i be right in saying they were the opposite of bright?

There are brighter flats but generally speaking rounds will sound brighter and more twangy if that's what you want your bass to sound like.

Look at the GHS string chart on bassstringsonline.com. It shows you were each one of their strings fits on the scale from brighter to mellower. Then check the specs on each of those strings as to whether they're flats, rounds, nickel, or stainless and so on. That alone should give you come basic knowledge.
 
Used GHS Precisions for a while, but couldn't use them for punk or anything else that requires some growl, and since I only had one bass (Squier VM P) at the time, I switched to Roto swing66. Very happy with them, they were way too zingy at first but now (after 2-3 months) they sound really good. Just got my Squier VM 70s Jazz last weekend and put DR Sunbeams on it, still a bit too zingy (not as much as the Rotos) but I'm sure they'll break in soon. Will probably put the Precisions back on the P, and keep the Rotos, just in case. I'm not prone to thrown stuff away if it's still usable.