I have many basses. I lost count after 15. I probably have 20 or so. (OK, just counted them - 22) They all get Rotosounds. Stainless steel.
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Question For Bass Players With Many Basses
- Thread starter ejaggers
- Start date
I have many basses. I lost count after 15. I probably have 20 or so. (OK, just counted them - 22) They all get Rotosounds. Stainless steel.
I have different strings on just about every bass. I find that different strings work better on different basses, even if they are the same "type" of bass. I like to have one P with flats, one with rounds and usually the same for a Jazz bass. My shorties seem to sound better with flats, anything active with rounds.
This is what I'm using right now:
'66 Gibson EB-0 - Just got this one, currently strung with rounds.
‘69 Fender Precision - stainless steel rounds, ProSteels seem to work great on this bass.
‘19 Fender Precision (MIM) - Dunlop flatwounds.
‘73 Fender Musicmaster Bass - LaBella Short scale flatwounds.
‘74 Fender Telecaster Bass - Fender 9050 flats, wanting to try some different strings though.
‘07 Fender Marcus Miller Jazz - old dunlop super brights, not so bright anymore. I have a set of Fender flats waiting.
‘06 Fender Jaguar Deluxe Bass - old D'addario nickels, needs new strings as the E string is dead from the D tuner.
‘00 Yamaha TRB 5II 5 String - Ernie Ball Slinkys, .45 - 130 I think.
‘71 Ibanez EB3 - LaBella short scale flatwounds.
Shen SB150 Upright with realist pickup - Helicores or something, I can't say I've ever changed them (don't play much upright).
This is what I'm using right now:
'66 Gibson EB-0 - Just got this one, currently strung with rounds.
‘69 Fender Precision - stainless steel rounds, ProSteels seem to work great on this bass.
‘19 Fender Precision (MIM) - Dunlop flatwounds.
‘73 Fender Musicmaster Bass - LaBella Short scale flatwounds.
‘74 Fender Telecaster Bass - Fender 9050 flats, wanting to try some different strings though.
‘07 Fender Marcus Miller Jazz - old dunlop super brights, not so bright anymore. I have a set of Fender flats waiting.
‘06 Fender Jaguar Deluxe Bass - old D'addario nickels, needs new strings as the E string is dead from the D tuner.
‘00 Yamaha TRB 5II 5 String - Ernie Ball Slinkys, .45 - 130 I think.
‘71 Ibanez EB3 - LaBella short scale flatwounds.
Shen SB150 Upright with realist pickup - Helicores or something, I can't say I've ever changed them (don't play much upright).
I have four 5-string basses.
G&L L2500
Squier VM Jazz V
Frankenstein Squier HH Jazz V
Frankenstein Fretless Jazz V
I use Ernie Ball Slinky 5’s on them all.
In a pinch I can substitute D’Addario XL Nickels - which I currently have on the fretless.
I have tried a bunch of different brands of strings 25 years ago, and back then used the Dean Markley Will Lee strings until I bought a Stingray. Then it was EB Slinkies ever since.
I also just got an Ibanez TMB100 4-string as a beater and keep it at work. I have a set of Slinkies for that, too.
EB’s and XL’s are cheap, plentiful, they sound great, and last a long time.
G&L L2500
Squier VM Jazz V
Frankenstein Squier HH Jazz V
Frankenstein Fretless Jazz V
I use Ernie Ball Slinky 5’s on them all.
In a pinch I can substitute D’Addario XL Nickels - which I currently have on the fretless.
I have tried a bunch of different brands of strings 25 years ago, and back then used the Dean Markley Will Lee strings until I bought a Stingray. Then it was EB Slinkies ever since.
I also just got an Ibanez TMB100 4-string as a beater and keep it at work. I have a set of Slinkies for that, too.
EB’s and XL’s are cheap, plentiful, they sound great, and last a long time.
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1. Pretty much, I've been puttin La Bella DTB on a lot of them. DR Sunbeams on some. Blue Steel on my T-Bird.
2. I like flats anyway and don't like real bright round wounds so I tend to keep strings on for a long time, another thing I do is I only throw strings away when they have a problem, dead strings? Right in the bag to maybe be used again.
I have played P basses for many years but now like P/J basses, Fenders, but also have Rics, and Gibsons.
Both, depending on mood, music, bass etc.
34 basses, lots of different strings. Flats, rounds, nylon, etc.
I prefer DR strings, particularly stainless steel (Lo Riders / High Beams) or GHS Pressure wounds, but ultimately choose the string that best suits the specific bass and electronics package or one that gives me more sound diversity among basses of a similar ilk.
Other than that, the only common denominator is that I prefer thicker gauge strings (44/105 minimum) on all of my basses. I also don’t care for nickel strings in general, but will make exceptions when warranted (ie slap basses with nickel strings of a slightly lighter gauge).
I prefer DR strings, particularly stainless steel (Lo Riders / High Beams) or GHS Pressure wounds, but ultimately choose the string that best suits the specific bass and electronics package or one that gives me more sound diversity among basses of a similar ilk.
Other than that, the only common denominator is that I prefer thicker gauge strings (44/105 minimum) on all of my basses. I also don’t care for nickel strings in general, but will make exceptions when warranted (ie slap basses with nickel strings of a slightly lighter gauge).
edwinhurwitz
Supporting Member
I have 7 basses (three Modulus, a Starfire, an EB-3, a David King fretless 5, and custom 5 fretted) and they all get DR Sunbeams except the short scales which get Pyramid flats for a very particular sound. I really love the Sunbeams, they play easily, stay in tune, last forever, and have a very balanced tone. Yes, I have an endorsement arrangement, but I still pay for them and I only do it because they have served me very well going on 20 years.
Bought it new in '78. I am pretty happy with this bass. And I own a bunch of other nice basses as well. Thank you.
- Jun 30, 2010
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- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
Just use whatever you like.
I like Boomers but they’re seldom stocked here, so EB Super Slinky it is.
My P has LaBella tapes. They’re ancient. They like that bass.
If I want thud, I palm mute.
If they get dead, I slack the string, ping out the gunk, and I’m back in business.
I like Boomers but they’re seldom stocked here, so EB Super Slinky it is.
My P has LaBella tapes. They’re ancient. They like that bass.
If I want thud, I palm mute.
If they get dead, I slack the string, ping out the gunk, and I’m back in business.
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At first, I mostly used on my bass ukes, black Road Toad Pahoehoe poly strings, and one with creme Aquila Thundergut poly. For the junior guitar magnetic pickup to bass conversions, I use mostly Gold Tone/La Bella MBLS 25" flatwound, one with black tape wound flats. Over the last few years I've found that the poly strings take to long to settle in and they get too sticky in humid weather, so with the release of the Kala/Galli flatwound 20.5 and 23" flatwound, I'm replacing all the poly with those.
So yes, I use the same strings for most of my basses.
So yes, I use the same strings for most of my basses.
Do you use the same brand/model strings on multiple basses?
In my case, it depends on the bass. Each one is very different and I put on the strings that I think suit them best.
Do you find a brand/model that you like and stick with them for years?
I really like Dunlop Super Brights and that's what I mainly use. I have it this way:
1-Yamaha BB735: D'addario NYXL
2-Yamaha BB605: Dunlop Super Brights
3-Fender Jazz Bass: Dunlop Super Brights
4-Fender Dimension: Dunlop Super Brights
5-Epiphone Jack Casady: D'addario Chromes
6-Squier Precision: I don't remember. Probably really old Dunlops. I will switch them to Chromes.
And of course, the controversial question, do you prefer flats, rounds or both depending on the bass?
It depends on the bass. I had my Epiphone Jack Casady with rounds for a long time and I loved it. But now I prefer flats. My Fender Dimension had flats and I loved it. Now I have it with rounds. Mostly depends on what I want to hear.
In my case, it depends on the bass. Each one is very different and I put on the strings that I think suit them best.
Do you find a brand/model that you like and stick with them for years?
I really like Dunlop Super Brights and that's what I mainly use. I have it this way:
1-Yamaha BB735: D'addario NYXL
2-Yamaha BB605: Dunlop Super Brights
3-Fender Jazz Bass: Dunlop Super Brights
4-Fender Dimension: Dunlop Super Brights
5-Epiphone Jack Casady: D'addario Chromes
6-Squier Precision: I don't remember. Probably really old Dunlops. I will switch them to Chromes.
And of course, the controversial question, do you prefer flats, rounds or both depending on the bass?
It depends on the bass. I had my Epiphone Jack Casady with rounds for a long time and I loved it. But now I prefer flats. My Fender Dimension had flats and I loved it. Now I have it with rounds. Mostly depends on what I want to hear.
1. It's split between DR, D'Addario, Ernie Ball, and GHS - in that order. I have been favoring DR as of late.
2. Flats serve a very specific tonal purpose. Do they sound good on that bass?
3. I used D'Addario on almost everything for a while, then I started having some quality control issues and branched back out to DR and Ernie Ball with good results.
4. Flats on the P, rounds on everything else. Though I do want a P with rounds to have both handy. I'm also experimenting more with stainless instead of my usual nickel. Some basses just don't sound good with a warm string.
I don’t have a ton of basses. Just three. All three have different strings from different brands (dingwall, DR, and Martin). My main bass gets restrung a lot more often. On average I buy about ten sets of strings per year. And typically 8 of those sets will be for the main bass. And the others will typically only get a new set once a year. The main exception to that is if I’m recording with different basses. Because I always change my strings so they are as fresh as possible for recording
Every bass is an experiment. I like trying out strings. However, one of mine must always wear flats. It’s nice to have one with the nylon tapewounds as well. All the others have someone’s roundwounds on them. While they are all serviceable, they are not all created equal. Some do stand out, just on different instruments.
