Recommend me some clear punchy strings.

[Bassworship1]

I've been using Elixirs on both my ibanez Premium and Prestige basses and like them but hate the price tag lol. What would be a good alternative string that would give me good clarity and punch for Praise and Worship style music using finger style playing? The only strings I've ever used are Ernie Balls and Elixirs so I'm not familiar with others. Would like to find a good 5 strings for under 30 if possible.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Try roto swings, and Lo Riders. Bass strings on line.

 

[Bassworship1]

Try roto swings, and Lo Riders. Bass strings on line.

I've actually been looking at LoRiders but wondered are they to much bottom end?

 

[monkeyfinger]

Lighter strings have more punch and clarity in general. I recommend TI Jazz rounds and Kaliums rounds. The TIs have the most punch of any string I've used. The Kaliums are more piano-like and have more singing sustain.

 

[MaxJJK]

D'Addario ProSteels all day. Clearest, longest lasting, best string I've ever used.

 

[michael_t]

I've actually been looking at LoRiders but wondered are they to much bottom end?

I tried the Nickel Lo-Riders on my J last year. They're nice and punchy without being too bottom-heavy.

I'm currently using the D'A XL Nickel Balanced Tension (45-60-80-107) and I think I like them even better than the Lo-Riders.

(By the way, I'm a church bassist as well.)

 

[buldog5151bass]

I've actually been looking at LoRiders but wondered are they to much bottom end?

Other side of those would be the hi beams, but I've never played them.

 

[River Runner]

I'll second the D'Addario pro steels. I also like the Dean Markley Blue Steels.

 

[Bassworship1]

D'Addario ProSteels all day. Clearest, longest lasting, best string I've ever used.

For a 5 string what type of Pro Steels would you use. They seem to be alot of different ones.

 

[73jbass]

I went from Elixirs to GHS Pressurewounds. Sound great and easy on the fingers.

 

[jd-ns]

I think Elixirs are the best feeling strings available. Nothing compares and I used them exclusively for a long time for this one reason. Sound-wise they are just average though (both nickel and SS). But as I recently discovered, a mineral oil based string lube (example GHS fast-fret) is a great alternative that will make better sounding (and cheaper!) strings feel similar to Elixir!

 

[Gorn]

Lighter strings have more punch and clarity in general. I recommend TI Jazz rounds and Kaliums rounds. The TIs have the most punch of any string I've used. The Kaliums are more piano-like and have more singing sustain.

I agree about the TI jazz rounds, but the OP is doesn't want to pay a lot of money for Elixers any more. The TI's are twice as much.

 

[monkeyfinger]

Yeah, the TIs are very expensive to purchase. They will last for a very long time. So they are cheap in the end. IIRC, the OP stated that he was EB's which are notorious for dying in a couple of weeks. Imagine getting 6 months to a year or more from these strings. In that context they are cheap.

 

[punchdrunk]

I second the prosteels recommendation. Über clear and punchy. They feel rough for the first hour of play, but smooth out really really nicely. Highly recommended.

 

[Bassworship1]

I have narrowed down to trying dadarrios or the DR brand.

 

[Bassworship1]

I second the prosteels recommendation. Über clear and punchy. They feel rough for the first hour of play, but smooth out really really nicely. Highly recommended.

The Pro Steels intrige me but aren't they Flatwound strings? I've only used the round wound and don't think I would want to change to anything other than roundwound.

 

[michael_t]

The Pro Steels intrige me but aren't they Flatwound strings?

No, they're stainless steel rounds. Here: Invalid Link Removed.

 

[phillybass101]

I like Ernie Balls, Pro Steels, and Dunlap Super Brights. All decent priced strings IMO. Your punch however regardless of strings will require you to actually sit down for a few hours with your bass and play with mid, treble, and bass, and balance knobs to determine where your bass actually starts to punch. It's well worth the time spent so that on a gig you can get there on the fly and not have to guess. As a matter of fact I spent an hour doing this last night. I have a bass with two quad coil soap bars (Bart) a three way coil splitter and I kept experimenting with the 2 mid freq choices at each switch position adjusting mid volume level, treble, and bass. The goal was to be able to get to that punch no matter what coil position the switch was in. I am currently running Dunlap Super Bright Stainless Steel Strings. One other thing to throw in the mix is where you play on your right hand on the strings. All of this seems like common knowledge but things change when you actually sit down and study your bass and start twiddling knobs, their settings and your hand position.

 

[nerkoids]

GHS Pressurewounds. They can bark when you ask them to, they can play nice when you pet them nicely too.

 

[iiipopes]

Remember that Elixirs are D'Addarios with the coating. D'Addarios are clear. Depending on the player's ears, they have been described alternately as either clear or lacking some girth. They should do well on your bass, because on many Ibby models the D'Addario's are OEM.