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Recommend me some strings!

lakefx

lakefx

Sep 14, 2012
966
496
Eugene
www.kerosenetree.com
#1
I know, another one of these threads. I've done my search homework, but still have too many options. I recently picked up a G&L L-1000, which is awesome. I had to do a bunch of work on it and just got it back from the luthier with a fresh set of Hi-Beams. I lIke the feel and growl of them, but the E string sounds a bit weak and they are lacking a bit in mid range content. When I got the bass, it had a nasty old set of probably Daddario XL nickels and it sounded great except for the lack of growl. Any suggestions that come in gauges around 45-100 so I don't need another trip to the luthier since I just got a new nut cut?
 
#2
Dunlop Super Bright Nickels sound right up your alley. No need for a new nut, the 45-105 set will fit fine. SuperBrights are very clear and growly, will give you crisper, crunchier mids than HiBeams, and will be of similar tension.

Another alternative would be DR Sunbeams which would be a little mellow than both SuperBrights or HiBeams.
 
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#3
mmbongo said:
Dunlop Super Bright Nickels sound right up your alley. No need for a new nut, the 45-105 set will fit fine. SuperBrights are very clear and growly, will give you crisper, crunchier mids than HiBeams, and will be of similar tension.

Another alternative would be DR Sunbeams which would be a little mellow than both SuperBrights or HiBeams.
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Are the Super Brights wound smaller than Hi Beams that a 105 will fit in a nut cUT for a 100?
 
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#4
lakefx said:
I recently picked up a G&L L-1000, which is awesome. I had to do a bunch of work on it and just got it back from the luthier with a fresh set of Hi-Beams. I lIke the feel and growl of them, but the E string sounds a bit weak and they are lacking a bit in mid range content.
Click to expand...

DR Hi-Beams are naturally scooped due to the round core. If you want something with more mids, try the DR Lo-Riders. They're stiffer due to the hex core, but more low-mid punch with slightly subdued top end compared to the Hi-Beams.

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#9
michael_t said:
You might want to explain to @lakefx what's so special about the GHS Progressives - the reason for your recommendation. ;)
Click to expand...

I could explain that, but I'm too busy working overtime so that I have more money with which to buy more sets of GHS Progressives. ;-)

I just put a set of these on my Fender Jazz bass for the first time yesterday. At first I was unsure; my favorite string on this bass up until then had been DR Lo Riders, and I was A/B comparing recordings of a fresh set of Lo Riders to the fresh set of Progressives. But the more I played the Progressives, as they started to break in past that initial brand-new-string sound, the tone became utterly delightful. Clear, rich lows; crisp vibrant highs; solid midrange. Depending on how you played, attack can easily sound VERY tight and punchy, but need not be that way if you play more gently. Fast physical response from the strings, making it unusually easy to play quick passages of notes. Nice mildly crunchy, growly sound.

Basically, this gets the jazz bass sound that I have heard on some recordings but until now had not quite been able to achieve. It might not work for you, and it might not be optimal on every bass. But markedly different than any other strings I've tried, and, for my tastes, vastly superior.
 
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#10
trothwell said:
...the more I played the Progressives, as they started to break in past that initial brand-new-string sound, the tone became utterly delightful. Clear, rich lows; crisp vibrant highs; solid midrange. Depending on how you played, attack can easily sound VERY tight and punchy, but need not be that way if you play more gently. Fast physical response from the strings, making it unusually easy to play quick passages of notes. Nice mildly crunchy, growly sound.

Basically, this gets the jazz bass sound that I have heard on some recordings but until now had not quite been able to achieve.
Click to expand...

My J bass wore a set of the GHS Pressurewound for six months and I was quite pleased with them.

And with a post like this by @trothwell, I almost owe it to myself to at least try a set sometime in the future when I get bitten by a roundwound bug.

There appears to be some real magic in the "Alloy 52" thing. :thumbsup:
 
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#12
michael_t said:
My J bass wore a set of the GHS Pressurewound for six months and I was quite pleased with them.

And with a post like this by @trothwell, I almost owe it to myself to at least try a set sometime in the future when I get bitten by a roundwound bug.

There appears to be some real magic in the "Alloy 52" thing. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
I have a very hard time finding Pressurewounds locally (even online, other than BSO). Eager to try em. I love flats AND rounds!
 
#18
I'm going to throw out a recommendation for a set of the D'addario NYXL light/medium gauge strings (45-105). Great punch, growl, and even across the tonal spectrum. They have a lot of sizzle out of the gate but will settle in nicely to a wonderful, punchy, growl.

Not the best recording but if you jump to the 4:30 mark, you can hear them here.



And, obviously, at Invalid Link Removed.
 
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#19
I am admittedly a DR fan, as a disclaimer.

If you like the feel of the High Beams but want more mids and crunch, I would recommend a set of DR Fat Beams. Same really-smooth-for-a-SS-round-wound-string feel but a bit more oomph across the tone spectrum, for lack of a better term. I use them on my ash/maple G&L M-2000 and love, love the tone.

I have tried Sunbeams only once, they felt great and definitely had more mids and low-mids than the Fat Beams, but didn't have the upper-mid snap to them that the Fat Beams do. Nice, but I just liked the tone of the Fat Beams better on that bass.

I have Pure Blues on my Modulus Q5; compared to the Fat Beams on it before, they are a bit smoother feel, a bit warmer/rounder tone, but if you roll on the treble they will still rattle and clank very similarly to a stainless string. Really warmed up, without softening, the tone of that bass, if that makes sense.
 

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