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Recommend me some strings!

#21
+ 1 on the Lo-Riders! Have had them (SS) on my L2500 for about 10 yrs. They have a broad output (which will benefit the mids and lows on the "L"-series basses.) AND.....they last forever!! I played 40 shows last yr, in addition to rehearsals 2-3 times per week and time at home 'shedding and learning tunes! Mids & highs were still descent after 13 months on the road. Only maintenance was wiping them down after playing!
FWIW
 
#22
Bobby Vega wrote that the L-1000 was designed for "GHS Hex Core" strings:
Bobby Vega: Strings and Things, Part II

"I once played a G&L 1000 that sounded so good I bought it right then and there. Later on, however, after I changed the strings, the bass lost that sound. I tried lots of different strings, but I couldn’t get that sound back, so I put it in the closet. Years later, I met and talked to Leo Fender at a NAMM show (yes, that Leo Fender—it was like meeting and talking to Yoda). I asked him about the G&L, and he said that he had designed it to use GHS Hex Core strings—the pickup, magnets, wire, and strings were made for each other, for a specific sound. After that, I went home and bought a set of GHS Hex Cores, and man … that sound was back!"

GHS doesn't market anything called "Hex Core," but the "Boomer" is hex core NPS; probably what he was writing about.
 
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#23
I only do nickel and nickel alloys, and right now I'm really stoked on the DR pure blues, 105-45. They have a 100-40 set that's going on next.

Sunbeams are going to get a try as well.

Nickel low riders and Helborgs are nice too.

I also believe everyone should try the TI 344 jazz flats at least once. You can own a set for years.
 
#24
What a great thread! I was just thinking about this last night, as I finally got my '86 Carvin V440 correctly wired up with a new m22sd pickup, I strung it up, plugged it in and...... HATED THE SOUND!!! I've been recently using DR FatBeams 45-105 on my other basses and love them!!! but on this one, the feel like they have no bottom and very 'hollow' sounding. I almost feel like putting very light gauge strings and plugging into a Marshall JCM... at least I have the Kahler. Otherwise, I might try some hexcore (is that some kind of unlucky metal style??)
 
#25
lakefx said:
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?
Click to expand...


DR Drop Down Tuning. Highbeams on steroids. don't worry if you don't drop tune they still sound great. I have them on 2 of my five basses.
 
#28
OK, I need to ask a related question, or make a statement. I have tried 7 different brands of "rounds" on my bass. Yes, they feel different.
I do not think they sound different at all. Not even a little. I picked the strings I use because they feel the best and look really cool.

all this talk about strings making this huge impact on tone has me worried that my wife has been right all these years and I am in fact - deaf.

Or are folks over stating the effects that strings have on tone and my wife is full of beans?
 
#29
I don't have a lot of string loyalty, as I jump form brand to brand all the time. That having been said, I tend to come back to Ken Smith strings every now and then and I always like what I hear.

Also, Dean Markley Blue Steel has always treated me well, as have an amazingly long-lived set of coated, gold colored DRs I once rocked for many months. Sadly, they don't make those any more.
 
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#33
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.
Click to expand...
Mmmm ... "Clear, rich lows; crisp vibrant highs; solid midrange."
Tasty. Very Tasty.
 
#36
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.
Click to expand...

+1 Super Brights are what you are looking for. Best string on a multitude of different basses, without question. Extremely versatile...!
 
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#37
Hounddog409 said:
OK, I need to ask a related question, or make a statement. I have tried 7 different brands of "rounds" on my bass. Yes, they feel different.
I do not think they sound different at all. Not even a little. I picked the strings I use because they feel the best and look really cool.

all this talk about strings making this huge impact on tone has me worried that my wife has been right all these years and I am in fact - deaf.

Or are folks over stating the effects that strings have on tone and my wife is full of beans?
Click to expand...

There's a huge section of 'popular' rounds that I find sound pretty much identical. You can put any of them on a bass and I wouldn't be able to tell you the difference between any of them.

That's one reason I was astonished by Dunlop Super Brights. Cleaner, crisper, crunchier than any other nickel, plus they have that feel of round core strings despite being hex core.
 
#40
mmbongo said:
There's a huge section of 'popular' rounds that I find sound pretty much identical. You can put any of them on a bass and I wouldn't be able to tell you the difference between any of them.

That's one reason I was astonished by Dunlop Super Brights. Cleaner, crisper, crunchier than any other nickel, plus they have that feel of round core strings despite being hex core.
Click to expand...

HA!

I knew my wife was wrong.
 

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