Start a new thread with that question. You will get all kinds of answers (many hilariously false). It should prove to be good entertainment.
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Review: GHS Balanced Nickels 4M-NB
- Thread starter Linnin
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- balanced tension ghs nickel review
Even though Jon just answered my question, let’s see what others have to say, in the name of curiosity and LOL factor. If it gets awry, I’m passing them your head, Linnin
!
Still find that quite weird-I mean, what difference is there in the tone of a worn in flat wound, compared to a worn-in, (in this case) pure nickel round? Wouldn’t the roundwound sound more prominent in most mixes, because of more overall mids?
That would depend more upon the totality of: the bass; the amp, the EQ, and the mix itself. Not to mention the human factor of the bass player him or her self. It all matters. Strings are but a small (yet still important) part of the overall equation.
I've decided I'm changing out my lightly used 44-106 BNs for Boomers on my one P bass.
Would anybody be interested in taking the set off my hands? A,D,G strings are un-cut (most likely, anyway... this is how I usually install strings), E string is trimmed for Fender headstock. PM me.
@michael_t ... local hand-off?
Would anybody be interested in taking the set off my hands? A,D,G strings are un-cut (most likely, anyway... this is how I usually install strings), E string is trimmed for Fender headstock. PM me.
@michael_t ... local hand-off?
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Close enough now for a six month review. As a refresher these Balanced Nickels are on Fender American Professional Precision. This has become my number 1 bass. It stays out all the time. I play it almost everyday and this is the one I take out for jams. I'd guess this stringset has about 200 playing hours or so. I tweaked my setup specifically to this stringset and haven't needed any further adjustment. At six months the intonation is still on the money.
My initial review was:
My initial review was:
And the three month review:
Please allow me to double quote myself: They age so gracefully as to be art, and The high mids are rather unique in that they are mellow and smooth like a well-aged whiskey. And just like whiskey they are strong and powerful – an intoxicating force to be reckoned with. The low mids exhibit that classic ghs growl we all know and adore. Today this is all still true, only more so. Just as aging mellows fine whiskey so also has this stringset. Certainly the highs have continued to slowly recede, and that suits me well as there is now little or no string noise. The E string is still good & strong, but I can tell it will eventually turn the corner and become nasal in it's sustain. I have every intention of keeping these on for a full year; making a final report, and then a compare & contrast with a brand new set on this very same bass.For some reason, I thought I had already written a 90 day report, but no so here it is.
They age so gracefully as to be art. As the highs slowly recede the serious bass beef is the sirloin steak of your sound. These sound exactly the way I want roundwounds to sound on my Precision. The taut bottom attack coupled with the midrange growl gives depth and thickness with a solid presence you have to hear live to appreciate. These are staying on. I'll let you know when I change.
Good question. It's like your E string started speaking in French, or in Country music many old time singers sang in a very nasal voice. You most definitely don't want your E string doing any of that.
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I am going to retract/recant/rescind the last half of that sentence. Not being able to sleep, I plugged in headphones for a pre-dawn practice session. It is true that the E is still good and strong, and it shows no sign of giving up just yet. There is no indication that it will turn nasal anytime soon if at all. That is more of a trait of D'Addario's EXL170BTs. Subjectivity is a tricky thing.
OK! I finally put on a fresh set of GHS Balanced Nickels 13 months later. So I promised a year end review, and here it is.
The E string was really dead and the notes had begun to go sour to the point that it had to come off. I played this bass nearly every day and it would be safe to estimate 365+ playing hours.
I reread my initial review in post #1, and everything still rings true. These strings are nothing short of amazing. String-to-string balance of: volume; tone, and feel is unparalleled by any other stringset I've played. They exhibit everything I like in a roundwound bass string: depth, growl, meaty mids, and sweet highs. The construction is world class and the nickel wrap is as smooth as you are going to find in a roundwound, and are comparable to Pressurewounds in that regard. These strings suit my soul and will stay on my #1 bass.
The E string was really dead and the notes had begun to go sour to the point that it had to come off. I played this bass nearly every day and it would be safe to estimate 365+ playing hours.
I reread my initial review in post #1, and everything still rings true. These strings are nothing short of amazing. String-to-string balance of: volume; tone, and feel is unparalleled by any other stringset I've played. They exhibit everything I like in a roundwound bass string: depth, growl, meaty mids, and sweet highs. The construction is world class and the nickel wrap is as smooth as you are going to find in a roundwound, and are comparable to Pressurewounds in that regard. These strings suit my soul and will stay on my #1 bass.
@Linnin, so good to hear from you! You've been very quiet for the last couple of months. How have you been?
I really struggle this time of year, and it is best for all concerned that I stay away and not post. I have my inbox/pm shut down, so I am not ignoring anyone personally. My cardio check up last month was good, so my heart hasn't deteriorated any further. Lungs continue to function and COPD has been kept at bay. You can always find me on facebook. Merry Christmas to you all.
I am positive that GHS Balanced Nickels are my most favorite strings ever. I may review other stringsets, but this is the gold standard.
If you have more than one bass, you may well want the different character of other strings on some basses, to accentuate their different sonic properties.
Or you might want to string them all with GHS Balanced Nickels. That would be good too.
I am fortunate to have four left handed basses. All purchased new. My 2017 Fender American Professional Precision is strung in GHS Balanced Nickels. It has become my #1 bass and I play it everyday. I have a 1976 Fender Precision (all Fenders were made in USA then) strung in GHS Precision Flats for the past five years. I also have a 2012 Fender American Standard Jazz currently strung in GHS hex core Bass Boomers. They are past dead and need replacement. I am pretty sure I am going with the new balanced construction round core Bass Boomers. Lastly I have a custom luthier made 1954 Precision clone strung in the heaviest set of Fender 9050 flats.
I figure I need at least six basses to be able to keep all of my favorite strings in active rotation.
I went ahead and strung my American Standard Jazz in the light 40-56-76-101 4L-NB set of GHS Balanced Nickels about a month ago. They suit the slim Jazz neck well. I tweaked the setup to the newly lowered tension, as I like to keep exactly 12 thousandths of an inch neck relief because I demand a clean playing action. Total set tension is 172.3 pounds with an average string tension of 43.075 pounds. No single string is more than a half pound away from the average. That in itself is just incredible. You can sure tell the evenness when you play. They are not floppy in any way. As a general rule I am not a fan of light strings, and it took some getting used to the skinny 0.040 G string vs the medium 0.044. You wouldn't think four thousandths of an inch would make that much difference, but it does on the small diameter G. Not so much on the D. Not at all on the A & E. So new learning for this old bass player. Total sound; tone, and volume are all excellently balanced as we have come to know; love, and expect. Nice smooth even windings are the best in the string winding universe. Just great overall feel with good flexibility (for me at least).
As most of you know I do not like super high end 'sizzle' (I'm being polite here). From the low highs on down to the very bottom of the low end these strings just rock or in this case, jazz. All the mids you could possibly ask for are available in abundance. There is a subtle darkness to the overall tone that is very pleasing to my ear. Plus it is such a piece of cake to EQ your amp with these strings. It's all just right there in your face and in your ear. A pure pleasure.
As most of you know I do not like super high end 'sizzle' (I'm being polite here). From the low highs on down to the very bottom of the low end these strings just rock or in this case, jazz. All the mids you could possibly ask for are available in abundance. There is a subtle darkness to the overall tone that is very pleasing to my ear. Plus it is such a piece of cake to EQ your amp with these strings. It's all just right there in your face and in your ear. A pure pleasure.
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