So the Rotosound Custom Flatwound Steve Harris Signature strings.............good stings, good marketing, or both? Being a huge Maiden fan i definitely fell victim to the marketing of these strings. But, are they decent ones to use. How do they play, sound feel? Anyone have any ideas..........................?
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RotoSound Custom Flatwound Steve Harris Strings...
- Thread starter mikeintheboat
- Start date
Its a matter of life and death and taste. I love em. Really punchy strings. But the Steve Harris vibe the give doesnt last long. Its the exact same strings as the RS77LE set. Only the 77le strings looks better..because of the west ham colors on the SH set. You cant use em on all necks..high tension.
Get the RS77LE set. Same strings, lower cost.
Do you want to sound like Steve Harris? He changes them a lot, to the point that I have always wondered why he doesn't just use rounds. So, if you want to sound like Steve Harris, get ready to change them every few days or so.
Great strings, but an acquired taste, just like the Jamerson La Bellas. Very thumpy and fat. They have a "heft" to the sound you just can't get with lighter sets.
You'll get used to them. Set up the bass properly after installing them (you can get lower action and straighter relief than with lighter gauges).
Do you want to sound like Steve Harris? He changes them a lot, to the point that I have always wondered why he doesn't just use rounds. So, if you want to sound like Steve Harris, get ready to change them every few days or so.
Great strings, but an acquired taste, just like the Jamerson La Bellas. Very thumpy and fat. They have a "heft" to the sound you just can't get with lighter sets.
You'll get used to them. Set up the bass properly after installing them (you can get lower action and straighter relief than with lighter gauges).
Great thanks for the input fellas! Im going to give them a try. Haven't really played around with a lot of different strings. Maybe I should make notes and save them as to how I like/dislike them. Then I can allway go back and compare each new and different set of string I try out.
I bought them to my P-bass six months ago because I'm a huge fan, and I moved from rounds to flat about a year ago, so I figured I'd give them a go.
I liked the sound, but I couldn't "bend" the tone or use a bit of vibrato on a tone etc with them because of the high tension. Also, they broke my nut, so I took them off and tried the complete opposite flatwound string (tension-wise) TI flats
As others have said already, they are an aquired taste indeed, but interesting strings sound-wise.
I liked the sound, but I couldn't "bend" the tone or use a bit of vibrato on a tone etc with them because of the high tension. Also, they broke my nut, so I took them off and tried the complete opposite flatwound string (tension-wise) TI flats
As others have said already, they are an aquired taste indeed, but interesting strings sound-wise.
I bought them to my P-bass six months ago because I'm a huge fan, and I moved from rounds to flat about a year ago, so I figured I'd give them a go.
I liked the sound, but I couldn't "bend" the tone or use a bit of vibrato on a tone etc with them because of the high tension. Also, they broke my nut, so I took them off and tried the complete opposite flatwound string (tension-wise) TI flats
As others have said already, they are an aquired taste indeed, but interesting strings sound-wise.
Their tone is amazing, isn't it? I have not really found any other set with a better tone, although of course that is totally subjective. I just went back to them this last week, because I was missing that beautiful, full tone they provide.
I was using the Sheehan set (Rotosound BS66) which are my fave roundwounds, and of course are much lighter and bendable. The reason I went back to flats was not that those sucked, but just that as I mentioned, I missed the monel flats tone, and my other bass (a short scale) does currently have La Bella Hard Rockin Steels in the thickest configuration (I think they dropped the brand name, and only name them their stainless steel roundwounds now). Of course the SH77 lack the incredible mid-presence of a new BS66 set (I really love those after all), but as you know from experience, they are so full, and STILL manage to have incredible low-mids and great articulation, especially for a flatwound string.
I replied to your post because although the strings are quite stiff, you are indeed able to bend and do some fancy stuff with them-it just takes more effort and a good setup, as I am sure you know. Bending on the lower positions with the G is much harder, but bending the E anywhere as well as higher on the neck with any string is quite doable. I had to just adjust my truss rod and action quite a bit, and it was easier because my bass was previously setup for them, as I've used them before with good results (my bass's nut used to be too high-these strings NEED a serious low action setup, it is almost not optional-it is the reason yours broke. :/) Most of the criticism associated with these strings besides the feel (I happen to love it) is that they are too stiff or unplayable; that you are unable to play fast on them, etc. After my recent experience, I can say that they are quite "easy to play", after decent setup work.
So yes, they are not as "bendy" as most other strings, but since I can't get their tone elsewhere, I rather sacrifice that aspect of my playing, because it's not a big part of what I do. I still do bend, but mostly by half-steps, which is quite doable, and not really that hard to do on my bass. Clearly the BS66 and almost any other set (including your TIs) are better for that, of course. I really, really like thick strings, though-it is one of the reasons I loved that BS66 set, that E string is so awesome and meaty for a roundwound. But what these flats provide is hard to get with any other string-while with EQ you can do almost anything, I cannot make any other set really sound like these heavy gauge monel flats.
I also believe that many players see Steve Harris on the cover, and think these are "great strings for metal"-indeed they "are", but not in the way they would expect. Flatwounds are good for any genre, including metal. And yes, the tone paired with any good vintage-styled P-bass pickup is scarily identical to Mr. Harris. However, most people don't associate flats with metal at all, and are initially surprised at either their full, not as bright as a roundwound tone, or their extreme tension. Simply put, they are not as bass player friendly as your "normal" medium gauge, roundwound or similar set.I am not surprised that just because of the tension, many would prefer the TI flats, for instance. I imagine those sound great as well, but the one main reason I have not tried them (besides price) is that they are reportedly low tension, especially compared to heavy monsters such as the heavy gauge monel Rotos, or La Bella Jamerson strings. I like the feel and tone of the heavy gauges, and the tonal girth they provide (I wouldn't rule out trying other heavy sets in the future). I like the association with Harris, though, in that it gives many people the extra-curiosity to try them out, which most players wouldn't perhaps otherwise do, as there is a such a thing as a false doctrine out there (IMHO) stating that flatwounds are "metal unfriendly", and I find that to be quite the exaggeration-it's just people not used to the tone and feel, or just preferring the roundwound tone "for metal", which is perfectly OK as well.
I love many of TI's violin string sets (I am after all a violinist), and they are well made, and a great company, although I usually prefer Pirastro, which as fas as I know, does not make bass guitar strings. I have been always curious about TIs flats due to that reason alone, but I wish they offered at least a gauge higher, as they usually do with most of their stringed (non-electric) instruments sets.
I am glad you are using TI flats, though! I didn't mean the above as an argument at all, and you are happy with the right string set for you, your music style, and your bass.
To everybody else, I would say that SH77 is indeed a GREAT set, the same as RS77LE, BUT that your bass must be well setup for them, and they may end up being not your thing if you never fall in love with their fullness/unique character. If you do, you will be in bass heaven, but many people don't ever like them, and blame the strings as being "problematic", "they suck", etc. No they don't, you just don't like them/they don't work for what you do with your bass/you don't like their feel. That's OK, but as far as my experience with them all-time have been, this is a marvelous sounding string set, quite playable, very "musical", and worthy of being tried out, given that you realize what you are getting into-this is not just a "good for metal" string, but a very unique sounding flatwound set requiring a proper setup and personal adaptation (as with all other heavy gauge flatwound sets-they are usually stiffer than the much more common choices.)
