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ROTOSOUND swing bass strings

#42
GIBrat51 said:
Yeah, well... tell it to my P-Bass - and my Rick. Especially tell it to my wallet; having a Rick re-fretted - the correct way - is... pricey. The P-Bass wasn't exactly cheap, either.... I know the Roto's ate those frets; both previous owners bragged a lot, about how they "never used any other strings"... Once bitten, twice shy; twice bitten? No way in Hell, Jack...;)
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All I can say is that’s interesting. I have MIA (2016) and MIM (1996) P basses with Rotos. The MIM is my main player and the frets are fine on both.
 
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#44
I've used Rotosound strings for four decades and for most of those years, the stainless steel RS66 rounds in 45-105. I've no regrets and would never advise against their use due to concerns about premature fret wear, but heavy usage over the years did wear away the frets on my 66 P and 87 MIJ Jazz to the point where flats only are required to avoid contemplating a re-fret.

I also wore down the rosewood board on a 91 fretless MIJ Jazz with those Roto strings until it required professional truing. Again, these basses were all heavily used at gigs, etc. and yes, all SS rounds will eventually cause some wear, but it does happen and might (or not) happen slightly faster with Roto SS rounds. YMMV.
 
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#45
Roto Swing 66 or jazz were my only strings for almost a decade. Then I experimented.

I'm almost exclusively D'addario Chromes, tapes, XL.
I also like Ernie Ball Slinkys.

I had a very dark decade which was dedicated to DR strings. I do not know why.
 
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#48
Auer said:
Nice

What do you think of the strings mentioned in the thread title?
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#1 - ROTOSOUND Swing bass lights Have a set on a P bass now, Too bright when new, more like SIT afterwards so why emulate when you can have the real thing at a much cheaper price?
#2 - GHS Boomers xlght (round wound) Have a set on Jazz bass and they have been there almost 2 years. good strings but again, very much like SIT more the unnecessary increase in cost.
#3 - Dunlop light -xlights (round wound) Not sure if I have tried these
#4- Ernie Ball super slinky ( round wound) Tried several sets on several basses. Didn't like the tone and the felt grabby to play as I slide and hammer a lot of notes. Also tried the 5 string sets. The B was never as puchy as the SIT and lacked the tone. They also seemed to go dead much faster as SIT can last 1-2 years and still give you punch, note clarity and sustain. And, they do stay in tune.
#5 - D'addario xtralight - (round wound) Have a bunch of these and have used them a lot but for me, they don't sustain as well as SIT strings which is why I keep coming back to them.
 
#50
FRoss6788 said:
Because they're great strings that last a long time?:eyebrow:
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As a dedicated Rotosound user, I will admit that the last set of strings I put on my Walnut Ric 5 were a set of DR strings. I don't remember the specific variety, but yes, they do sound very good and have lasted for quite some time.

I think it was these strings:

DR Strings.jpg
 
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#53
GTHintz said:
After trying hi beams and lo riders i need to try fat beams. Everything dr ive tried sound great but they are less gritty and growly than rotos. However I've heard some playing with a Warwick thumb and fat beams and thought it sounded like filthy goodness. Lots of punchy depth.
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I've been favoring DR strings for several years now, but those I've tried are definitely more polite than RS66. What you heard may have had more to do with the Warwick Thumb and the effects/amplification chain than the strings. It's tough to beat Rotosounds for "gritty and growly."
 
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#54
Killing Floor said:
Over the course of years I switched to DR HiBeams because that brightness fit my needs better. There’s no best string. Rotos have a great tone.
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i really enjoy the feel and brightness of the Hi Beams as well as the flexibility but I have difficulties with the mid scoop? Rotos have that grindy midrange to them that I enjoy so much but the Hi Beams are certainly a really nice string as well. :)
 
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#55
;)
BrentSimons said:
i really enjoy the feel and brightness of the Hi Beams as well as the flexibility but I have difficulties with the mid scoop? Rotos have that grindy midrange to them that I enjoy so much but the Hi Beams are certainly a really nice string as well. :)
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There’s no best string. That’s probably why I have been steadily changing mine for so long
 
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#57
Lee Moses said:
I've been favoring DR strings for several years now, but those I've tried are definitely more polite than RS66. What you heard may have had more to do with the Warwick Thumb and the effects/amplification chain than the strings. It's tough to beat Rotosounds for "gritty and growly."
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The Warwick tone is definitely distinguished to say the least. Ive spent the last few years trying to harness it and nring out the best in that distinct growly rich tone. Rotos definitely work great on my Streamer 5. They have been good on everything ive used them on. Unfortunately they've never been the absolute best for any bass ive had but they haven't been bad though. Thats actually a compliment. For example Pro steels i couldn't stand really on my corvette with humbuckers but they sounded really good on my streamer with soapbars. Sometimes its better to have really good all around strings than some that are completely hit or miss.
 
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#58
Chickenwheels said:
Yep. These were the Marcus Miller and Will Lee string back in the day. What a tone!
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This might explain why Marcus Miller Dunlop Super Brights sound similar to Rotosound 66s to me!

GwenOnBass said:
The long-discontinued Dean Markley Super Rounds graced my bass for a long time, after I swore off the Rotos. I liked the "hound dog on the porch" packaging too lol. The Dean Markleys were seriously good strings for that sound.
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Morrighan, when are we getting together so we can talk about Dean Markley's Super Rounds for the rest of our lives?;-)
 
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#59
eriky4003 said:
This might explain why Marcus Miller Dunlop Super Brights sound similar to Rotosound 66s to me!



Morrighan, when are we getting together so we can talk about Dean Markley's Super Rounds for the rest of our lives?;-)
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Closest image I could find. Same ole' hound dog (and presumed jug of moonshine). Super Rounds owned the British strings in every way IMO YMMV pass the butter beans please

dean markley.jpg
 
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