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Roundwound strings for a Pbass for fusion jazz
- Thread starter Phaidrus
- Start date
Sounds like a good option. DR Pure Blues and Fat Beams are nice too.
I used to be 100% behind roto 66's. I still love them but Fodera nickel strings are great. They're pricey but worth a try.
Why don't you try Dunlop Super Bright Nickels then?
They have the right amount of brightness for NPS strings and also the right flexibility. I have them on a couple of Ibanez with jazz style pickups. Although, when I need to play fusion jazz stuffs, I'll bring my other bass with Dunlop Super Bright Stainless Steels on. But, I get it you aren't into SS strings.
The Dunlop Super Bright Nickels and the D'Addario NYXL are at the top of my list. I'll probably order one of the two, don't know which one just yet.
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There's also the Roto Swing Bass 66 Nickel plated strings. No idea what they sound like, at 184.97lbs (for the 45105 set) they're on the higher side of tension though. For comparison, the NYXL 45105 are 168.88lbs.
"best strings for fusion"?
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The first generation V-mod P-bass pickups have a rather low output and are quite mellow sounding. Very "soft", slightly scooped mids for a P-bass. They can sound incredibly warm and sweet for quiet songs but tend to get lost in a dense mix in my experience. I would recommend strings with a bit more bite in the mids than your typical nickel/nickel plated steel. Perhaps Thomastik-Infeld Superalloys can be worth a try? They are not nearly as expensive as some of the other TI strings. The Superalloys have a decent bite without sounding harsh at all and they also have very high output which can be a plus with the V-mods. I use them on my own first gen AmPro P-bass and for MY taste they are the best strings I've tested on this bass.
Maybe some other Alloy52-style of roundwounds can be worth looking into as well? I'm not sure how many are available at the moment...? Most of the currently available Alloy52-strings seem to be crossover flats/rounds. The only currently available roundwound Alloy52 I can think of are the Rotosound Ultramags but I've never tested those so I can't comment on the sound. There's the upcoming GHS Progressives 2.0 of course but they seem to have been severely delayed due to covid. Probably not available anytime soon.
Maybe some other Alloy52-style of roundwounds can be worth looking into as well? I'm not sure how many are available at the moment...? Most of the currently available Alloy52-strings seem to be crossover flats/rounds. The only currently available roundwound Alloy52 I can think of are the Rotosound Ultramags but I've never tested those so I can't comment on the sound. There's the upcoming GHS Progressives 2.0 of course but they seem to have been severely delayed due to covid. Probably not available anytime soon.
I confirm your assessment of the V-Mod pup on my 2017 AmProf Pbass, although I should add that, on the other hand, it sounds rather clear/clean (in a "soft" way), which perhaps is suited for fusion stuff. Or maybe not. I have an Original 62 pickup as well as a SD QP in my drawer. Would the Original 62 be better suited for fusion jazz on this Pbass? I'd like to keep it stock as I only bought new last October but I'm open to suggestions.
The Rotosound Ultramag look interesting. The 7250s currently on the bass sound alright but perhaps a bit generic and don't have much sparkle.
Although I've used NYXLs in the past, and liked them, I always thought them to be nickel plated but I could be wrong and they may be SS strings.
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I use the NYXL too, on an Ibanez headless multi-scale bass, the same 45-105 (w/ 130 low-B) gauge as the Super Bright NPS.
Soundwise, they have different midrange characteristics. Both the Super Brights and the NYXL are flexible strings, but the NYXL are slightly tighter than the Super Brights (given the same gauge).
The NYXL are NPS strings (outer wraps), just as the XL Nickels, but with different core wire. They say the NYXL have stronger carbon steel core wire which enable them to be used in smaller diameter, thus making the strings more flexible.
How do they differ in that respect? I have experience with the NYXLs (on a different bass), so I do have a reference point.
I have a 62 Original in my 2008 AS p bass and it has plenty of midrange that cuts through nicely, even with the tone control rolled back quite a bit. Sounds like a classic p bass pup to me. Not over-wound, not too polite. Just right. The XL'S really compliment the sound of that pup, IME.
D
These might be worth a try even though they're not roundwounds. Lots of people seem to love these as an alternative to roundwounds, as a "best of both worlds" kinda thing.
Personally I didn't like them at all. To me they were more like the "worst of both worlds" with the stiffness of hex core flats and the clanky mids of roundwounds. But if you want the feel of flats with the sound of rounds they are certainly a very unique and cool design.
