DR and Rotosound are 2 top notch brands to try with roundwound nickel strings that have character.
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Roundwound strings for a Pbass for fusion jazz
- Thread starter Phaidrus
- Start date
I played jazz fusion on a precision with rounds for years. I think it's a fantastic sound for it.
I don't know, but he's a D'Addario endorser, and I suspect that those are plain ol' XLs.
Sorry, no experience with NYXLs. If you want a sweet-sounding (warm white, to use my earlier analogy) round with deliciously chewy mids and a luxurious feel, Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Rounds are remarkable. (Don't balk at the price--they easily last a year or two.)
I'm not good at describing how those two differ in sound with words as English isn't my first language. All I can say is both have highs that aren't sizzling as stainless steel rounds despite the Super Bright naming on the Dunlop Nickel, and they seem to have different mid-range characteristics.
But, my assessments aren't built on an equal basis. My Super Bright sets are the 45-105 set on a 34" scale solid body w/ jazz single coil style pickups and the 30-130 set on a 35" scale solid body w/ slim jazz style pickups but humbucking on its own, whilst the NYXL set is 45-105 w/130T on a multi-scale 35-33" chambered body w/ dual coil humbucker pickups. So, what I'm hearing is the NYXLs have a thicker mid presence. But again, this isn't based on an equal basis.
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I mean there are decent bass strings, there are great bass strings, and then there are the NYXLs that make them all sound like garbage. I know I'm just a giant fanboy, but I really think those are the best roundwound string on the market right now and they do everything well.
D
I got a set of those because I love the Optima Chrome flats.
Unfortunately I absolutely HATED the Optima Gold roundwounds. Extremely stiff, and I don't mean high tension but an extremely stiff and fatiguing feel under the fingers. A bit like the feel (but not the sound) of higher gauge Roto 77 flats.
I also found the Optima Golds to be extremely dull sounding. I was actually expecting them to be too bright for my taste, based on the John Entwistle endorsement back in the day, but I found them WAY too dull sounding. I wouldn't describe them as mellow or warm though, because I love mellow, warm sounding strings. Just lifeless and dull. They somehow managed to sound thin and muddy at the same time, which is quite an achievement.
Maybe I got a bad set...???
Strongly recommend a set of SIT strings. Usually under $20 on ebay and they do stay in tune as the same states. I got turned onto these by Jack Bruce and whether a Fender P or a Warwick Thumb or an Alembic anything, they are my standard strings now as they suit everything in my dozen plus stable.
Sorry you didn't like them. They kick butt on my Spectors. To each their own. I guess
