I'm looking forward to your findings as well! I have a set of the SIT Foundations on my Spector Euro 4 and I'm really enjoying the feel and tone. I'm wondering if these could be an upgrade?
Thanks!
Brent
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SIT Fusion Wound Stainless
- Thread starter BklynKen
- Start date
I'm looking forward to your findings as well! I have a set of the SIT Foundations on my Spector Euro 4 and I'm really enjoying the feel and tone. I'm wondering if these could be an upgrade?
Thanks!
Brent
I have no experience with the Foundations, but I'd expect them to be pretty different from the Fusions. Primarily, the Fusions should be higher tension / less flexible than the Foundations. I'd be very interested to hear what you think if you compare them!
I happen to have a couple of sets of the Foundations Stainless Steels 45-125 in my stock that were originally meant for my son's Ibanez SR1205E. I might consider trying a set after the Fusion Wound Stainless (FWS) just for comparison. I also want to try the Power Steels with an exposed-core low B.
Hi @michael_t ,
I found a set of the Fusion Wound Nickels (45-105) on sale with free shipping so I couldn't pass it up! My AVRI 62 Jazz and L2000 both could use a string change so I'll let you know my findings!
Be well,
Brent
Let us know how they do for you. I do have a set of the FW Nickels 40-120 in my stock, plus I have a set of the Power Steels 40-120 on their way.
According to the pricing at Strings By Mail, the Fusion Wound 5-string set is $10 more than the Power Steels 5-string set ($34 vs. $24). So the main question in my mind is are the Fusion Wounds so much better as to justify the extra $10?
I haven't tried the Fusions yet, but in my experience, the RB Stainless are not worth that much more than the Power Steels. I'm not expecting the Fusion to be much different from the RB, so I'm guessing the Fusion won't be worth $10 more. TBD! My Power Steels currently on are still good, so I'll use them for our show tomorrow, and maybe change to the Fusions after. We have another show next Thurs.
"Fusion Wound" (stainless & nickel) are what used be called "Rock Bright" (stainless & nickel) - the same strings with different names.
Exactly, but SIT said that they've changed something slightly: "We did upgrade the raw materials." Whether or not it's noticeable in actual usage, who knows.
Thanks for the clarification.
I have a feeling I'll be just as happy with the Power Steels as the Fusion Wound. We'll see...
That's what I'm expecting as well. But from Jason at Fret Nation, the Fusion Wound were only I think $2 more per pack than the Power Steel (50-105), so it was worth the experiment. My guess is once I'm done with these I'll go back to the Power Steel.
I might have already commented but I noticed that rock Brites had a lower output than power steels. I think it's due to the fusion of bronze in the core or whatnot. The tone was pretty nice though. Less stiff feeling than I was expecting and they seemed to have a decent tone aside from the lower output. Power steels seemed good all around but not giving off a wow factor in any particular aspect. Just solid tone and not too grabby compared to others.
I've been curious about the idea of "phosphor bronze being fused to the core wire". What is it supposed to do besides making them "lower output"?
I'm not necessary looking for the "wow factor" from the Power Steels, but I do like your description of "solid tone and not too grabby".
I've had Power Steels and RBs on the same bass and never noticed and difference in output. Maybe my hearing is going.
"Wow factor" is of course subjective. I did get that from the Power Steels. I found them after a long search after La Bella discontinued the Stainless Steel (FKA Hard Rockin' Steel) and they gave me everything I'd been missing.
This is encouraging... Now I have something to look forward to, ie trying the Power Steels.
Well my favorite strings have been as follows.
Ken Smith Rockmasters. They are definitely bright and have great feeling. Very glassy sounding. I like the overtones.
Dean Markley Blue Steel. They are slightly less bright but have lots of mids and fat tone with very interesting musical overtones. They have character which I really like. You dig in and you get a great punchy full tone with great attack.
Rotosound swing bass. They are similar to blue steels but stiffer. Definitely have attitude when you're playing heavy handed.
Labella RX stainless steel. These are probably the closest to power steel out of those but the biggest difference is that they feel smoother to me and had a nice character which was deep punchy tone with a nice top end. As they break in they get fatter and the mids come through just perfectly. The thing with power steels is that they just don't get bright enough nor get thick enough sounding to really peak my interest. They kinda just sound sterile without any 1 thing to really jump out and get your attention. Rock Brites aka fusion wound have a nice bite when you dig in but the bronze in the core just kills your output and I noticed they definitely will drop off in brightness and when that happens there's not much left to really pay attention to. After about a month in I just had to ditch them. Power steels came on the bass right after the rock Brites and that's how I made my analysis of the 2. I'm not trying to say that either of them suck but neither of them made me want to stick with them. Foundations however I hear lots of good things and I'd definitely like to try them soon.
Thanks for that. All those I've tried and liked. One thing that bothered me about the Ken Smiths is the longer winding length, so the meat of the E string started coming up around the post. But the bass and pickups also have a huge effect on all this. I find the Power Steels (and RB) work really well with my Gibson Thunderbird. I also like really stiff strings, so the RX are out. They're more flexible than the discontinued Stainless Steel, and even the Stainless Steel are not as stiff as the SIT Power Steel. I've been curious about those Apex Cryo strings, which are supposed to be like the old Blue Steels.
If you like the stiff feeling of the power steels then the only thing I can think of that's close would be Rotosound or Diaddario pro steel. Maybe the original Dunlop stainless steels. But those feel very similar to blue steels to me. I'd also like to try apex and see how that goes. I hear lots of good feedback from those who have tried.
I like the RS66, but like the Power Steels more. Pro Steels I tried once on my Thunderbird and hated them. Really scooped-sounding. The Dunlop black box SS are interesting. I have them on my BC Rich Bodine and really like them. Tried another set on my Thunderbird and they weren't nearly as bright as the Power Steel, though I loved the stiffer feeling of them. They came right off.
