String advice for folk

[ObeyGiant]

So I am receiving a MIM P/J bass shortly and already have a Washburn T 24. I play in a singer/songwriter/folk type of band. As far as covers we do a Bright Eyes cover and an Iron and Wine cover.

I am looking for a nice warm/mellow tone, but I need sustain. In our cover of "Poison Oak" there are a lot of notes that are held out. I was originally thinking Flats would be nice for the tone I want, but I don't think they will have the sustain that I need.

Just because I'm getting a new bass doesn't mean the old one is going in the garbage. So if you think two different sets of strings on each bass would suit what I am doing, chime in.

Any recommendations?

Edit: After a little searching I found some D'Addario XL Nickel Rounds for like 12 bucks on bassstringsonline. I have always had good lucky with Ernie Ball Regular slinkys because they were the cheapest thing available locally but this dudes prices are unreal (compared to the local shops in my neck of the woods).

How do these compare to the Ernie Balls? I'm tempted to pick up a few sets of these to keep as backups just because they are so cheap...

 

[madbassplaya]

Congrats on finding bassstringsonline.com. It's a great place ran by a great guy.

What all strings have you tried?

 

[ObeyGiant]

Congrats on finding bassstringsonline.com. It's a great place ran by a great guy.

What all strings have you tried?

I live in a small town so around here the selection isn't very good. I went from pop-punk to metal to where I am at now.

During the ride I used pretty much exclusively Ernie Ball Regulars because I was familiar with them. I used a set of Elixer's once and they felt very nice; sound wise they weren't anything special at the time, but that may be the quality of amp i used back then.

The sound I wanted when playing that type of music is way different than what I find I am going for with this music. That real bright twangy sound doesn't really sound good with these guys. Actually have a WAY past dead set of EB Regs on the Washburn right now that sounds pretty good to me.

 

[Duckwater]

GHS Pressurewounds, I think they are exactly what you need.

 

[ObeyGiant]

GHS Pressurewounds, I think they are exactly what you need.

Thanks for the suggestion. Just checked those out and as as cheap bastard, I am liking the price compared to other flats lol.

I hear Flats are higher tension than rounds. Should I go with a lighter or heavier gauge if I want them to "feel" similar you think?

 

[mmbongo]

+1 on Pressurewounds. Since they are technically roundwounds, their tension is not higher than flatwounds.

If you ask me, D'Addario XL's are the opposite of warm/mellow.

 

[Duckwater]

I hear Flats are higher tension than rounds. Should I go with a lighter or heavier gauge if I want them to "feel" similar you think?

Personally I like the 106 set because the string to string volume and tension is a little more balanced IMO, they have very comfortable tension.

 

[darkstorm]

DR sunbeams. They are very warm compared to most other strings. Less treble top then their neons.

 

[soulman969]

I'll throw in another vote for the Pressure Wounds. You really do get a nice mellow tone out of them without losing the sustain as you do with some flats. What I like most about them is unlike Flats I get the full tonal range of my Jazz Bass with them from slap style highs to PBass thump. And if you find you want an old fashioned vintage Flatwound sound just mute the string with a piece of foam under the strings right in front of the bridge. That'll get you home without needing to change strings.

 

[markanini]

I'd say Pressurewounds are a safe bet. I'll give a nod to Roto55s if you're comfortable with tweaking your tone controls though. I rehearsed in a Folk-rock band last year on a set of Roto 55s and got complements for my tone. A few months later I did a hard rock gig using the same set. Crazy flexible strings.

 

[iJazz]

That real bright twangy sound doesn't really sound good with these guys. Actually have a WAY past dead set of EB Regs on the Washburn right now that sounds pretty good to me.

If it works don't fix it. It's said Jamerson built his legend on a single set of strings.

iJazz - Finding the right strings is like looking for the right putter.

 

[ObeyGiant]

I know this is a kind of "dead" thread, but I just purchased and installed some Pressurewounds on my P Bass yesterday and... WOW!

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions! I have to say these strings are LEGIT and just what I was looking for. They have an incredibly smooth feel to them, almost like Elixers, but they sound perfect.

I received my P Special and at first glance I was in love. After playing for awhile I felt a little disappointed... After a string change and setup the bass came alive.

Also I tried some of the D'addario XL's on my Washburn T-24 and for the price I thought they were very nice strings. Slightly better than the slightly more expensive EB's.