Strings for Fender Kingman

[Ajax]

I recently purchased a Fender Kingman, and I’m not impressed by the factory strings. Do any of the players here own this bass, and if you changed out the strings, what did you replace them with? I play 50/50 acoustic and amplified with a pick, amp is a Fender Rumble 100. The music is generally classic r&r or Neil Young/John Prine genres. Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 271037]

The stock strings are Fender phosphor bronze, manufactured by D'Addario. I don't think I've ever tried the Fender version but I've tested D'Addario's acoustic bass strings on many occasions and they are too stiff, unresponsive and far too bright/metallic sounding for MY taste.

My personal favourite acoustic bass strings are Thomastik Acoustic Bass strings. In fact, I never enjoyed playing acoustic bass guitars AT ALL before I discovered these strings. They are now the only ABG strings I use and they're in a completely different league to any other ABG strings out there IMO. The tone is much warmer, more organic and the strings are far more articulate and lively than any other ABG strings I've tested. They have a certain "orchestral" quality that's unique for Thomastik (users of their Jazz Flats/Rounds may understand what I'm referring to).

These strings are probably not for everyone though:

-They are very low tension. On a short scale like the Kingman they will be even shorter tension. I use them on a short scale ABG myself and I love them but I think a lot of people will find them far too floppy.

-They are wound on a nylon core so they "roll" under the fingers like the wound strings on classical guitars. It's not a big deal once you get used to it but it may feel a bit weird at first.

-The nylon core strings make the bass sound a bit more like a "classical bass guitar" than an acoustic version of an electric bass... if that makes any sense?

-The tone is so different from any other other acoustic bass strings that if you like strings from other brands you might find these a bit too warm and mellow.

The only way to find out is to test them yourself. You will probably either love them or hate them... but they will certainly be different from the stock strings that you seem to dislike.