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Strings For Specific Basses

#47
lloganbracee said:
One of the most interesting things to me since I’ve recently become so interested in playing bass has been just how much the strings affect the sound & the way a bass is played.

That said, I’ve become more & more interested in what strings people like on particular Basses & more importantly WHY they like them. I recently was gifted an Epiphone T-Bird Pro & am having difficulty choosing where to start in my search for what strings I like on a Thunderbird.

Example: A lot of people seem to adore La Bella Deep Talkin’ Flats (or just flats in general) on a Precision Bass because of how articulate & deep any given note is. It’s just that classic bass sound.

So, what strings do you like on your specific bass models & why?
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I was using D'Addario XL165s on my Precision for a while, then switched the pickup and those strings didn't work for me anymore. Now using GHS Balanced Nickels.

My Geddy Lee Jazz and Precision Deluxe Special Edition both have GHS Pressurewounds, but might put the Balanced Nickels on the Jazz just to see how it sounds.
 
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#48
This probably comes down to preference and the sound differences may well be imagined, but I have D'Addario EXL160S on my Mustang which is mostly played with the P-bass pickup, and the tone I get is to my liking (after the strings have mellowed for a bit). On the other hand, the same type of strings do not work for me on my ATK300. The ATK300, with the pickup character switch to the bridge side coil, has this lovely "snappy" sound, which I couldn't really get with EXL160s, they were too undefined for that bass. Put Regular Slinkys on and like them better. When I still had my Squier P I modded it with a quarter pound pickup and liked the sound and feel of cobalt flats on it, but I didn't like these kind of strings on my Jazz, which has EXL160s but will be restrung with regular slinkys in a second.
 
#50
lloganbracee said:
I’m liking what I’m hearing from the sound samples of DR Black Beauties. How long do those last in the experience of those who’ve used them?
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They’ll laste until they don’t. The black coating will eventually flake away though, but it looks kinda cool. They will take a pretty severe using before anything becomes drastic. If you use a pick you can expect deterioration within a week or two in that particular area. Overall, I thought they were cool strings, and I’d buy them again.
 
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#51
lloganbracee said:
I’d love to try everything there is, but I simply (& frankly, I’m impressed that a lot of you do) don’t have the funds for that kind of thing. I’ll try plenty, but I’m mostly interested in just seeing what other people are using & why. I’d love to understand what sounds people are getting & how to achieve them.

For the T-Bird I’m currently looking at stringing, I want it to keep that rounded warmth that the model is known for while also having some punch. For that reason I’m thinking some good sounding dead rounds might do the trick, but that’s going to be a time consuming search.
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Fender Pure Nickel Rounds. End of search.
 
#54
lloganbracee said:
I’m most interested in why you like them & what you like them on, not just what they are.
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You said you were looking for good sounding, dead rounds for your T-Bird. Although you will never find ‘dead’ sounding rounds, what you can find is a round wound string made of pure nickel that is warmer than your typical stainless and nickel-plated rounds. This is where pure nickels come in.

I am a flats player, but I’ve been experimenting with other winds and materials for a good year now. I tried half-rounds, which are a good string and compromise between flats and rounds, but for my Yamaha I wanted modern versatility without the rounds being too bright which I felt the half-rounds didn’t quite deliver.

Being so accustomed to flats, most rounds are like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. Not pure nickel. Although there is still finger noise, it is less pronounced. Like flats, pure nickels are a warm sounding string. Now, you won’t get the punch that you get with flats, but the pure nickels deliver just as well as any round.

Fender strings also have a reputation for aging really well. I imagine that with a few months of playing time, the nickels will mellow even further. So, you want rounds for your bird, but you want them to sound dead, then what you want is the mellowest round out there. For $18.99, Fender makes a great string.
 
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#56
Member8675309 said:
I am a flats player, but I’ve been experimenting with other winds and materials for a good year now. I tried half-rounds, which are a good string and compromise between flats and rounds, but for my Yamaha I wanted modern versatility without the rounds being too bright which I felt the half-rounds didn’t quite deliver.

Being so accustomed to flats, most rounds are like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. Not pure nickel. Although there is still finger noise, it is less pronounced. Like flats, pure nickels are a warm sounding string. Now, you won’t get the punch that you get with flats, but the pure nickels deliver just as well as any round.
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I'm a former "flatwound enthusiast" who initially got turned on to flats for their smooth surface and no finger noise. But after a couple of years of constant experimenting, I finally came to the conclusion flats didn't quite provide the tonal versatility I needed.

I do agree pure nickel rounds are a perfect middle ground, where they provide enough "modern versatility" without the annoying features of typical rounds, ie excessive zing and finger screech.

p.s. For something with a little more punch and nice crunchy mids, I like the GHS Pressurewounds.
 
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#57
michael_t said:
I'm a former "flatwound enthusiast" who initially got turned on to flats for their smooth surface and no finger noise. But after a couple of years of constant experimenting, I finally came to the conclusion flats didn't quite provide the tonal versatility I needed.

I do agree pure nickel rounds are a perfect middle ground, where they provide enough "modern versatility" without the annoying features of typical rounds, ie excessive zing and finger screech.

p.s. For something with a little more punch and nice crunchy mids, I like the GHS Pressurewounds.
Click to expand...
I have heard and read so much praise for those strings, but I have yet to try them. I thought about trying some on my Gibson short scale, but I refuse to buy any more strings anytime soon. Soooo much money on strings.
 
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#60
40Hz said:
Current strings on basses:

DR Pure Blues
DR Fatbeams
DR Sunbeams
GHS Precision Flats
GHS Pressurewound
LaBella Copper White Nylon*
TI Jazz Flats
D’Addario Chromes
SIT Rock Brites Nickel
Rotosound 66 Swing Bass

Currently waiting for delivery on a long and short scale set of GHS Balanced Nickels and a set of Kallium Hybrids.

(*My current favorite are the LaBella coppers.)
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I just pulled the trigger on a set of GHS BN lights after listening over and over. Cross fingers we dig these. :)
 
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