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Strings that have completely changed your bass?

F

Fine Cut

Dec 5, 2007
619
7
Rocky Mount, NC
#1
my goodness, i'm all giddy inside :hyper:

i've been a "dead rounds" kind of guy for a long time now. infact, my OLP has worn the same set of XL nickels for approaching a year and a half now. i've always enjoyed settling a new set of rounds into that "sweet spot" where the bite falls off and they get nice and thumpy. i briefly tried a set of Fender 9050ML's (the old style) on a '94 P bass i owned for a short time, but i couldn't get used to them; i was after roundwound overtones back then, and the Fenders seemed very sticky and slowed my right hand down considerably. The only practical use i found for them was on my VM jazz, tuned to drop C whole for recording purposes.

a few months ago, i decided to try and locate another set of the old Fender 9050's for a second shot. what arrived in the mail ended up being a set of the new 9050's, which i understand to be manufactured by D'addario. They've sat in my gig bag until today, when i decided out of boredom to throw them on the OLP...


...and they're brilliant! from memory, these are a completely different animal than the old 9050's i tried back in '07. they're fast, articulate, fairly bright, but with a certain deep presence i've distinctly faulted this bass for NOT having since i bought it! the thing that's really getting me is that they seem more comfortable under my fingers that the XL's. i feel like i just brought home a brand new bass and can't stop fiddling with it :bassist:
 
#2
Squir VM Jazz. 1st change was installing an Audere JZ3. Big difference with lots more tones. 2nd change DR Fat Beams. Need to cut way back on the treble and high mids because they are so bright but now I have nice phat lows AND I can get a nice slap tone as well WITHOUT having to re-adjust my EQ. Sweet!!!
 
#3
760m La Bella "Jamerson" set. They only arrived a few days ago so the honeymoon period isn't over yet but all I can say is wow. I finally have a G with thump on it after playing for eleven years. To me this is "that" tone that I've been looking for ever since I started.

First off these strings are huge (.052 .073 .095 .110). Took me an hour to set up the intonation, action, etc, but afterwards everything was smooth sailing. The tension is a bit extreme but it helps that I play in Eb.

G string. Thump. Finally.


PS. They broke the nut at the E string but still sound perfect. :p
 
#6
Fine Cut said:
i've been a "dead rounds" kind of guy for a long time now. infact, my OLP has worn the same set of XL nickels for approaching a year and a half now.
Click to expand...

That's nothing. I had a set of rounds on a bass for almost 20 years! They sounded nice and dead - just the way I like them!

i decided to try and locate another set of the old Fender 9050's for a second shot. what arrived in the mail ended up being a set of the new 9050's, which i understand to be manufactured by D'addario.
Click to expand...

I've heard it often that Fender strings are manufactured by D'Addario. I think it's a myth. Many people think so because the "Chromes" flats are similar to the latest Fender flats.
 
#7
Had a 99 MIA Fender Jazz ash/maple a few years ago. I bought it used and it appeared to still have the stock strings on it. Had a guy set it up for me, before I knew how, and he said I should think of a new set of strings down the road.

I put a set of DR Fatbeams on it and was amazed at the difference. Since then I have tried several different brands on several different basses but I cannot remember a bigger change and change for the good than the Fatbeams on that Jazz.
 
#11
i had a set of D'addario XLs on my fender HRP for about 4 years before i changed them. they were completely dead. i put a fresh set of DR HiBeams and the bass came roaring back to life. been using DRs for the past 3 years or so. i really like'em. people here have been talking about how good the sunbeams are. i'll have to give'em a try next time i change strings.
 
#14
Went from D'Addario XL Nickel Rounds to GHS Precision Flatwounds. Just going from rounds to flats, regardless of brand, is enough to completely change your bass (sound-wise).

Also, from my experience from just flatwounds, any of the chromed flats (D'Addario & Ernie Ball) to the Stainless Steel flats (Fender, GHS, La Bella) are very different (to my ears). A lot more thump & thud with stainless steel flats and more mids and bite with the chromed flats.
 
#16
When I bought my Jazz Bass it had a set of GHS Precision Flats on it. To my ear they were a horrible match for a Jazz Bass but I love flats on a PBass so the set I took off will find a home on a PBass later this year.

I put a set of GHS Pressure wounds on and what a world of difference. With the flats it was almost as if the tone knob was inoperative. What I really like about them is I get nearly the same tonal expression out of the bass that I'd get with rounds but with less string noise and better feel.

Fingerstyle I can go from a very smooth round low end with the tone cut back and more neck pickup all the way up to a very bright and punchy mid and top end just rolling in more treble and more bridge pickup. The strings have a lot of presence. Not at all muddy. Played with a pick they can become very punchy and percussive.

I can honestly say that I've never restrung a bass and had that much of a difference just pop out at me immediately. It's a great string for my style of play.
 

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