• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Tell me more about stainless steel strings

#21
For most of my basses, my preference is stainless steel flats, specifically the Rotosound RS77LE. I also like the Dunlop stainless flats which can compliment the right bass. While not ones I like, the LaBella stainless flatwounds feel different than either the Rotos or the Dunlops. The Dunlops and Rotos feel different as well, but the LaBellas are very different.

I've tried nickel and others. They just don't work for me feel wise or sonically. I do use tapewounds as well, but not the discussion :)
 
#22
I was a flats and nickels (and nickel flats!) player for years. Then a few years back I learned that one of my favorite "flats" recordings was actually done with Roto 66s, so I started experimenting. Indeed, like folks have said, you can mellow SS rounds, and get a full range of sounds out of them.

I too found lots to enjoy in DR SS Lo-riders. I like them for mids and crunch. Slightly stiffer, but they take low action well. I also liked D'Addario Pro Steels. I did try Rotos a few years back, and I don't recall being impressed. For round cores, I also like Hi Beams, but they took some getting used to...they have softer mids and more zing, but I learned to get what I need out of them. Nevertheless, I like my mids, so I gravitate more to hex Lo Riders...
 
#24
I have D'Addario ProSteels on one bass and they sound great. Coming from nickels, the surface feels rough though.

That's one thing I have found, I never really noticed the roughness of stainless steel strings until I started primarily using nickels. It's easy to go from SS to nickel, but it's hard to go back (in surface feel).

I would be interested in trying the Dunlop Hybrids that have a hybrid nickel outer wrap over a stainless core.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tindrum
#31
Just Wrong said:
You’re not wrong, although I don’t mind paying a little extra for smoother, more flexible strings. But I guess the question is, are the lo riders are a better deal at $60 than the Dunlops at $40? Do they last twice as long as the Dunlops?
Click to expand...
IMO, no. There may be reasons to prefer one over the other but they are esoteric reasons. I've got a stock of SS and nickle strings, all different brands, I paid an average of $10-15 a pack when I found deals. I couldn't tell you which brand are on any bass right now, but I can tell you I stopped swapping strings as much when I started practicing more and paying more attention to right hand technique.

Sometimes I get super frustrated with an instrument when playing. This is usually time to change strings. Same for acoustic guitar.
 
#32
I loved RS66's so much I continued to hope I could get a decent set for far longer than I should have. Right or wrong, that's how great I thought they were. I finally gave up on them in the 90's and switched over to DR Hi-Beams. A couple years ago, after reading a thread in which a lot of folks were saying that Rotosound's QC was back I almost ordered a set but then read several current reviews talking about the same issue I was having back in the day - dead E right outta the pack, so I passed on that idea. Based on what I've read in some threads here, I've tried DR's nickels and Quantum nickel but I just prefer stainless. Thinking I might give D'Addario NYXL's a try though, since they get such praise here on TB.
 
#33
I've played stainless strings for years and years now. For the last 15+ years it's been DR Fat Beams for me. I have them on 3 completely different basses (Reverend Mercalli 5, G&L JB, G&L M-2000), and they just work for all of them. And after experimenting with Pure Blues and Hi-Beams on my Modulus, I think I'm going back to Fat Beams on that bass as well.

IMO/IME, they are the smoothest feeling stainless strings I've tried - they do not eat frets like Rotos or the old Dean Markley Blue Steels I played in college and post-college, ha. They have more bottom and low-mids than other stainless strings, but they still have a great growl to them and have that 'snap' you want in a SS string. They are round core like Hi-Beams and Pure Blues, so they are lower tension than a hex-core string like a Lo-Rider.
 
#34
dune said:
I loved RS66's so much I continued to hope I could get a decent set for far longer than I should have. Right or wrong, that's how great I thought they were. I finally gave up on them in the 90's and switched over to DR Hi-Beams. A couple years ago, after reading a thread in which a lot of folks were saying that Rotosound's QC was back I almost ordered a set but then read several current reviews talking about the same issue I was having back in the day - dead E right outta the pack, so I passed on that idea. Based on what I've read in some threads here, I've tried DR's nickels and Quantum nickel but I just prefer stainless. Thinking I might give D'Addario NYXL's a try though, since they get such praise here on TB.
Click to expand...
For me NYXLs are really a happy medium- definitely edgier than a typical nickel string but not as scooped as many fresh steel strings. I am coming as someone who mostly prefers nickels though when I do use rounds, so as a steel player you might have different feelings!
 
  • Like
Reactions: tindrum
#35
tried d'addario prism steel strings at the beginning of this century. nice, bright sounding. ate frets on my '73 4001 within few months. took them off and never touched steel strings again.

before prism, played XLs for a decade without fret wear.
 
#36
sunbeast said:
For me NYXLs are really a happy medium- definitely edgier than a typical nickel string but not as scooped as many fresh steel strings. I am coming as someone who mostly prefers nickels though when I do use rounds, so as a steel player you might have different feelings!
Click to expand...
Shows what I know. 🤣 I thought they were straight-up stainless. I know that many prefer the smoother feel the nickel plating provides, but one of the things I loved the most about the Rotos was the rougher feel. It's been a long time so I can't be 100% sure, but I think the Rotos were even "grippier" (as I interpret the roughness, and in regards to plucking more than fretting) than the Hi-Beams.
 
#38
dune said:
Shows what I know. 🤣 I thought they were straight-up stainless. I know that many prefer the smoother feel the nickel plating provides, but one of the things I loved the most about the Rotos was the rougher feel. It's been a long time so I can't be 100% sure, but I think the Rotos were even "grippier" (as I interpret the roughness, and in regards to plucking more than fretting) than the Hi-Beams.
Click to expand...
I think you should give NYXLs a shot! I actually always buy the damaged package products on Amazon, which helps keep the price down.

I find DR strings in generally pretty kind on my hands and really do like the flexibility of their round core strings like the Hi-Beams and Sunbeams, but I never found Roto 66s to be super rough in texture as some people have claimed (they've had a reputation of shredding frets and fingers, neither of which has been my experience). Oddly enough the Roto 77 flats did give me some issues when I used to use those many years ago- I'd occasionally get little blisters on my fingers which is something I hadn't really experienced for years before that or at any point since. The material I was playing was definitely pretty demanding which didn't help, but something about the string surface was also a problem as I never experienced that with other flats or even rounds that I used in the same band (I actually switched over to DR Black Beauties from the Roto 77s and they seed much kinder on my fingers).
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: dune
#39
sunbeast said:
I think you should give NYXLs a shot! I actually always buy the damaged package products on Amazon, which helps keep the price down.

I find DR strings in generally pretty kind on my hands and really do like the flexibility of their round core strings like the Hi-Beams and Sunbeams, but I never found Roto 66s to be super rough in texture as some people have claimed (they've had a reputation of shredding frets and fingers, neither of which has been my experience). Oddly enough the Roto 77 flats did give me some issues when I used to use those many years ago- I'd occasionally get little blisters on my fingers which is something I hadn't really experienced for years before that or at any point since. The material I was playing was definitely pretty demanding which didn't help, but something about the string surface was also a problem as I never experienced that with other flats or even rounds that I used in the same band (I actually switched over to DR Black Beauties from the Roto 77s and they seed much kinder on my fingers).
Click to expand...
I might still give them a try. As much as I love stainless rounds, I only play solo stuff these days and smoother strings might help to reduce string noise since there's nothing else going on to mask it. I can reduce it with technique but can't seem to totally eliminate it with the rounds I've tried thus far. I'm not sure how much, if any, reduction I can expect from just nickel plating the strings though. I'm also not sure that entirely eliminating it is possible or necessary.

I'll take what you mentioned about the blisters with the 77's as a cautionary tale, completely gloss over what you said about the Black Beauties and continue to avoid flatwounds at all costs. 🤣

I can really only speak to Roto roughness in comparison to strings I was forced to use back then when I couldn't get RS66's. The vast majority of the time that would have been nickel Boomers or Markley Blue Steels and the Rotos were most definitely rougher and more supple than either of those. I clearly remember thinking "Nothing else feels like RS66's." and while I can't rule it out, I'm pretty sure that wasn't just confirmation bias.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: sunbeast
#40
Just Wrong said:
I know I posted about tape wounds just yesterday, but I was thinking, I've never knowingly tried stainless steel strings, mostly probably because we've been told for a while now that "warm" and "old school" are in, and "bright" is out. Since my bass is forever doomed to only work with rounds, why not give it a go? Plus, Derrick Hodge sure can make them sing. Maybe if I get stainless steel strings I can be as good as him?

So I guess what I'm wondering is what should I know about stainless steel strings? What brands and models should I look into and which I should avoid? (Note that DR doesn't recommend round core strings for headless basses, so Hi Beams and Fat Beams are out.)

From what I understand, stainless steel strings are typically stiffer and feel rougher than nickels?

D'Addario Pro Steels and Dunlops are around the same price here in Canada, but the DR Lo Riders are CA$20 more expensive. Is it worth it?

Cheers!
Click to expand...
String choice is a very personal thing. I have tried D'Addario Pro Steels, Dunlops and others, but nothing measured up to DR Lo-Riders for me. And they don't feel they are rougher than Lo-Rider Nickels.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GTHintz, One Way and michael_t

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back