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#21
Over the years, I have tried about a two dozen brands including DR, GHS, Rotosound, etc. I've been fortunate to tour and open for some well known artists so I usually ask the bass player what they use. I recently tried a set of Ernie Ball Cobalt on my MIA Jazz and liked the sound so much that I put set on my MIA Precision. I think I have finally found a string that I really like.
 
#22
In the beginning there were Fender Flats. They were pure nickel wrap, and lo they were good.

Along came Progressive Rock and Yes, and I discovered Rotosound Roundwound strings. They were hard to get and expensive. I played them and said, "Mmmmmm these are good".

I played them a long time. Sure I strayed here and there trying out GHS Boomers (bah!) when they first appeared. Same with EBSS. Until Dean Markley Blue Steels made their debut. Then I had a new love affair going on. Never again to return to the nasty ringy-zingy string scheechy finger destroying fret eatin' Roto-wallet-killers. Blech! :spit:

I was in love with the great tone and long life along with the reasonable cost of the Dean Markly Blue Steels. We played many gigs together and cut a few records.

I now have a new lover in DR Neons. They stay young and beautiful. They don't screech or tear up your fingers or your frets. I am in love.

I am 60 years old and have been playing bass for 44 of them.

As far as flatwounds go, I love Tomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats as an alternative to roundwounds. For pure fundamental bass tone I play GHS Precision Flats.

For TWANG I am going to work with GHS to come up with a special set of GHS Super-Twangers. Stay tuned. :)
 
#23
I've tried about 15 different brands/types over the years I've played. I loved some, didn't some at all. I gave most a chance and stuck with some for a while. EB hybrid slinkies were ones I played for a long time. Before that I used ghs boomers. But for whatever reason, about 3 months ago I started trying other strings again after using the EB's for so long and one of them was DR low riders. It only took me a few practice and jam sessions to realize I'd been sleeping on these strings for too long. I've been using DR low riders ever since. With an occasional low beam here and there. I LOVE these strings. I love how they feel, sound and play. I wish they stayed brighter for a little longer than they do but man, to me, nothing beats a new set of DR's. nothin. I just bought a fresh set of low riders today and can't wait to put them on my P. I'll probably go for low beams next time. These strings just plain rock. I'm set for quite some time.
 
#25
Well I know lots of folks don't agree with me, but after years of searching I bought a bass that had Elixir (not stainless) rounds on it. Used them cause I was too cheap to buy a different set and fell in love with the tone (slightly muted zing of a broken in round) but it lasts for a LOOONG time. Tried others since and keep going back. Just wish they weren't so damn expensive, but the offset is that they last so much longer.
 
#26
asands said:
Well I know lots of folks don't agree with me, but after years of searching I bought a bass that had Elixir (not stainless) rounds on it. Used them cause I was too cheap to buy a different set and fell in love with the tone (slightly muted zing of a broken in round) but it lasts for a LOOONG time. Tried others since and keep going back. Just wish they weren't so damn expensive, but the offset is that they last so much longer.
Click to expand...

This is a string I've never tried. I keep meaning to but don't. I'll have to get a set one of these days.
 
#28
Played nylon tapewounds and factory strings in the 60's and early 70's. Went to Rotosound rounds in the 70's and stayed their until last year. A number of my basses have thin/light necks that do not respond well to Roto's extra tension and had forced me to string basses I loved with lighter gauges. Last year I bought a Fame/Hondo with a factory Kahler that was/is setup perfectly. The strings are the same light gauges as the Roto's BUT they have less tension and FEEL/PLAY easier than Roto's. When the Kahler bass finally popped the A string(at the roller), I tried a cheapo set of similar gauge as suggested by a friend at basstremelo fanatics. They work, feel, and sound almost identical to Roto's BUT have less tension.

They are all I use now on ALL of my basses except for 2 specials: 1 strung with flats and 1 strung with nylon tapewounds.
 
#30
It took me about 5 or 6 years of playing bass to discover flats. After trying Labella, D'daddario, Fender and TI I started playing GHS Precisions last year and to me they're just about perfect. I'd like a little more bite and I think I may get that out of Fender Flats but first I'd have to keep them on the bass long enough for them to mellow out. The GHS are so nice out of the pack and offer enough thump and definition that I think no other string can offer it even I'm missing the bite.
 
#31
My first bass in 1971 was a medium scale Gibson EB-something. It was strung with round wounds. I played this bass for about two years and, being a NOOB I didn't know shite about strings, so when it was time for new strings I just bought whatever the guy in the music store recommended.

In 1973 I bought a Gibson Ripper that was strung with flat wounds (brand unknown). I thought they were HORRIBLE strings - no zing, and they felt like bridge cables, so the next day I reverted to rounds. From then until 1980 I played only rounds - either Rotosound 66's or GHS Boomers.

Then I quit gigging for 29 years (college, job, family, etc.).

In 2008 I started gigging again. I quickly gravitated towards flat wounds. My theory is that older bassists (I'm 62) are more likely than younger bassists to try and like flat wounds (and thus the increasing popularity of flats - aging baby boomers). I tried D'Addario Chromes and liked the bright thump but found the tension a little too high. Then I tried and LOVED TI Jazz Flats (woody, organic, uprighty!), and played them for several years. One day I was unstrapping my bass to put it on the guitar stand and the G string snapped at the bridge (still not sure exactly what happened, bass was a G&L JB-2))! After this I couldn't afford another set of TI's ($70 a set!) so I am now playing D'Addario Tapewounds (clear, strong fundamental tone). I really like them, but still plan to get another set of TI Jazz Flats some day.

I have also played and liked GHS Pressurewounds (beautiful scooped tone) - I haven't decided if I prefer them over the tape wounds, but I'm going to put restring my main gigging bass with them soon - sometimes change is good.

Strings are one thing I tend to obsess about. If money was no object I can think of 10-15 string sets I would love to try (all flats, tapes or ground/half rounds, no rounds). Until then I'll be curious and never 100% satisfied that I've found the "best" string.
 
#34
madbassplaya said:
$100

How are the Powerbass strings? The B is tiny, huh? Floppy?
Click to expand...

The Powerbass strings sound fantastic. Yes, the B string is not as stiff as many, so some might call it floppy. Actually all the strings require a softer touch. I like them a lot - they are among my favorite roundwounds. That little .119 puts out incredible bottom. They must have neodymium cores or something.

Here's their propaganda. It's consistent with my experience with them:

Description

Thomastik-Infeld uses powerful Magnecore winding wrapped onto an extremely flexible steel hex core to make the T-I PowerBass string sets. T-I PowerBass strings deliver unmatched clarity and transparency while maintaining maximum output. Thomastik-Infeld carefully researched string tension and gauging wounds using microprocessor controlled machines ensuring string to string balance on the PowerBass string sets.
Click to expand...
 
#35
Labella DTF's and GHS boomers are staples on my basses. I've tried lots of brands over the years and this what I've settled on. I do have TI jazz flats on one bass too, they've been on that bass for over a decade now and sound better everytime I play it.
 
#36
I have 7 basses and always trying something new on something.....I am getting sick of one string having boom and no mids...mids and no boom....too tight too loose. I just wanted something even sounding and even feeling....and I tried circlek on my warwick thumb and I think I am in love! they feel great and play even and smooth.....and when you want to slap they have a bit of brightness too.....It could just sound great on my warwick...I have to try them on something else next!
 
#37
I tried a lot of different strings on my P Bass. You can find 100
different recommendations here on TB. Dishing out a lot of
money for strings that you find out you hate really sucks.
I found TI Jazz Flats and the search was over.

I'm still looking for the right strings for my Jazz bass but I spend
almost every playing hour on my P bass. It is "home" for me.
But I still would like to get the Jazz bass to a point where I
really like it some day.
 
#38
I'm pretty adventurous about strings. I've never stuck with a single brand or string type. If it comes in medium and is not ridiculously expensive, I'll try it. It's way cheaper than switching out basses all the time.
 
#40
I have tried a LOT of strings. I have started threads here asking "Hey, have you guys tried (fill in whatever string you can think of here)?" I have PMed people who started string threads. And every single time I keep coming back to plain old boring D'Addario XLs. I say "boring" because they are everywhere. There is nothing "special" about playing them. But they work. They sound great. And they sound the same every single set (and I go through a lot of sets).
 

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