If I’m using rounds, nickels are a must for me. I have half rounds on my Tele P bass & flats on my Epiphone Les Paul bass right now.
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The perfect strings...have you found yours?
- Thread starter jd56hawk
- Start date
Swipter, normally I'm a steel guy...but...I ordered some Lo-Riders once and it was only after I had used them that I realized I had Nickel Lo-Riders (packaging in my case). Unfortunately, I had Lo-Riders on my Rickenbacker and my 4-string Yamaha at the same time so I'm not sure which bass was wearing the Nickels(!)... which is probably an endorsement for nickels as I didn't notice much difference between the basses.
Just installed a set of DR Sunbeams today.
What a great feeling string.
Those, DR Pure Blues and Sadowsky Bright nickels are all in my bank.
What a great feeling string.
Those, DR Pure Blues and Sadowsky Bright nickels are all in my bank.
Slinky, Boomers, LaBella tapes, whatever-the-heck came on my Wal. The older I get, the less I care. Ditto for amps.
I’ve essentially become the very un-cool Dad Rocker I used to scorn in my Blue Steel SWR long hair Living Colour loving youth!!!!! Arrrrrgh!!!!!
I’ve essentially become the very un-cool Dad Rocker I used to scorn in my Blue Steel SWR long hair Living Colour loving youth!!!!! Arrrrrgh!!!!!
I really like Thomastik Infeld Jazz Flats, D'Addario Nickel Rounds.
These are the best I've tried to date.
These are the best I've tried to date.
Thomastik Infelds on my Hofner, Epiphone Rivoli, Musicman Stingray and Epiphone Thunderbird bolt on.
Optima RB4440 flats on my Rickenbacker 4003.
Fender 9050ml on my Fender Precision.
Fender 9050l on my Fender Jazz.
D'addario tapes on my Squier Jazz.
D'addario xl nickels on my Ibanez btb5.
Rotosound RS66 on my Epiphone Thunderbird classic.
Labella flats on my Squier Bass vi.
Optima RB4440 flats on my Rickenbacker 4003.
Fender 9050ml on my Fender Precision.
Fender 9050l on my Fender Jazz.
D'addario tapes on my Squier Jazz.
D'addario xl nickels on my Ibanez btb5.
Rotosound RS66 on my Epiphone Thunderbird classic.
Labella flats on my Squier Bass vi.
I’m denying everything.No pics, no Blue Steel SWR long hair Living Colour youth.
I'm pretty much set on my current line up of strings. Old version Sadowsky Blue Label Flats on one P, and a set of the new version on another P. My Jazz usually sports Sadowsky Black Label Flats, but I put a set of D'Addario XL's on it for some work I was doing.... The Black Label Flats will be going back on it soon. I have an old set of GHS tapes on my old G&L SB1. My '97 AmDlx 5 string Jazz has a set of XL' s. I have a Beatles bass clone set up with an old set of Chromes. I also have a set of TIJF's and a set of Labellas flats sitting on a shelf in case I feel a bit fickle.
It's all about the feeling...u can pretty much eq any string to sound decent...IMHO
No and I wish I could afford to try more types of strings. $30 a pop is way too much for me right now!
Replying to myself with a definitive yes as to my perfect strings-
For years I’ve been a flatwound guy. I’ve tried rounds and not loved them. But then I bought a set of D’Addario ProSteels and found how much I could truly enjoy rounds. Two weeks ago I bought an Ibanez Roadstar II RB630 (P-Bass) with a new set of D’Addario XL Nickels. I took them off for a week with my set of TIJFs, which are great, but I wanted to give the rounds another try.
Between yesterday and today I played four services at church. The P with D’Addario XLs has helped me to rediscover these magnificent strings. Warm yet defined with the tone knob rolled back and fingerstyle; clangy with a pick when I want yet not overbearing. These strings are perfect for me and my sound goals. Add to that the fact that they are readily available and very reasonably priced and the value proposition is strong.
I like the Fender 9050L Flats and D'Addario nickel roundwounds (once a bit dead), for the moment.
As of 3/12/2021, my perfect strings so far are:
- Dunlop Marcus Miller stainless on PJ5 #1 (Especially once they are well broken in. I'll leave them on for 6-10 months at least)
- Several years old TI Jazz flats on PJ5 #2
- D'Addario tapewounds on fretless 5
- Dunlop Marcus Miller stainless on PJ5 #1 (Especially once they are well broken in. I'll leave them on for 6-10 months at least)
- Several years old TI Jazz flats on PJ5 #2
- D'Addario tapewounds on fretless 5
Somehow similar here. Never played Slinkys but pretty much everything else. DR, Daddario Nickels, Dunlop, Bommers. All of them fine to me. Got my first set of Slinkys last week and really like them, especially the E string. Maybe i just got lucky with a good set, but as of now definitely my favourite Rounds. Flats: Thomastiks by a mile...
My response may be slightly unpopular due to the amount of hatred I have read on these strings. But personally, I have found the D'Addario half rounds to be my preferred string. The full rounds sound very "stringy" and bright for my tastes. I like the flatter tones of the half's and then EQ through my head and bass to get the "growl" I like.
The guy that works on my basses called me and asked me to try them one time a while back. I have not used anything else since, although I do want to try the Ken Smith slick rounds one day.
