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The TalkBass String Comparison Sound Clip Thread!
- Thread starter IconBasser
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Okay,
Now the Aurora coated strings...I bought these in blue, being my favorite color.
I got these at a great price from Jason at Bass Strings Online @SLaPiNFuNK ( Great shop by the way! ) So let me preface by saying the only other coated string I have ever used were DR Neons. With the occasional Elixir thrown in if I tried out a new Ibanez bass. They weren't horrible by any stretch but I like a really twangy string and the Neons are essentially coated Sunbeams from what I've read. I bought a set of the red, white and blues during a Memorial Day sale. The kids thought they looked goofy! 
But anyway, I kept them on for a short while but really couldn't get into them. They just felt sort of plasticy to my fingers? Although they did provide a really cool growl on my USA Peavey Cirrus if you dug in!
So I thought the Auroras looked kinda cool and they were on sale, so i figured why not? I probably wouldn't have taken a chance if they were full price but hey something new, right?
I installed them yesterday on my AVRI 62 Jazz. I love the color! The feel and sound?...mmmm not so much. I took off a set of Dunlop Superbright Nickels which seemed to fit this bass pretty well and installed the Aurora's.
First off they have a much higher tension then the Superbrights in the same gauge 45-105. Close to D'Addarios I would say? Maybe a little less? But Superbrights are fairly low tension anyway. The Aurora's are pretty flexible. you can bend them fairly easy, but the feel...smooth but plasticy and the tone? Its okay I guess. There is some nice bass but not a lot of twang or overtones which is what I really like. i would say polite? I really want to give these a longevity test but I'm not sure I want to keep them on that long.
Anyway here is the clip. My AVRI 62 Jazz into the 800Rb/Hartke combo on my Bass Pod XT. All eq at noon and no compression.
Let me know what you think!
Best wishes,
Brent
Now the Aurora coated strings...I bought these in blue, being my favorite color.
I got these at a great price from Jason at Bass Strings Online @SLaPiNFuNK ( Great shop by the way! ) So let me preface by saying the only other coated string I have ever used were DR Neons. With the occasional Elixir thrown in if I tried out a new Ibanez bass. They weren't horrible by any stretch but I like a really twangy string and the Neons are essentially coated Sunbeams from what I've read. I bought a set of the red, white and blues during a Memorial Day sale. The kids thought they looked goofy! But anyway, I kept them on for a short while but really couldn't get into them. They just felt sort of plasticy to my fingers? Although they did provide a really cool growl on my USA Peavey Cirrus if you dug in!So I thought the Auroras looked kinda cool and they were on sale, so i figured why not? I probably wouldn't have taken a chance if they were full price but hey something new, right?
I installed them yesterday on my AVRI 62 Jazz. I love the color!
The feel and sound?...mmmm not so much. I took off a set of Dunlop Superbright Nickels which seemed to fit this bass pretty well and installed the Aurora's.First off they have a much higher tension then the Superbrights in the same gauge 45-105. Close to D'Addarios I would say? Maybe a little less? But Superbrights are fairly low tension anyway. The Aurora's are pretty flexible. you can bend them fairly easy, but the feel...smooth but plasticy and the tone? Its okay I guess. There is some nice bass but not a lot of twang or overtones which is what I really like. i would say polite? I really want to give these a longevity test but I'm not sure I want to keep them on that long.
Anyway here is the clip. My AVRI 62 Jazz into the 800Rb/Hartke combo on my Bass Pod XT. All eq at noon and no compression.
Let me know what you think!
Best wishes,
Brent
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Not a slacker my Brother. I was looking at my check register on how many different sets I've bought this year!
I'm trying to save up for a Ric or a Spector! Do you think someone would buy my slightly used sets?
Not a slacker my Brother. I was looking at my check register on how many different sets I've bought this year!
I'm thinking they would... I know I've seen plenty of used sets in TB's classifieds... I, for one, appreciate the reviews, Brent...
... keep up the great work!
Thank you for the kind words my Brother!
I'm really enjoying doing this actually.
Best wishes,
Brent
Hey Guys,
Well as I suspected the Auroras weren't doing it for me so I put them on the selling block. I had a set of Dunlop Super Bright Stainless Steels on my coffee table so on they went!
I had tried these out a couple of years ago on my Peavey Cirrus but couldn't remember what they sounded or felt like and the price was right. I've since put DR Hi-Beams on the Cirrus and it seems to be a good match.
My initial impressions? These are snarly, bright strings! At first I thought I had the neck pickup turned down on my Jazz. These strings have some bite! I'm looking forward to see what happens when they age a bit. Not surprisingly, they feel very similar in tension to the Super Bright Nickels. But they have a coarser feel of course. They are rougher than the Labella Rx steels I have on my Geddy Lee Jazz and seem more treble and hi-mid focused than the Rx's which seem more balanced to my ears. I feel the tone is quite different then the Nickels( which just came off my 62 Jazz) but you will have to be the judge.
Same setup. AVRI 62 Jazz into my Bass Pod XT. Eden Traveler/Eden 4x10 combo. Almost flat eq, no compression. A few effects thrown in at the end for poops and chuckles. These strings seem to like overdrive! I'll admit I sort of went pick crazy with the Sansamp model on the Pod!
Please excuse the poor performance. I was fading with the sunset last night.
Best wishes,
Brent
Well as I suspected the Auroras weren't doing it for me so I put them on the selling block. I had a set of Dunlop Super Bright Stainless Steels on my coffee table so on they went!
I had tried these out a couple of years ago on my Peavey Cirrus but couldn't remember what they sounded or felt like and the price was right. I've since put DR Hi-Beams on the Cirrus and it seems to be a good match.
My initial impressions? These are snarly, bright strings!
At first I thought I had the neck pickup turned down on my Jazz. These strings have some bite! I'm looking forward to see what happens when they age a bit. Not surprisingly, they feel very similar in tension to the Super Bright Nickels. But they have a coarser feel of course. They are rougher than the Labella Rx steels I have on my Geddy Lee Jazz and seem more treble and hi-mid focused than the Rx's which seem more balanced to my ears. I feel the tone is quite different then the Nickels( which just came off my 62 Jazz) but you will have to be the judge.Same setup. AVRI 62 Jazz into my Bass Pod XT. Eden Traveler/Eden 4x10 combo. Almost flat eq, no compression. A few effects thrown in at the end for poops and chuckles. These strings seem to like overdrive! I'll admit I sort of went pick crazy with the Sansamp model on the Pod!
Please excuse the poor performance. I was fading with the sunset last night.
Best wishes,
Brent
Last edited:
Hey guys, gunna start doing some more recordings at some point had alot on lately looking after 2 kids, one being newborn. Will do some when I've got chance to is there any particular string you want me to do? I've got a stingray and a jazz bass incase you wanna hear anything on either of those
had alot on lately looking after 2 kids, one being newborn. Will do some when I've got chance to is there any particular string you want me to do? I've got a stingray and a jazz bass incase you wanna hear anything on either of those
Hey guys, gunna start doing some more recordings at some point
Ey Rob! Congrats on the new family member!
Brent has already been doing a bunch of stuff on his Jazz, so let's hear something new on the Stingray. Strings themselves are up to you.
Hey guys, gunna start doing some more recordings at some point
2 band, or 3 band stingray?
Congratulations Rob!Hey guys, gunna start doing some more recordings at some point
Two is certainly more than one isn't it?
I remember it like it was yesterday, driving home from the hospital...
I look forward to your recordings!
Best wishes,
Brent
sounds good gunna purchase some more strings soon
3 band mate
it certainly is haha very happy thoughCongratulations Rob!
Two is certainly more than one isn't it?
I remember it like it was yesterday, driving home from the hospital...
I look forward to your recordings!
Best wishes,
Brent
If you end up recording a bunch of strings on the Stingray, would you mind making an additional set of recordings, using a specific EQ setting?
Thanks.
I play a 2 band with volume, bass, and treble all maxed.
The 3 band is designed to duplicate that tone with V, B & T maxed, and middle left in the centre detent.
If it's not too much hassle, that would be great, and if you happen to be playing with a plectrum, that would be extra informative
Cheers!
The mid helps beef up the low end tooThanks.
I play a 2 band with volume, bass, and treble all maxed.
The 3 band is designed to duplicate that tone with V, B & T maxed, and middle left in the centre detent.
If it's not too much hassle, that would be great, and if you happen to be playing with a plectrum, that would be extra informative
Cheers!
I really appreciate the time and effort put into this, and adding the frequency analysis is fantastic. I'm typically a GHS and DR guy but after seeing (Freq) and hearing the D'Addario XL's are much in the consideration. I have always been intrigued with the GHS progressives and balanced nickels. I wonder how they would stack up with your frequency analysis and wondering if there is a way to measure all the strings this way and place them in some kind of scale or rating system.
Example: I was a little surprised to see the Sunbeams have the most low end, and the XL's have the best low mid scores regarding frequency analysis. I wonder what the measurements of the Sunbeams are for low mids and how the XL's stack up below 150? If we can throw in string tension ratings into this type of scoring system I think there could be something special here in conjunction with all these fantastic sound clips to really rate these strings.
Next stop on our world tour of strings: the High Orient!
I decided to try out what the inexpensive chinese strings had to offer, and ordered four 6-string sets.
They include Caye (with the exciting product slogan "persist in one's old ways, full of personality"), Orphee, and Ziko sets.
All are nickel wounds, and one of the Orphee sets I got seems to have ripped off Elixer's nanoweb coating, so that will be neat to see.
Got all 4 sets for 40 bucks total. Not too shabby. They might all be completely useless, but it doesn't hurt to try. And who knows, if one of these sets is decent, I might switch over to them permanently. Can't beat that price tag.
I'll post a new sound clip once they get here from China in a couple weeks.
I decided to try out what the inexpensive chinese strings had to offer, and ordered four 6-string sets.
They include Caye (with the exciting product slogan "persist in one's old ways, full of personality"), Orphee, and Ziko sets.
All are nickel wounds, and one of the Orphee sets I got seems to have ripped off Elixer's nanoweb coating, so that will be neat to see.
Got all 4 sets for 40 bucks total. Not too shabby. They might all be completely useless, but it doesn't hurt to try. And who knows, if one of these sets is decent, I might switch over to them permanently. Can't beat that price tag.
I'll post a new sound clip once they get here from China in a couple weeks.
Looking forward to hearing them
I've had a good at EQ matching my comparisons, still trying to get hang of it
Hey guys, finally got round to recording! We have Fender 7250 nickel 45-100 vs La Bella stainless Steel 45-100.
My chain is
Musicman stingray > radial stage bug active DI > focusrite sapphire 6 > mixcraft 4
My chain is
Musicman stingray > radial stage bug active DI > focusrite sapphire 6 > mixcraft 4
EQ is flat on the Stingray, I was suppose to do afew clips where I messed about with EQ but was in a rush today
