What is so bad about Rotosound strings?

[eriky4003]

My own personal experience - the last set I bought in 2014, I placed the strings on my Rick, played a gig in early December and about 6 weeks later the E string went dead. Could be user error, but that was the first time I ever had one string die on me. Saying that, I did notice (prior to the dead E) that the strings settled quickly and had lost their nice edge shortly after the gig. I prefer and expect a bit more life from my strings so I have favourites with other manufacturers.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

My experience with Rotosound RS-66 is that they do die faster than other strings. It's likely that some folks like how they sound when they're aged quite a bit, but I didn't. I sold strings (managed a guitar store for 11 years) and tried about three sets over a span of time and had the same issues. One gig the guitarist asked why my sound changed with every song on the first set. John Entwistle (how seemingly helped design them) said they didn't last long, Anthony Jackson used to change them every TAKE in the studio, and Chris Squire said he changed them every day.

BUT- they have a very characteristic sound that I've not found in any other string. It's not one I want for myself, but it's a great sound. My take is that if the strings that give you the sound you need don't last long, then you just resign yourself to changing strings a lot.

As for the feel, I don't know because it's been decades since I used a set. But the alloy they use combined with the coarseness of the outer wrap wire combines for their deserved reputation as a fret chewer. If your fretting hand is gentle, and you don't bend strings at all that's probably not an issue but I've seen enough chewed up frets from RS-66L to know it's a common issue. Of course, most stainless strings will do that to some extent.

John

+1, my thoughts too. I used the Swing Bass 66's for a good 3 or 4 years when I was a young guy. And to echo many other posts here, there's no other string that sounds like new Rotosound stainless roundwounds, IMO, -or at least I never found one. I remember their awesome, zingy tone would last me less than a week. And I did notice I was putting a lot of wear on my frets during the time I used them.

In my early 20's all stainless roundwounds started feeling really sticky, so I tried nickel plated roundwounds, and I preferred their feel, and got used to their generally warmer tone.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

I played rotos for YEARS, until I switched to DRs - - and only because they went through a real quality problem back in the early '90s did I bother to try DRs.

And, for what it's worth, my favorite recordings were done with Rotos - when they are right, they sound *great*.

I remember hearing *something* changed with the Swing Bass strings in the 90's too. I was using nickels by that time, but I have a good friend who's a Diehard Rotosound fanatic, and he swore they had changed, along with other bassists saying the same thing. I remember my friend switching to different brands for a few years, but no other brand ever equalled the Rotos for him, so he switched back. He's told me many times that Rotosounds are a big part of his sound.

 

[opivy3056]

I find it interesting to see people playing 1500-2000 dollar basses complain about the cost of changing strings to keep "that sound" that dies after 6 weeks (which is plenty of longevity for "zing" to me).

I paid 450 for my t-40 and with swing 66s going for 17 dollars on Amazon it'll take me about 62 string changes to put that same dent in my bank account at the minimum.

Different strokes I guess!

 

[4001]

I have a set of RS66 on my 75 Ric that I just got, I totally dig the sound, but Im worried about the frets.

Good thing I didn't think like that. I didn't care... the frets got eaten a bit...BUT I got a re-fret anyways.. and that '81 4001 came ALIVE when that was done. Worth every penny of it because life is too short not enjoy screaming tone from Rotosounds on my Ric.

 

[vin97]

I love Rotos on my fretless (RS66) but only after about three to four weeks of playing. Apart from the initial zing that only lasts a few hours, they don't really lose any more brightness in those weeks. The tone just gets more controllable and consistent so that I can do all the dynamics with my fingers instead of having to use the tone knob to remove unwanted buzz.
I usually play them two to three more months after that, then the harmonics get noticibly quiter.

 

[GIBrat51]

My experience with Rotos has been both mixed, and limited. The only Rotos I have on anything - that aren't flats - are the Roto 88s on my Rogue VB-100. Since they're tapes, fret wear is not an issue (Duh..). And after a couple of years now, they still sound fine. I'm very happy with them...
My only experience with stainless Rotos is on a guitar. I bought an '87 Rick 330 a few years ago that had "Stainless Rotos" on it (the package was in the case). The guitar had obviously been gigged - a lot. I can't say that the Rotos were to blame, but that 330's frets were just simply...gone. In Rotos' defense, though, 330 Ricks are infamous for their soft, tiny frets. I imagine that hard use with any strings would make those frets disappear...
So.. are stainless Rotos fret eaters? I can't say for certain... but, after a refret, it doesn't wear Rotos any more. And, to be honest, I don't like stainless rounds - or guitar strings, anyway...
As for the Roto flats? You won't hear any complaints from me...

 

[maturanesa]

Never liked them. They sound too metallic (ferrous) for me. Not smooth at all...

 

[bearfoot]

I am also of the group that prefers the RS66 after they've simmered down. But a fresh set can sound amazing recorded or in a mix. Solo, the fresh RS66 sounds almost ugly to me.

 

[Batmensch]

I personally don't think there's anything bad about them, I've just found RWs that I prefer, Dean Markley Blue Steels. I just prefer the tone and feel of the DMs, even after they lose their initial zing. That doesn't mean that I think the Rotos are bad, I know that they have a lot of fans, I'm just not one of them.

 

[alrubin]

So, I think I'm officially done with Rotosounds. Over the past 6 months, I've gone thru several packs of various types for different basses/applications and have been consistently disappointed. Nickel roundwounds (RS66LN) that went dead (and I mean...dead!) after month of modest playing. Jazz 77 flats that saw an E string go dead after 2 months (to be fair, RS replaced the pack/still sitting in a drawer) and most recently, a broken E & G core on an acoustic set of RS44LD's after a month on my practice bass. I really wanted to like Rotos but think I'll stick with D'Addario's as my primary string of choice. They never seem to let me down and satisfy most of my needs. (EXL 170/165 Nickel Roundwound, EPBB170 Phosphor Bronze Acoustic, ECB81 Chrome Flats)

 

[Bluest Blue]

Late to the party, I know. I had the RS66 Swing Bass strings on for one day before I had to take them off before an audition. I get the hype of playing the same strings our bass heroes played on a recording or tour, but the truth is, their tone is in their fingers and technique and to some degree their equipment, not their strings. These strings felt like barbed wire to my fingers. They were distracting, which is the last thing I need in an audition or anytime I'm playing my bass.

 

[ejaggers]

I think the issue is that there aer two completely different sets of people who play Rotosounds. Group 1 plays them for the sound they have right out of the box (bright, 'zingy', cutting, etc.); these people have a love\hate relationship because they lose that sound relatively quickly.

Group 2 (people like me) play them for the sound that they have after a few days of playing. I love these strings because they hold that sound for a long time.

My story is one of those, ”Believe it or Nots”, and I’ll try to keep this long story short.

Since I have so many basses, many keep the same strings on for years,
and since I’m basically a flats player that’s a non-issue.

I put steel RS-66 on my Musicmaster on 11/19/13 and since I don’t gig anymore,
I didn’t worry about changing them until lately.

So, being anal-retentive, one thing can cause a domino effect which is what happened.
I changed my Musicmaster strings causing me to change my Mustang strings because of
a thru-body bridge post I started, and both are thru-body.

I had some Fender nickel 5250XL on hand so I put them on the Musicmaster.
Because of my post, I needed to find out for myself what’ll happen if you put short-scale strings on a Mustang,
so I installed the old RS-66 on the Mustang, replacing the long-scale GHS Bright Flats installed 03/02/17.

I found it to be true that SS strings won’t fit properly because the RS-66 silks protruded about ½” on the E and A,
and I had to trim the silk, but SS strings Do fit properly on my thru-body Musicmaster.

Sound:

The 5250XL are bright and have that new rounds sound which is fine on the Musicmaster,
much different than the old RS-66, but the RS-66 harmonics are much better with more sustain.
Also, the finger noise is back with the Fenders.

The old RS-66 sound better overall on my Mustang, and the harmonics are still much better,
and I wonder if it’s because the GHS are long-scale.

I got some LaBella 760F-MUS which I haven’t installed yet because I still like the old RS-66,
but I’m sure they will be gone soon (back to the anal retentiveness).

Bottomline:

These 10-year-old RS-66 strings should’ve been dead years ago from what I’ve read in this thread,
but they still sound good to me.

So, is my case a fluke?
I don’t know but if I had a set of Swing 66 laying around, the Fenders would go back in the parts bend.

I must be in group2 because I agree with @Fletcher Lanning….057912

 

[bobyoung53]

This is an old thread and I'm not going to read all the way through it as it seems negative from the get go but I've been using them on and off since 1972, stainless steel Swing Bass RS 66's, there was a period where they were going dead pretty quickly but they got over that some years ago and they're still my favorite string. That being said their short scale strings with an 090 E string is just way to floppy for me but long scale? Most of my bases have them and will continue to have them, one thing is because they're so bright, especially at first, you need to make sure you don't twist them when you put them on. There are no other strings that sound like them and I've tried most of them, some come close but not as good.

 

[rob_thebassman]

I do like the sound of the them, but when I've used them in my band they seemed to lack in the low end

 

[SulzerType2]

I've tried a few sets of Rotosounds. In general I put their rounds on a bass I'm going to sell, so that I can keep whatever decent flats I had on the bass previously.

I think, very generally speaking, Rotos are favoured by older players who became loyal to them when there wasn't any competition. Tell a younger generation of players that John Entwistle used these strings and the answer might be 'so what?' Rotosound were there first with bright twangy bass strings and probably seemed a big upgrade over irreplaceable OEM strings, stiff flatwounds from violin string manufacturers, etc.

Living in the UK, Rotos are also ubiquitous and at least used to be cheap. You see all their orange and yellow packets in any guitar store. I guess they are easy to track down which might keep them popular.

From personal experience, the roundwound strings do the Geddy/Squire/Entwistle thing for a few hours. Compared to many strings the fundamental and overall bass response is a bit attenuated and has a slightly detuned 'boing' to it. This remains after the initial cutting treble bleeds off a bit. I also found these strings unevenly voiced, rough under the fingers and inconsistent across sets. One set might have an A with a really springy sounding 'boing' to it that sets it out from the other strings. British engineering and consistency have never been brilliant bedfellows I suppose!

Tapewound Rotos look cool but are fragile and tougher than D'Addario tapes. They feel a bit like washing line and have a slack, quacking quality unless you set them with a high action and generous neck relief. The plugged in tone is distant undefined rumble (of a roundwound shrouded in plastic).

The flats are really quite stiff and take a lot of energy to produce a dull thump. Probably my favourite of the lot, but a set of £16 Olympia strings are more evenly voiced and musical, in my opinion.

 

[Root 5]

I actually kinda like the rough texture of them. And they’re not that rough.

 

[Doug P]

I’ve used since early 70’s. Rough on frets… maybe. Loose the “new” after 3 or so shows….. yea. Still, as much as I’ve spent on gear, new stings for a gig at less than $20 USD if ya look around is not bad to me. If ya like the sound then…….
Also, I have been told the strings have been made in the same machine (66’s) since “back in the day”. So I don’t know how some say they went down in quality or whatever. Call or text Mr How. He will talk to ya about your concerns.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

My early 00’s MIA Fender Standard Precision Bass has been wearing Rotosound Swing Bass 66’s for about the last three years. IMO SB66’s on a P-Bass is an iconic tone. And I like the sound of this pairing so much, I plan on keeping SB66’s on it.

I played a yearly tribute to a local musician who passed away in 2013 over this past weekend. I took my P-Bass along just in case a bass player showed up without a bass. I ended up playing it quite a bit myself, through my Aguilar TH500/GS112x2 amp setup. IMHO it sounded fantastic. Lot’s of punch and the signature P-Bass “Bark”. And it certainly had plenty of low end.

To my hands, the Rotosounds didn’t feel any rougher to the touch than the GHS Bass Boomers that are on my Spector Euro 6LT, that I also played on the gig.

I also currently have SB66’s on my Spector NS4CRFM, which is an inherently bright sounding bass to begin with. I’m undecided if I’ll switch back to GHS Bass Boomers on it, once the SB66’s go completely dead. I don’t play it a lot, so the SB66’s still sound rather new.

 

[jmmyoh]

I have rotos on my acoustic, flats on the 5 string, rounds on the hohner b2b headless, and flats on my Eastwood univox reissue. Super great strings I love the flats and the acoustic strings the most tho, my favorite bass with rounds has dean markley blue steel extra mediums.
It's funny hearing people say they have had issues with string consistency because I have actually had more issues with bass boomers and other strings but never had a problem with rotos.