Labella 760fs on my p bass
SIT Power Steels on my Lakland Decade
Labella black nylon tapewounds on my Höfner 500/1
SIT Power Steels on my Lakland Decade
Labella black nylon tapewounds on my Höfner 500/1
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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.
What kind of strings do you use?
- Thread starter bryan bailey
- Start date
Light gauge GHS Boomers on everything. I've always used them since I started 27 years ago. Others I've tried seem to chew up my fingers more. I'm thinking I'm going to put some flatwounds on one of my basses though...
I was a D'Addraio guy for years but I have been using SIT Power Wound Nickels 45-65-85-105. I love how tight they feel. They enable me to use a low action setup without any fret noise.
Pyramid Gold 640/1 040-105 on my BB1100S. I love the tension, the tone and the feel. It's sound vintage.
I'm finding the LaBella 760FL 043-104 too stiff, too thick, very modern sounding, boomy/bassy, to use when I need more sustain...
And Dean Markley/blue steel for any Metallica/Pantera/AIC.
Worth noting that I receive a broken A string Pyramid Gold, broken around 8th fret. From the 8th fret the string was dead. You could feel it by passing your fingers through the string. It was replaced by the seller Thomann, very happy since.
I might be getting a new P bass tomorrow, is there any similar strings tone/tension that I could check, besides the Pyramid Gold?
I would practice with my Ampeg PF50-T or Reddi for Soul, like Nick Movshon/Menahan Street Band/El Michels Affair ect...
Sorry if this has been asked x10 times...
I'm finding the LaBella 760FL 043-104 too stiff, too thick, very modern sounding, boomy/bassy, to use when I need more sustain...
And Dean Markley/blue steel for any Metallica/Pantera/AIC.
Worth noting that I receive a broken A string Pyramid Gold, broken around 8th fret. From the 8th fret the string was dead. You could feel it by passing your fingers through the string. It was replaced by the seller Thomann, very happy since.
I might be getting a new P bass tomorrow, is there any similar strings tone/tension that I could check, besides the Pyramid Gold?
I would practice with my Ampeg PF50-T or Reddi for Soul, like Nick Movshon/Menahan Street Band/El Michels Affair ect...
Sorry if this has been asked x10 times...
Last edited:
I was using mainly flats when I picked, I am now back to Rotosound RS66's on most of my basses.
Primarily Stringjoy bass strings(Nashville, TN), both nickel and steel roundwounds on an untreated macassar ebony fretless fretboard(6 string fretless bass).
DR Pure Blues and Fat Beams also.
The DR'S of the same gauge as the Stringjoy's feel "heavier"(due to their patented compression winding perhaps?). I slightly prefer the overall sound and feel of the Stringjoys...and you can order custom gauges at no extra cost for the nickel roundwounds. A set of Stringjoy strings for a 6 string bass costs $37.00.
TOTALLY worth the cost...and if you order 3 sets at once, shipping is free in the U.S. Overseas shipping is VERY reasonably priced at a flat rate of 7.95 via Asendia. If you elect to set up an auto refill of your order, I believe the shipping is also free in the U.S.
I have geeked out for years experimenting with a ton of different brands of strings and for my fretless basses, the Stringjoy and DR strings are my favorites.
DR Pure Blues and Fat Beams also.
The DR'S of the same gauge as the Stringjoy's feel "heavier"(due to their patented compression winding perhaps?). I slightly prefer the overall sound and feel of the Stringjoys...and you can order custom gauges at no extra cost for the nickel roundwounds. A set of Stringjoy strings for a 6 string bass costs $37.00.
TOTALLY worth the cost...and if you order 3 sets at once, shipping is free in the U.S. Overseas shipping is VERY reasonably priced at a flat rate of 7.95 via Asendia. If you elect to set up an auto refill of your order, I believe the shipping is also free in the U.S.
I have geeked out for years experimenting with a ton of different brands of strings and for my fretless basses, the Stringjoy and DR strings are my favorites.
My go-to strings are the Rotosound 55 Solo Bass pressurewounds (45-105 gauge). These are my favorite strings after playing with Rotosound 66 Swing Bass strings (both the stainless steel and nickel versions) and wanting to try something a little smoother to the touch.
I also have one bass strung with LaBella Gold White Nylon tapes (50-105 gauge) and another strung with D'Addario Piccolo Bass roundwounds (20-52 gauge).
I also have one bass strung with LaBella Gold White Nylon tapes (50-105 gauge) and another strung with D'Addario Piccolo Bass roundwounds (20-52 gauge).
Roundwounds. Slinkies. Always. I've tried Rotosounds, D'addario etc and can't be bothered trying anything else when I get what I want from EB Slinkies, and they're the cheapest 5 string set at my local shop.
I've got a P-bass in progress designated for flatwounds
I've got a P-bass in progress designated for flatwounds
I use both, flats are my favorite but there's some situations where only rounds will get the jobs done
Recently I decided to try SIT nickels. Been through a couple performances and a lot of rehearsals, I really like them.
Nickel rounds most of the time but I use a wide variety of strings on a wide variety of basses. I’m a gear polygamist.
♫ Hold your group together with Rotosound strings ♫
I use Swing Bass Rounds 45-65-85-105 and Monel Flats 45-65-85-105
I use Swing Bass Rounds 45-65-85-105 and Monel Flats 45-65-85-105
GHS Pressurewound L7200 (40-96) + 128B on Yamaha BB435 (newly acquired).
SIT Silencers (40-95) on my Precision waiting to be replaced by Ernie Ball Group IV (40-95) Stainless Steel Flats.
GHS Pressurewound L7200 (40-96) + GHS Progressive 130B on Yamaha. (unchanged)
GHS Pressurewound L7200 (40-96) on Fender Jazz (unchanged).
Just put on a fresh set of Rotosound Swingbass 66 45-65-80-105 stainless steels on my Fender Precision bass . Flats were not cutting it for Janes Addiction / Social Distortion or rock in general live in the mix with other cats . Through my Orange rig it nails it . I moved the flats over to my Lakland Decade .
Last edited:
Just swapped over to Diadario
NYXL Nickle wound 45-100.
Not harsh on the fingers. A good level of growl to them and a nice even tone from string to string.
Playing everything from 50"s to now with them in one band and post punk grunge swamp rock garage blues in another band.
They're doing the job just fine..
I'd be happy to use them again.
NYXL Nickle wound 45-100.
Not harsh on the fingers. A good level of growl to them and a nice even tone from string to string.
Playing everything from 50"s to now with them in one band and post punk grunge swamp rock garage blues in another band.
They're doing the job just fine..
I'd be happy to use them again.
Update - I've switched all my basses to either the LaBella Gold White Nylon tapes or the (regular) White Nylon tapes. My piccolo bass still has its special roundwounds.
Forgot to mention that the flats are Rotosound 77 45-105 that hold their own on the Lakland Decade .
I was most recently using Fender 7250Ms, but I just tried out some Rotosound Swing Bass 66 (45-105) and I have to say I love them. I was one of those who swore off Rotos due to new dead strings, but man, all the reports of them improving things is totally correct, at least from my perspective. They feel great and sound great. Looking forward to seeing how they age.
