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What kind of strings do you use?

Preferred String Type

  • Roundwounds

    Votes: 5,505 69.2%

  • Flatwounds

    Votes: 1,868 23.5%

  • Nylons

    Votes: 142 1.8%

  • Compression, 1/2, groundwound (either or)

    Votes: 258 3.2%

  • Other

    Votes: 178 2.2%
  • Total voters
    7,951
#2,861
claudel said:
I strung one of mine BEAD using the bottom 4 of a 5 string TIJR set and couldn't be more pleased.

Sounds great, easy feeling/low tension and seems to last.

Not sure how tight they might wind up tuning that high with them but seems worth a go.
Click to expand...
Encouraging.
Here are the tensions for DGCF, C#F#BE and BEAD by way of comparison. I'm mostly using C# standard at the moment with other strings ( Chromes and La Bella Orig 54's)

TI Jazz Rounds 051 068 089 118 DGCF

D1/.118/38.95lbf
G1/.089/39.58lbf
C2/.068/41.77lbf
F2/.051/42.69lbf

TT = 162.99lbf

TI Jazz Rounds 051 068 089 118 C#G#BE

C#1/.118/34.71lbf
F#1/.089/35.27lbf
B1/.068/37.22lbf
E2/.051/38.04lbf

TT = 145.24lbf

TI Jazz Rounds 051 068 089 118 BEAD

B0/.118/27.55lbf
E1/.089/27.99lbf
A1/.068/29.54lbf
D2/.051/30.20lbf

TT = 115.28lbf
 
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#2,862
On my Stingray I have La Bella Deep Talkin Bass . love the sound and the slippery feel of these flatwounds but they are like girders to play. If I hadn’t spent so much money on them I would go back to EB Cobalt , which I now realise I loved.
On my custom built bass I have Thomastic Jazz. Great strings in every department.
 
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#2,863
DavidCook10 said:
On my Stingray I have La Bella Deep Talkin Bass . love the sound and the slippery feel of these flatwounds but they are like girders to play. If I hadn’t spent so much money on them I would go back to EB Cobalt , which I now realise I loved.
On my custom built bass I have Thomastic Jazz. Great strings in every department.
Click to expand...
I've had Chromes on my 2007 ceramic SR5HH a few times and love how they sounded, at least for the music I play (classic rock, blues rock, blues, British Invasion, ...). But I've also put those LaBellas on a Precision and loved that tone. Your post makes me wonder if the DTF's would kind of "zig" where the more aggressive sound of the ceramic pickups of that era of Stingray 5's "zags" and give me a more balanced tone that had the best of both worlds in it.

Something to think about for my next string change....
 
#2,864
Hi dave640. It’s an expensive business trying to find the ‘perfect’ string. You obviously know what La Bella DTB feel like and sound like on your P bass. I wouldn’t have thought they would be great for Classic Rock. Blues yes.
I hesitate to recommend anything really as we all have different experiences and expectations. But the EB Slinky Cobalts are the ones I took off the Stingray for the La Bella’s. They are almost, not quite, half the price and I am glad I saved them as they could be going back on.
 
#2,865
MrAB4003 said:
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.
Click to expand...
Update #2 - I've switched all my basses to either D'Addario Nickel rounds (50-105 for my regular basses and 20-52 for my piccolo bass) or D'Addario Chromes (45-100). I wish there was the option to change your vote in the poll as my string choices have changed since I first joined TB.
 
#2,866
Two new acquisitions...

2011 American Special Jazz - GHS Pressurewound M7200 (44-62-84-106), tuned to DGCF
2024 Yamaha TRBX174 - GHS Bassics L6000 (40-58-80-102)

SIT Power Wound Nickels 40-60-80-100-130tw (BB435)
GHS Pressurewound L7200 (40-54-76-96) (Am Std P)
Rotosound Ultramags UM40 (40-60-80-100) (Sandblasted Jazz)
SIT Power Wound Nickels 40-60-80-100-125ec (TRBX505)
Fender 9050L Flatwound (45-60-80-100) (Highway One J)
 
#2,869
michael_t said:
2011 American Special Jazz - GHS Pressurewound M7200 (44-62-84-106), tuned to DGCF
2024 Yamaha TRBX174 - GHS Bassics L6000 (40-58-80-102)

SIT Power Wound Nickels 40-60-80-100-130tw (BB435)
GHS Pressurewound L7200 (40-54-76-96) (Am Std P)
Rotosound Ultramags UM40 (40-60-80-100) (Sandblasted Jazz)
SIT Power Wound Nickels 40-60-80-100-125ec (TRBX505)
Fender 9050L Flatwound (45-60-80-100) (Highway One J)
Click to expand...

An update...

Ken Smith Compressors 40-58-80-102 (American Special Jazz)
SIT Fusion Wound Stainless Steel 40-60-80-100-120 (BB435)
DR DDT 45-65-85-105, tuned to DGCF (Sandblasted Jazz)

GHS Bassics 40-58-80-102 (TRBX174)
GHS Pressurewound 40-54-76-96 (Am Std Precision)
SIT Power Wound Nickels 40-60-80-100-125ec (TRBX505)
Fender 9050L Flatwound 45-60-80-100 (Highway One Jazz)
 
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#2,871
D'addario groundwounds on my fretted jazz (sometimes Ernie Ball Slinkys) & D'addario tapewounds on my fretless p

I tried La Bella tapewounds on my fretless but they were waaay too bright for my taste, I prefer the D'addario but would also like to try Pyramid tapewounds as well which are supposedly darker.
 
#2,872
Right now I have whatever roundwound strings came with it, that I'm just assuming aren't the original 50-year-old strings. I have a set of Fender 9050Ls coming soon enough, and I'll A-B demo them but I can't really use roundwound strings since they cause a bit of buzzing pain in my spine (apparently it's just a really out of control ASMR, regardless it makes it hard to actually play) with the combination of their texture and string sliding squeal. I'm interested in pressurewounds though since I've seen demos where they're second best to flatwound in eliminating those two points.
I do also use flats on my Les Paul, just a pair of D'Addario XL 11-50 I bought when I was like 18, they're still on there and don't show any signs of corrosion either.
 
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#2,873
lepidotos said:
Right now I have whatever roundwound strings came with it, that I'm just assuming aren't the original 50-year-old strings. I have a set of Fender 9050Ls coming soon enough, and I'll A-B demo them but I can't really use roundwound strings since they cause a bit of buzzing pain in my spine (apparently it's just a really out of control ASMR, regardless it makes it hard to actually play) with the combination of their texture and string sliding squeal. I'm interested in pressurewounds though since I've seen demos where they're second best to flatwound in eliminating those two points.
I do also use flats on my Les Paul, just a pair of D'Addario XL 11-50 I bought when I was like 18, they're still on there and don't show any signs of corrosion either.
Click to expand...

If it's a specific tone you're looking for, as a major fan of Fender flats, let me tell you that when you first install them, they will be maybe a bit brighter than what you're looking for. But be patient. After a couple of months of frequent playing, they settle into a really nice, warm, smooth tone one would expect from a quality set of flats. I love 'em. I do use a variety of strings (mostly flats) on a number of basses just so they don't all sound alike but if I had to live with only one brand of strings for all my basses, it would be Fender 9050L's

Tim
 
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#2,874
trseal said:
If it's a specific tone you're looking for, as a major fan of Fender flats, let me tell you that when you first install them, they will be maybe a bit brighter than what you're looking for.
Click to expand...
I'm not hunting for a specific tone, they were just the cheapest set I could find anywhere ($32) and really a lot of the tracks I'm most inspired by are fairly growly and bright, some to the point of sounding like Jazz basses with rounds. Still, I'm happy either way, because I like just about all the sounds that you can get out of a bass, even the dreaded mudbucker.
 
#2,875
I really like the tone of Fender Flats, there so under rated in my opinion.

I tried a LOT of flats over the past year, all types of Ernie Ball, Labella, TI's, GHS, Dunlop, D'addario, DR's, Fender, about the only ones I haven't tried in the past year is Rotosound. But in all fairness I used them for years prior so I know them well.

Lately I think I'm sold on Dogal Jaco Flat Carbon Steel JC106C 45-105's, they have a round core and easy on the fingers. Comparable to Labella's LTF's but a little brighter, which is hind sight thats what I really wanted but took the long way of getting there lol. Granted there the same price as TI's which I would still use but I play drop "D" and it just get's to floppy for my taste where as the Dogals do not.

I "think" I'm done string hopping...well I better be because at $74 a set x4 basses...do the math.

On a side note the Dogal R44 Traditional Vintage Flat 42-100's absolutely thump hard, but I'm not sure if there worth the extra $30 over Labella DTF's, but I do think there not as stiff as the Labella DTF's. Which could be worth the extra $$.

Just my 2 cents and my experience. Hope y'all found your ride or die strings, as a flatwounder for life it aint cheap, but once you do find "your" flats its a set and forget it as they imo just get better with age. Cheer's!
 
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#2,876
torkamata said:
I really like the tone of Fender Flats, there so under rated in my opinion.

I tried a LOT of flats over the past year, all types of Ernie Ball, Labella, TI's, GHS, Dunlop, D'addario, DR's, Fender, about the only ones I haven't tried in the past year is Rotosound. But in all fairness I used them for years prior so I know them well.

Lately I think I'm sold on Dogal Jaco Flat Carbon Steel JC106C 45-105's, they have a round core and easy on the fingers. Comparable to Labella's LTF's but a little brighter, which is hind sight thats what I really wanted but took the long way of getting there lol. Granted there the same price as TI's which I would still use but I play drop "D" and it just get's to floppy for my taste where as the Dogals do not.

I "think" I'm done string hopping...well I better be because at $74 a set x4 basses...do the math.

On a side note the Dogal R44 Traditional Vintage Flat 42-100's absolutely thump hard, but I'm not sure if there worth the extra $30 over Labella DTF's, but I do think there not as stiff as the Labella DTF's. Which could be worth the extra $$.

Just my 2 cents and my experience. Hope y'all found your ride or die strings, as a flatwounder for life it aint cheap, but once you do find "your" flats its a set and forget it as they imo just get better with age. Cheer's!
Click to expand...

Sadowski flats sound fabulous on a Precision. Very expensive but unmatched in my experience...
 

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