What kind of strings do you use?

[Paul LF]

I use Rotosound Swingbass 66 standard one.

I bought a pair of La Bella flats one time. I have no idea how some of the people here on this site can play fast with these style of strings, they SOUND AMAZING, But feels like im playing with smooth steel cables. So freaking thick. I had to take them out.

I hate how Roundwound strings get so stinky. How long do they actually last you guys? I have had mine on for about 5 months... I don't really notice the strings going "dead" yet, or at least my ear can't tell the difference

I'm probably not the best person to ask about that since I've been guilty of leaving strings on an instrument for 5 years. I'm a lot better these days, though.

I find with the flats, especially the Rotosounds, if you use a lighter gauge with those, it's a lot easier and more flexability. I know what you mean about the cable feeling.

 

[tedious1]

Currently have Fender 7250 Nickels on my Squire and EB Cobalts on my Blue Rock. After tonight's show, the Blue Rock get's the Sfarzo Nickelanium and the Squire gets Ken Smith Burners, the nickel rounds. Also some love for the Roto nickels, moreso on the Squire than the Blue Rock...

 

[jdb72]

Ernie balls and nothing else!!!

 

[bking0217]

Fender 7250M. My old go-to.

 

[Hugh_R]

Sadowsky stainless steel. Have also tried Overwaters which were good and La Bella but Sadowsky strings on a Sadowsky bass works like magic for me!

 

[cazclocker]

Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats on my P-bass.

 

[Bluebard]

I just switched from pressurewounds to Dunlop Nickel Super Brights for a brighter sound... and boy, the Super Brights are amazing! Really dynamic, bright, and zingy strings with lots of punch and versatility. And Dunlop has great customer service - when I accidentally cut one of my strings too short and emailed them asking them if I could purchase an individual string as replacement, they sent a new package free of charge! Great buy, highly recommended.

 

[drummer5359]

Eight of my eleven basses are currently wearing Fender flat wound strings. I love the sound and the feel. I still have round wounds on my Stingray, my Rickenbacker and one of my Precisions.

 

[Marihino]

For the first couple of years of my playing (mid 90s) I was using Dean Markley Bass Blasters - not sure if they're even being made anymore; great nickel rounds sold in packs of two sets for the price of one set of anything else. Then I switched to Rotosound Swing 66 when I bought a cheap Peavey bass and it had them put on by the shop. The Peavey got defretted pretty quickly and I never changed those strings; I sold the bass after owning it for 9 years with the stock Rotos on. I was using them on other basses too though, and changing more often (3 to 4 times a year). About 3 years ago I switched to D'Addario, mostly steels and occasionaly nickels. Had short stints with nickel Rotos, black label Warwicks, various DRs etc over the years too. Now very curious of the Dunlop Super Brights, have a Marcus signature set waiting for their turn, as well as sample packs of Elixirs.
Ah, I've also got Roto "Piano Design" on a fretless I bought recently, very interesting strings - exposed core and user-installed ball ends to allow for length adjustment of the exposed part. And they sound awesome, very clear and bell- or indeed piano-like. Perhaps wasted on a fretless...

 

[beaglesandbass]

D'addario halfrounds on my 4 and 5 string basses.

 

[Kenova]

I've decided to go full flats after all and my weapon of choice are Rotosound Steve Harris signature flats

 

[asahisuperdry]

Light gauge nickel round wounds, usually .45 to .100 D'Addarios.

 

[Cnds52]

Hi,
I have an Acoustic Bass, Fender CB-100 CE.
I play portuguese traditional music, with a little modern touch.

I bought the D'Addario EXPPBB170 Strings. That looks good to me. Have I made a good choice?

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Thank you!

 

[aquabass]

I have D'Addario FlexSteels on my Fender Jaguar, that seem to take some time breaking in, but once they do, sound great. On My modded P-Bass I have Labella black nylon tapes... wonderful strings!

 

[SheaSolo]

Rottosounds FTW. hard to find sometimes so mostly Elixirs, cause I'm a Taylor guy so by default I'm an Elixir guy

 

[twinjet]

My J-bass sports steel round Ernie Ball strings. Gives me that signature Fender tone I have always sought in a jazz bass.

 

[ThreadJack]

I use DR Hi-Def NEON 45-105 on my Squire VM Jazz Bass. I love the way the green ones look on the vintage sunburst and tortoise shell pickguard. Looks sick! I don't know much about the tone, other than they're way better than the crappy ones the bass shipped from the factory with. They've lasted a year and still going strong.

My ESP LTD has Ernie Ball Slinky 45-105's on it. Again, better than the crappy factory strings. I actually should probably change them, since they've been on there a couple years now, maybe even 3. But then I don't really play this bass, cause I don't like it(too many knobs, why too complicated for me). I'd like to put a set of the DR's on it, but having trouble deciding what color would look good on a red bass...

 

[Dan B]

DR High Beams; they give great clarity and bite without sacrificing any low end, which is great especially since I normally play with a pick. DR Black Beauties are also nice; I love the feel and they last quite a long while, but I've been sticking to High Beams when I use DRs.

D'Addario also makes some good steel strings, and if I can't find any DRs I'll go for those.

I've tried Rotosound 66s and Dean Markley Blue Steels, but in the case of the Rotosounds they don't last as long as the High Beams (they go dead quicker) and in the case of the Blue Steels they didn't have the bite that DRs had.

EDIT: I just remembered I used GHS Bass Boomers at one point. They felt really good, but I've decided I prefer steel over nickel.

 

[alexander_gbass]

all my strings are dunlop super bright stainless steel or nickel.. but my esp b 208 8 string has ghs customs on there

 

[Big Hoss]

Nickel rounds sound right to my ear, I prefer a medium / light, specifically D'Addario EXL170. I get great life out of them, they intonate without any hassle, play and sound perfect. I get a smokin' deal on them from basstringsonline.com so what's not to love?