• 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 strings did you use when you first started playing?

#41
Here are the copper strings I used... I believe these were the first strings I bought to replace whatever stock strings came on my first bass. They sounded great for about two days, then...dead.

upload_2016-12-9_11-14-9.png


This was way before fancy coated strings. I believe they have a version of these now with a coating which are probably an improvement.

upload_2016-12-9_11-16-32.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: Maiden Bass
#42
The ones it came with (some kind of anonymous Cort P/J thing). Then later, some other ones they gave me when I went to the sore and said "I need new strings". Sometimes, multiple kinds on the same bass! You see, I only changed the strings when one broke, and I didn't really care that much because I was 14 and had no money.
 
#43
whatever was stock round wounds on a Yamaha RBX270 (my 1st bass)......switched to Daddario 1/2 rounds...... 2nd bass is a used MIM Jazz with some unknown roundwounds......put Fender flats on it ....great!......switched to GHS flats, also great
......3rd bass Sterling SUB4 stock strings were some really rough round wounds, put Daddario 1/2 rounds on it.......then switch to previous Fender flats....

....put a set of Daddario black tapewounds on a friends MIJ p-bass.... marvelous!........now I want the same for my black SUB4.....
 
Last edited:
#45
Double E said:
Here are the copper strings I used... I believe these were the first strings I bought to replace whatever stock strings came on my first bass. They sounded great for about two days, then...dead.

View attachment 1005417

This was way before fancy coated strings. I believe they have a version of these now with a coating which are probably an improvement.

View attachment 1005418
Click to expand...

I thought the old ones were great and used them a lot back in the day. However when I tried the new ones I thought they were terrible and dead sounding.
Maybe I got a bad set?
 
#46
back in 1973 ... my dad got me a 1969 Hagstrom 8 string ( $125 )

it came with strings on it ... i Used them ... !!

honestly , i think they were flats ... didn't hear of Rounds for a few years .. ! ha

also didn't know it was a 30 " scale ... scale ..? yeh , i play those on the piano .. !

i never changed my piano strings .. ?? never broke those either ...


guess my answer is/was ... i didn't worry about strings , specs , parts , etc ... i just practiced and played ...

ahhhh ... the 70's
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pops OB
#47
I honestly can't say what my first strings were...they were whatever came with my first bass in 1982-a second-hand Kay precision copy.
About five months in, I broke the g string while tuning the damn thing, nearly losing an eye in the process!
All the nearest music store had was Rotosound 66s so that's what I got.
A couple of years later I discovered there were in fact other strings out there ... changed to Fender flats and stayed with them until TalkBass led me to LaBellas.
Right now I am eagerly awaiting @SLaPiNFuNK 's little minions sending me on some Gold White Nylons.
 
#49
The strings that came with that bass. I knew so little then that the kind of strings on that bass was not even a question I would have thought to ask. The topic of string choice is very, very, very subjective. I just say I never met a new string I didn't like. Believe it or not I have a set of Musicians Gear Roundwounds on my Geddy Lee and after I cleaned them they actually sound pretty good. My current choice is Dunlop Super Bright SS as I tend to Slap a lot.
 
#51
La Bella strings. Back in the 60's, it was the only brand that I knew existed because that's all they carried in the little Mom and Pop music store in my Chicago neighborhood. In the 70's I discovered Rotosound Swing 66 strings and stayed with them for awhile. Now I use GHS Pressure Wound.
 
#54
Yep, me too. RS66's were easy to find and not expensive. Even tried the boiling thing several times to save dough.
If only someone would have warned me about what they were going to do to my frets...
 
#55
Ernie Balls. They were pretty cheap and sometimes they came with stickers and posters.

After discovering talkbass, I've used Flexsteels, Cobalt rounds, GHS 52's, Lo-Riders, chromes, Roundcore Boomers, and Superbrights.

I currently have RC boomers and Superbrights strung up. I like both of them for a little different reason. The GHS strings are a little more taut, and they work well for Eb. They also are a little more lo-mid forward so they sound a little more controlled. I could probably use the medium Superbrights for this, I just haven't gotten around to trying it.

Dunlop Superbrights (nickel) are my current favorite strings. Nice loose feel, but hard, push the grind frequencies, etc.

I changed them because TB commmded it until I found something I like. Now I have 2 extra sets of each for when string change day happens again.
 
#56
I also started in the '60s. I've always used flats but the brand was "Whatever the Small Local Music Store Stocked".

This was before Internet mail order and GC, so brand choice was very narrow - usually take it or leave it. If I had two to choose from I was amazed.
 
#59
The flats that came with my first bass in the 60s. No idea who manufactured them. Over the years I've tried them all, but I still hold a special affinity for flats. TI JF 344s, 345s.
 
#60
i used dean markley blue steal for 20 years. they are super bright and seem to last a long time. then a new bass came with elixir nano web coated strings. i never looked back. now only coated strings for me. i recently got some rotosound nexus strings which i am digging. i can't even deal with how rough the blue steals are anymore. you lose a lot of string squeak with the coated strings to.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back