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what strings did you use when you first started playing?

#101
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These
 
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#102
The 1965 Japanese "Topline"(actual brand name) bass (P-clone somewhat) my Dad got me had metal strings(flats). I changed them out to black nylon tapewound as they felt better on newbie hands and were "all the rage" sound-wise at the time. What did I know, I was only 10 years old!?!
 
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#103
Microbass said:
Roto Swings, I always hated them but they were cheap. Then switched to Slinkys but felt they died out really quickly. Then I discovered Slowounds. I maintain to this day these are the best strings I've ever had. Tried Dean Markleys but didn't love them. Once Slowounds were gone and I'd exhausted all my sets, I switched to DR Loriders which were brilliant. I
Currently I'm using D'Addario NYXL and love them.
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Why would you hate the Rotos if you were a beginner and didn't know what other strings were like?
 
#105
Fender flats. That shows you how long ago it was for me!
But the first strings I remember saying "Hey - I dig these strings" was GHS Boomers. Didn't last for squat, but the sound very cool when fresh. I had more guitar player roll their eyes at me when I'd play with those strings (this was the '70s, you know)
 
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#107
Double E said:
One of the many strings I tried stands out among the standard fare of Roto 66's, GHS Bass Boomers and Chromes. That one was a set that was made with Copper wraps, round wounds. I think they were made by D'addario but I don't really remember. They made my fingers green and made my Peavey T-40 reek like a sack of pennies.
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That was the original D'Addario Reds copperwound set! :woot: One of my all time favorite strings (they sounded phenomenal on a Ripper) but sadly they've long been discontinued. Never ran inot the corrosion issues many complained about when usingthem. I guess I either don't perspire much or what there was of it wasn't acidic enough to react with the metal. The new D'Addario XL Reds are copper coated. And it's basically cosmetic. Tried em' and pulled and tossed them less than three hours after I put them on. The coating was already flaking.

I understand those have since been discontinued as well. If so, no loss.

However, hope springs eternal. BSO relayed info that LaBella is releasing a phosphor-bronze flat set that looks promising. They're due out after NAMM in January.
 
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#108
a lot of folks have brought up boomers. i used them for a couple years - really liked the way they sounded, but they seemed to wear my frets faster than other strings. so did carvin bass strings, but the advantage there is that my buddy gave me his employee discount and they were very similar to boomers but i paid just a couple bucks a set.
 
#109
40Hz said:
That was the original D'Addario Reds copperwound set! :woot: One of my all time favorite strings (they sounded phenomenal on a Ripper) but sadly they've long been discontinued. The new XL Reds they do now are copper coated. And it's basically cosmetic.

However, hope springs eternal. BSO relayed info that LaBella is releasing a phosphor-bronze flat set that looks promising. They're due out after NAMM in January.
Click to expand...
If you used Reds now, more than likely, returning from the break you'd find them clipped and already sold to a recycler, lol!
 
#110
Not sure what they were called but they were Rotos as endorsed by John Entwistle back in about 1970.

They came in a plastic Tupperware type box (do you have those in the USA) about 4" x 4" x 1". I still have it somewhere but the strings are long gone.
 
#111
Pops OB said:
If you used Reds now, more than likely, returning from the break you'd find them clipped and already sold to a recycler, lol!
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LOL! Considering some places the band I was in played when I used those old reds, I'm surprised it didn't happen. Those were some funky dives...

Fortunately we had a couple of very large and militant fans that used to tag along with us. We'd get them in for free and buy them a couple of rounds. We're talking pro linebacker size. One was known by the nickname "The Yeti." If they knew you, all was well. If they didn't know you, they didn't want to know you. They were our ad hoc security detail.

Those were the days! (Not.) :nailbiting:
 
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