What Strings Funk?

[Stan_da_man]

I'm after a set of light gauge strings for my Jazz bass. Think funk, jazz fusion, hints of rock.

Probably looking at rounds so no flats please.

What would give me brightness, punchy tones and a smooth feel?

 

[Pier_]

GHS Boomers light, code L3045, like Larry Graham

they are light (40-55-75-95) but tight, smooth on the surface, with a lot of bottom punch in the low-mids, and on a Jazz Bass they stay bright enough even after some time.

as with every string which is not coated, be sure to wash your hands before playing, wipe them after if you sweat, and don't leave the bass in rooms prone to cover it with dust.

I use GHS on my Stingray, and they compensate the low-mid scoop of this instrument with lot of punch. on bright basses they are great.

I think that you are not looking for a "chainsaw" brightness, from the music you mention, you need the bottom punch of the low-mids with some spark.

try them and let me know

 

[Stan_da_man]

I wouldn't say Boomers are bright?

 

[r_bnks]

 

[James Formosa]

I love the Dunlop Super Bright 40/100 set for my Jazz Bass, very light and snappy.
Tried lots of strings and keep coming back to these.

 

[Pier_]

I wouldn't say Boomers are bright?

it all depends on what you consider "bright". the term "brightness" is used in many different ways and understood in different ways, because we never speak in terms of frequencies.

let me explain:

we start to talk about "brightness" up from 300/700hz, where we start to enter the "hi-mid" range, the one that gives the "snap" to the overall sound (think about the nasal middy sound of Jaco), "clearing" the notes, giving you more separation between them.

the higher you go in terms of frequencies, the more you reach the metallic sounds, up to the "chainsaw" rasp, like, for example, the Stingray sound of Tim Commerford in the first RATM album.

some consider "bright" a string with lot of snap on the hi-mids, because the sound is clearer, and some consider bright a string with lots of metallic sound.

also, the lack of other frequencies makes them appear brighter, for example when you have less low-mids, the hi-mids and highs step out more.

Boomers are not "metallic", but they are, in the overall sound, bright and well defined, keeping also great low-mids to meat up the sound.

I'll add another thing always forgot: there are frequencies that we only hear playing alone, but are useless when playing with other instruments, because they get lost.
having too much highs is beautiful when you play at home, alone in your room, but in the exact moment the drum or guitar enter, you don't hear them anymore, and only hear the center frequencies of the bass (200-1000hz appoximately).
too much bass frequencies go with the bass drum and toms, the highs with the cymbals, so in the mix you wont really hear them, and if you lack in the "mid" your instrument gets lost.

a well defined, middy bass sound is "brighter" and can be heard more than a metallic scooped sound, which sounds brighter alone, but too bassy and lost in the mix.

a Precision is less bright than a Jazz because of the hi-mids, not the highs, and the Jazz is brighter because, using both pickups a slight low-mid scoop is engaged.

a Stingray is brighter because it's centered on the hi-mids, lacking the low-mids and giving it the "pointy" sound.
if you put some GHS on a Stingray, it's still bright, but gets some "meat" on the low mids, making it sound fuller.

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they are anything but "smooth" on the surface I love Rotosound, but wont suggest them to anybody searching for "smooth surfaced" strings.

 

[r_bnks]

they are anything but "smooth" on the surface I love Rotosound, but wont suggest them to anybody searching for "smooth surfaced" strings.

I totally missed that he's looking for smooth strings.
Anyway, after using them exclusively for more than 17 years, they feel smooth to me.

But it might be the Rotos destroying my nerves in my fingers.

 

[Stan_da_man]

Roto Nickels feel no rougher than any other round in that price range, Slinkys, XLs, etc.

 

[Pier_]

But it might be the Rotos destroying my nerves in my fingers.

I totally agree, my main strings are always Roto 66, both 43-110 and 30-90, depending on the instrument.
but some like the Stingray work best with GHS.

Roto Nickels feel no rougher than any other round in that price range, Slinkys, XLs, etc.

GHS are a bit smoother on the surface, the winding is narrower and they have a softer nickel alloy. give them a try.
whatever string set you buy, you'll have to change it at some point, so... I never spend too much time thinking about them, I just buy a set and try it until it dies, unless it's really awful (FE: I tried the Ibanez strings for a 6-string bass, and they were the cheaper and awful strings I've ever had... remove after few minutes trying to intonate them).

 

[Stan_da_man]

I've tried every string going. From my experience Boomers are smooth but not bright. They are not what I require.

From memory, the strings that fill my criteria are: XLs, Foundations, Pure Blues and possibly La Bella RX. Super Brights are too clanky in my experience and choke easily.

I was trying to find out if there are any other options that are new on the market.

 

[Rib 13]

More important than the string is string life.....I can get bright punchy Marcus Miller-ish piano wire tone on almost any roundwound string as long as they are new. I can even get this on pressurewounds and certain flatwounds but they have to be brand spanking new.....for me, broken in strings are too old and off they go

All this said, I do have a favorite: GHS Boomers rounds seem the most articulate for me from low to high and they have a slower dying rate than most. Elixirs brightness last a very long time but I do not like the way they feel

Edit: just saw your post above. To me Boomers, like almost any brand new string, are bright. As stated, your issue may not be string brand but how new you want to keep them. I wrestled with this dilemma decades ago and resolved that I'm just going to have to spend money changing strings a lot, or boil if necessary, to get the tone(s) I like.......the bottomline for me is that brightness can be dialed back but it can't be dialed forward on broken in or dead strings. Good luck

 

[InhumanResource]

I'm after a set of light gauge strings for my Jazz bass. Think funk, jazz fusion, hints of rock.

Probably looking at rounds so no flats please.

What would give me brightness, punchy tones and a smooth feel?

What kind of fusion? Return to forever? Nice rounds and a preamp.

Mahavishnu? 30 year old rounds wrapped in a moving blanket and lots of eucerin hand cream.

 

[hasbeen]

DR Sunbeams are my go-to.

 

[Pirate Captain]

folx...

 

[Stan_da_man]

DR Sunbeams are my go-to.

Hard to get in the UK, but definitely an option.

folx...

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No to any DR coated string. Carpet burn is real.

 

[Gervais Cote]

My favorite ones for what you describe are the Dunlop Marcus Miller stainless steel rounds super bright.
Very funky on slapping but rumbling a lot on low notes played finger style when you want to rock.
They literally woke up my cheap Squier Affinity jazz bass when I installed them.
And when I play Blue jeans from David Bowie with my buddies, they really cut in the mix.
They are low tension though so might not please everyone.

 

[Pier_]

I was trying to find out if there are any other options that are new on the market.

well, if you wrote this in your first post, we would have gave you different answers

only saying "smooth and funk" opens up for 50% of the market, considering "stainless steel" the other 50%

From memory, the strings that fill my criteria are: XLs, Foundations, Pure Blues and possibly La Bella RX. Super Brights are too clanky in my experience and choke easily.

Ernie Balls? or you might just want coated strings like Elixir... most nickels are almost identical, except a few, and will age more than stainless and sound muddy in less time.

if you want strings that "last", buy coated, there's no magic in any string, the longevity depends only on body chemistry and maintenance.

FE: many people say that the DR strings last long, but every set of Hi Beam or Lo Rider I've ever used lasted one gig, and then sounded more then dead.
Ernie Ball or GHS, not considered long lasting, to me can stay on a bass for months and months, still sounding bright enough and punchy.

 

[Stan_da_man]

Reverse for me. DRs can last six months before I switch them out.

 

[tindrum]

I wouldn't say Boomers are bright?

Not even a little. Easily the darkest rounds I’ve ever played.

 

[Pier_]

well, here's a sample of new GHS Boomers, 40-95 gauge on a Fender Precision Classic 50, with a pick:

Dropbox - Macho Man - Precision Classic 50 - GHS L3045 (nuove).mp3 - Simplify your life

they are fat, meaty, not "brittle"