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What's your favorite Roundwound?
- Thread starter Bassworship1
- Start date
My favorite roundwound is EBMM Cobalt Flats(aka Slinky Flats)
Also enjoyed Markbass Ultimate Soft Touch
Also enjoyed Markbass Ultimate Soft Touch
DR Lo-Rider Nickel 45-125 are my favourites, for sure.
However, I usually buy Ernie Ball Slinky 45-130 because they're like 1/3 the price here, and they still sound and feel good. I'd rather use strings that don't cause me to postpone changing them for ages becayse new ones are so expensive.
However, I usually buy Ernie Ball Slinky 45-130 because they're like 1/3 the price here, and they still sound and feel good. I'd rather use strings that don't cause me to postpone changing them for ages becayse new ones are so expensive.
Since I posted this, there have been considerable changes in the strings my basses wear. Now, with one exception? All of my basses wear flats or tapes. I started out playing bass with flats, and TBH, they've always sounded best for the music I like to play. And, the results of nerve damage and frostbite in my youth, have caught up with me. I just can't play round wounds for more than a few minutes, any more. It's simply too painful... So, while EB Slinkys and GHS Bass Boomers were my favorite rounds, I don't use them anymore. I pretty much know which flats - or tapes - I'd wind up with on a new bass (and there have been a LOT of them since 2017), so I just skip right to those. I've hardly ever made a wrong choice, either. And when I have? It was for reasons other than the tone...First off, I'm not a big fan of rounds. For what I like to play, flats - or tapes - usually work much better. But, I do have rounds on some basses. So, my favorite rounds?
- EB Hybrid Slinkys. Any new-to-me 34" scale bass gets these as soon as the function check is done. They're cheap, consistent in quality and tone,and I like the feel. Sometimes they give me just the sound I want; so, there they stay. If they don't, then I move on, tone-wise. They don't sound like anything special, but sometimes that generic bass "thump" is just what I want...
- GHS Bass Boomers; the short scale ones. My Kramer Duke Deluxe had these on it when I got it - I love them. With these, and the Duke's weird Dimarzio "Twin-J" pickup, I get the smoothest Jazz Bass tone I've ever heard; or I can split the pickup into P-Bass mode, and it will rock your socks off. The Duke won't ever wear anything else...
- DR Sunbeams; short scale again. I have these on a Warmoth Mini-P. I'm kind of... undecided... about them. They don't sound bad; I rather like the tone, actually. But, to me, they feel like I'm playing a cheese grater; which I don't like. I haven't ruled them out completely, but... I'm going to try some La Bella or GHS Precision flats on that bass real soon. So, I'm not throwing the DRs away, but...we'll see....
- The Bass Boomers? The ones on my Kramer Duke were really old. They died - as in, would not intonate any more, or stay in tune - shortly after the original post. I did have to try some different flats to replace them, but only because I wanted to replicate the Boomer's tone. Turned out, DR Legends did the trick. My ears are happy; my fingers are ecstatic...
- DR Sunbeams. It was painful, but... I played them until they died. Which, fortunately for my fingers, they did, quicker than I expected. I replaced them with La Bella 760FS's; all is well...
Currently? Out of 30 basses, only one wears rounds. After trying goodness knows how many strings - of all kinds - all of which either sounded like a baritone guitar, or a hippo fart in deep mud? My '93 Gretsch Broadkaster wound up wearing TIJR324 Jazz Rounds. They sound... well, brighter than I'd really prefer a big hollow-body bass to sound, but... it does sound like a bass. And the Jazz Rounds are remarkably smooth - for rounds. So, I can play the thing for... well, long enough to make it worthwhile, anyway. Don't plan on putting them on any other bass, though...
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Dunlop Super Bright Stainless Steel on my 4-strings
DR High Beams or DR Dragonskins Stainless Steel on my 5-strings
DR High Beams or DR Dragonskins Stainless Steel on my 5-strings
GHS Progressives!
But those no longer exist. I tend to gravitate now toward Rotosound 66. Sonically, I could pretty much toss a coin between Rotosound 66 and UltraMag (not that they sound identical, but I think both sound equally good), however, I do appreciate the wider selection of gauges on 66 ... and the silk ends.
But those no longer exist. I tend to gravitate now toward Rotosound 66. Sonically, I could pretty much toss a coin between Rotosound 66 and UltraMag (not that they sound identical, but I think both sound equally good), however, I do appreciate the wider selection of gauges on 66 ... and the silk ends.
D'Ad XL's (though I am becoming pretty fond of hometown STRINGJOY stainless wounds: Don't feel gritty, don't sound like a clavinet)
Hey I know these have been out for a bit but what is your overall impression of the tone you're getting?
I'm not usually a SS guy, they often feel gritty and the tone a little too clanky (I've used nickel XL's forever), but the Stringjoys are bright but not raspy. The real surprise was unlike most SS strings I've tried, these feel smooth to the touch, though a slightly different feel from nickels.
I honestly tried them on a lark as they're made just across town from me here in Nashville. The usual 45-135 set. Don't know if I'll buy them again (more expensive), but satisfied they're well made and lasting as well as anything else. Feel and tension-wise they feel typical for these sizes, not real loose or real tight.
I'll probably not be as happy with them. I do like steels and I want strings that can get loud and aggressive for me but also have a well rounded mid section. I'm not after the. extreme brightness but I do like lots of hi and low mids detail that I can blend with the lows to fill out the tones I like. However being on the smoother side sounds pretty nice. I'm used to more grab and crunch but I'm not set in my ways at all. I try new strings all the time.
The rabbit hole is larger than Alice's wonderland. I've tried at least a dozen different strings or more.
