Me again—I know I'm all over the place, but that's what research is about, right? Also, count yourself lucky this isn't yet another thread about flat wounds where 3/4 of the responses are "TI Jazz flats" and the other quarter is "TI Jazz flats feel like spaghetti."
Anyway,
I've come to a few conclusions over the weeks I've been researching new strings for my bass:
In my ongoing research, I've contacted six manufacturers. One didn't respond, one was downright arrogant, two offered great service and two went above and beyond. D'Addario is one that went above and beyond. On top of that, they have a foundation, a string-recycling program and a reward program. What's not to like?
So, I want to give D'Addario rounds a try, but I'm not sure which set to try: The XL, the NYXL or the XT. Based on their "Tone Scale," I think I'd prefer the XL and XT, but I've never tried coated strings. The reviews I've read about the XT don't seem too favourable, though it seems like a lot of people were comparing them to Elixir strings, which others said wasn't exactly accurate. On the other hand, the NYXL seem to get a lot of praise, and they're currently on sale for the same price as the XL.
I mainly play pop, R&B/neo-soul, funk and follow along jazz method books. I've tried D'Addario String Finder, but I always get "Half Rounds."
Anyway,
I've come to a few conclusions over the weeks I've been researching new strings for my bass:
- The initial brightness of nickel rounds is what drew me to look into ground and roller wounds, but after the initial brightness died, nickel rounds actually sound decent;
- There is some truth to the idea that you can remove what's there, but you can't add what isn't—i.e. you can get nickel rounds to approximate flat or warmer tones by reducing the tone and treble controls and/or palm muting, but you can't make flats sound like rounds.
In my ongoing research, I've contacted six manufacturers. One didn't respond, one was downright arrogant, two offered great service and two went above and beyond. D'Addario is one that went above and beyond. On top of that, they have a foundation, a string-recycling program and a reward program. What's not to like?
So, I want to give D'Addario rounds a try, but I'm not sure which set to try: The XL, the NYXL or the XT. Based on their "Tone Scale," I think I'd prefer the XL and XT, but I've never tried coated strings. The reviews I've read about the XT don't seem too favourable, though it seems like a lot of people were comparing them to Elixir strings, which others said wasn't exactly accurate. On the other hand, the NYXL seem to get a lot of praise, and they're currently on sale for the same price as the XL.
I mainly play pop, R&B/neo-soul, funk and follow along jazz method books. I've tried D'Addario String Finder, but I always get "Half Rounds."
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You know, I'm starting to think rounds are not that bad after all. But I'll be making a deposit soon to have a luthier build me a vintage-inspired Mustang with a modern neck and "meatier" pick up that I plan to string with… well, I can't make up my mind on that either, but definitely D'Addario Tapes or La Bella DTF. Or maybe Chromes for the above reasons.
