Which strings would be a good match for my bass

[GTHintz]

Ah you beat me to the Rotosounds suggestion!
Good luck on your tone quest!
Brent

Rotos were my first strings. I played them for years. If I need a string I'm usually thinking of them. If the sadowski strings don't work I'll probably hit up Rotosound strings. I'm crazy that I have a couple stand by brands but I'm always looking to explore new ones.

 

[GTHintz]

I find Warwick's black label strings to compart their basses nicely, especially in the hi-mid department. but the only time I played a 5-string set, low B seemed like big to me, this may be your thing or not.

That has been in the back of my mind as well.

 

[GTHintz]

So I played a little bit with the Dr high beams still on. And then I put the old set of Ken Smith Rockmasters back on. Even being well played and sitting in the string pile for a while I'm still getting a better sound. The attack is more direct and it's still got the big bottom end that this bass had but it made everything sound tight again. I know they are dead and it's only a short time of playing before they need to come back off but the fundamental is where I want this bass to be. It ads a sense of accuracy and attack to the growl and heavy bottom.

 

[P Cheen]

Rotos were my first strings. I played them for years. If I need a string I'm usually thinking of them. If the sadowski strings don't work I'll probably hit up Rotosound strings. I'm crazy that I have a couple stand by brands but I'm always looking to explore new ones.

Did you get a 4 or 5 string set of Sadowskys? Also is it nickel or SS? If it doesn't work out I can buy it from you.

 

[GTHintz]

They are 5 string and stainless blue labels. I usually cut them fairly long so if worst case scenario I hate thier guts I'll definitely let you know. I'll throw in the high beams I have too. They are about 2 weeks old and just settled in.

 

[GTHintz]

one thing is that I like the purple silks on the black headstock. I wish all strings had silk wrap.

 

[GTHintz]

Another update. I have the sadowski strings in hand now. As soon as I get them strung I'll have another update on the tone I hear from them. So I still have the Smiths on and was playing them this evening and gathering my thoughts on why they sound so good with this bass. Even well used it's got a great tone. From the high beams that were all boomy lows and high end that didn't seem to have a defined middle anywhere. They have a good low end fundimental and are going to be great for a more vintage and reggae or less edgy vibe. it's cool but not my thing especially when this bass has such a boomy full tone already. The Smiths I noticed they take all that low and low mid and they make it really punchy and articulate and you have the trademark growl but it's like now it's got focused attack. The tone I'm getting is best described as kinda like a fatter version of the signature thumb bass tone. It's funny how those strings give me more of a thumb bass tone than the high beams when I think about thumb bass I think of Mudvayne and Ryan Martinie and those are his strings. Anyway what I noticed is that I definitely am doing better with tighter sounding strings and more grab and hex core cleans up the bottom end and gives it a better definition. Less boomy and more tight growl when I'm playing. For anyone else going through tone searches I hope this has been helpful. I know the other comments on this thread have been great!

 

[GTHintz]

I got them strung up and I've put some time on them now. So Sadowski blue labels, the hex core is definitely nice. The blue silk looks cool. The strings are not so grabby and don't feel very harsh. Tension is actually a bit stiffer than I was expecting but it's gotta be the hex core. I noticed how they set up very fast and accurately and held in tune quickly without having to stretch or fuss around. Tonally I noticed it was bassy and not very trebly compared to other stainless rounds. To my surprise after some play time instead of getting fatter and more mid presence like many strings it actually got more mid and high mid and overall sounds pretty focusedm the b string was what stood out to me because the frequency where this string shines is in the low range and the tension and tone are great. So if you want a low to low mid heavy string that has similar qualities to nickel in tone and low to lower medium tension these strings are for you. I'm getting a great rock and heavy tone on my set up. Not sure if this is my favorite strings for this bass in particular but I'm happy with everything about them and I see why they have their fans.

 

[GTHintz]

 

[P Cheen]

Glad you like the Sadowsky Blue Labels! And I guess you described them a lot better than I did!

 

[GTHintz]

Glad you like the Sadowsky Blue Labels! And I guess you described them a lot better than I did!

You have great taste. These strings are reminding me of the tone I used to like with Rotosound swing bass strings. It's pretty fat. I'd say a bit different but in some ways the fundamental is close. I noticed that I got a little more bite and grab from Rotosound but it's to be expected. I wish these strings had a double ball version because they would sound killer on my hohner headless b2a. (Steinberger style) after these things get worn down I'm curious to see how the black label stacks up. Have you tried them before? (Black labels)

 

[Medbo_BassBoy]

I am enjoying dull rotosound swing bass 66s on my corvette std. Not sure if those come in 5-string packs.

I am having trouble getting a good tone out of my jazz bass. I tried rotosound flats and D'addario nicklewound XL and was not happy. Went back to rotosound swing bass 66 strings on that but IMO need to dull them down before they sound right to me.

 

[GTHintz]

I am enjoying dull rotosound swing bass 66s on my corvette std. Not sure if those come in 5-string packs.

I am having trouble getting a good tone out of my jazz bass. I tried rotosound flats and D'addario nicklewound XL and was not happy. Went back to rotosound swing bass 66 strings on that but IMO need to dull them down before they sound right to me.
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The bass is awesome and so is the rig you're playing through! I definitely was able to wear out rotos to the point where they start getting flat spots where the frets dig in. That's how good the tone was for me. But this was on something else. I've used them on a Rickenbacker and a couple other basses too.

 

[GTHintz]

Bumping my old thread here. I'm trying out a set of stainless Dean Markley Blue Steel. My expectations have been exceeded which is a pleasant surprise. I like the feel and it's doing what I needed for this bass. It's sounding tight and punch filled and I like the attack of these strings. We'll see how cryo treated strings last but as of a few days in I'm liking what I'm hearing.