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Why are D'addario XL strings so popular?

minimalist freedom

minimalist freedom

Mar 10, 2018
439
495
Adelaide, Australia
#1
I just put some on after a few years of not using (replacing a set of chromes) on a aria p bass and they are ok but lack the body of the chromes , that I have on 3 other basses.
Thought I needed a set of round-wounds because that's what you do!
Allow me a wine analogy - It's like comparing a Shiraz to a blend (any blend will do)
I am not a cork sniffer! But the difference between chromes or flat-wounds is chalk and cheese
Subjectivity has so much to answer, if xl,s are the to go round-wound the other round-wounds must be like a Pinot noir or even a rose, lacking even more body and sustenance.
Tell me I,m wrong! Tell me why. don't tell me it's fit for purpose, it's subjective, it's a slappers thing, it's a modern thing, versatility, etc, bore me if you must, I know there is no comparison, , horses for courses and all that jabber, but surely flats (not having tried anything but chromes) must be the connoisseurs choice. sorry the serious bassists choice.
 
#3
minimalist freedom said:
I just put some on after a few years of not using (replacing a set of chromes) on a aria p bass and they are ok but lack the body of the chromes , that I have on 3 other basses.
Thought I needed a set of round-wounds because that's what you do!
Allow me a wine analogy - It's like comparing a Shiraz to a blend (any blend will do)
I am not a cork sniffer! But the difference between chromes or flat-wounds is chalk and cheese
Subjectivity has so much to answer, if xl,s are the to go round-wound the other round-wounds must be like a Pinot noir or even a rose, lacking even more body and sustenance.
Tell me I,m wrong! Tell me why. don't tell me it's fit for purpose, it's subjective, it's a slappers thing, it's a modern thing, versatility, etc, bore me if you must, I know there is no comparison, , horses for courses and all that jabber, but surely flats (not having tried anything but chromes) must be the connoisseurs choice. sorry the serious bassists choice.
Click to expand...
The problem is you aren't comparing wine to wine. You can't just go from flats to round wound strings on a dime and not be prepared for a completely different experience. You are comparing wine to champagne.

As round wounds go, I don't care for XLs on bass because they are a little too stiff and they lack "character" for the lack of a better word. DR is my string of choice, but if I need a cheap set that I can grab from a store, I will go for EBs before XLs. The D'Addario XLs just aren't my thing.
I'm trying a set of Chromes right now. They are better than some of the flats I've tried, but I haven't decided if they are of any value to me yet.
 
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#4
socialleper said:
The problem is you aren't comparing wine to wine. You can't just go from flats to round wound strings on a dime and not be prepared for a completely different experience. You are comparing wine to champagne.

As round wounds go, I don't care for XLs on bass because they are a little too stiff and they lack "character" for the lack of a better word. DR is my string of choice, but if I need a cheap set that I can grab from a store, I will go for EBs before XLs. The D'Addario XLs just aren't my thing.
I'm trying a set of Chromes right now. They are better than some of the flats I've tried, but I haven't decided if they are of any value to me yet.
Click to expand...
 
#5
Being in Canada, our string selection has generally not been too rich at my usual music stores. D'Addarios were well-stocked and reasonably priced strings. After installing a set, they provided the bright, round wound sound that I liked and seemed to last a reasonable period of time. I'd say they are the Acme company of strings (in Canada anyway). Good product quality at a reasonable price is going to win the hearts of those not wanting to throw hard-earned cash at an untried option.
 
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#7
I have several extra sets now because Sire uses them as stock on their fretted basses. Guess I'll hang on to them in case something breaks...
 
#8
minimalist freedom said:
Tell me I,m wrong! Tell me why. don't tell me it's fit for purpose, it's subjective, it's a slappers thing, it's a modern thing, versatility, etc, bore me if you must, I know there is no comparison, , horses for courses and all that jabber, but surely flats (not having tried anything but chromes) must be the connoisseurs choice. sorry the serious bassists choice.
Click to expand...

You are wrong.
Not for preferring flats, but for not being able to comprehend why other people have different preferences than you do. It is a common psychological problem.
 
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#10
As Slayer said above...

I think they are kind of the John Deere of tractors. Not necessarily the "best" but they have the best delivery and marketing supplier system in place. And they work well for many. I personally can't stand them on anything I've tried. They tend to have an upper mid thing that clashes with my Ampeg cabs. I can see if you have a somewhat flat sounding cab the DAs can give some needed punch. Don't like Chromes on anything either. Not real flat-sounding flats to me, but many love them. Which escapes me.;)
 
#11
Never was a fan of XL's. But I was recently struggling with getting a good sound out of my Roscoe 5 string...all my normal strings sounded dead and flat. Decided to try a set of balanced 45-107 XL's (with a B string I already had) and there it is. Deep, tight, crisp, punchy....those XL's sound fantastic, I was flabbergasted!
 
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#12
What kind of tires do you have on your car?

Don't know? I don't know for my car. I'm not a "car guy". But I drive everyday. I went with what came with the car when I bought it. When I have to buy new ones, I might look into other brands, styles, options,....... I might not.

I've been playing bass for over 20yrs. and have used D'Addario XL's a lot. I've also tried Ernie Ball, mainly because I played an Ernie Ball MM Stingray. I liked both of them.

I've recently tried DR Nickel Lo Rider Medium 5-string Bass Set on my new (to me) NS CR5 on the recommendation of Dave @ Clubbass.ca (Thanks Dave!) and love them,...... but am wanting a little more mid-range bite,........... so I'm now going to begin experimenting with different strings.

I'm still going to keep the tires on my car, until they need replacing. ;)

Benner
 
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#13
Slater said:
They are popular because -
- They’re relatively inexpensive
- Almost every music store has them in stock
- They’re fairy versatile
Click to expand...
^^THIS^^ in a nut shell... EXL170 D' Addarios are the Universal Generic String of bass strings. It's pretty hard not to get them on any new bass that isn't super cheap, or pretty expensive. IMO, they don't sound bad, but.. they don't sound really good, either. Just a generic round wound bass sound; which is OK, if you're not on a quest for the "perfect" sound... Personally, I don't like rounds in general, but D Addario uses something in their final polishing that I'm allergic to. So, any instrument I get that I even suspect has D 'Addarios on it, has them yanked off it immediately. And replaced with Ernie Ball Slinkys - which don't give me the itchies, and are the Other bass Universal Generic String. And, from where I start my quest for the "perfect" sound. Which, usually winds up being tape wounds or flats of some sort. Why?
- As a rule, rounds are bright; flats are not. I like 'not', and the music I like to play sounds much better with 'not', too.
- Also as a general rule, rounds die quickly; flats do not. Flats do take a while to 'break in' and sound like they should, but they sound like they should for a long, long time. I like not having to replace strings every time I turn around, just to keep the 'bright'.
But, lots off people do like 'bright' and a lot of music seems to call for it. Fortunately for me, the music I like to play doesn't require it. An awful of it, in fact, was originally recorded with an upright bass....:whistle:
 
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#14
All good
Ears, gear and fit for purpose seem to be part of the mix as I expected -good to get such responses - all good.

Little story. Once in a rehearsal the guitarist said he didn't like the flat,s sound (i just put some on and told him)
I left them on and next rehearsal I told him that I went back to rounds - after rehearsal he said that was better, "it sounds good now ..we a rock band"
 
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#17
Give me a set that sounds better than D'Addario XL165 and I'll change. The Dunlop Super brights are close but not quite there. Maybe I'm so used to them that I'm just comfortable with their tone. They don't stay bright and growly for that long but I buy sets of two from Welcome to Bass Strings Online - A Bass Store for Bass Players! for a low price.
Oh, and Mike Watt uses them and he's one of my favorite players.
 
#19
For me it's most of all about the consistant quality they deliver. I went through a phase of trying all sorts of different strings. I had one set of ghs strings that were absolutely terrible- I couldn't get the intonation correct at all. Caused some major problems at a gig that weekend. Every other set I tried I couldn't find any improvement over the xl's to justify the cost.
 
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#20
D'addario XL's are good strings IMO. One reason I like them is that their winding seems to be consistently smooth compared to some other brands in that price range. Especially if you look at the winding's on the heavier gauges.

I've bought some Roto's, GHS's and others that had very rough winding's on the B-string in particular. I've rarely got a bad batch of XL's.

The round wound nickel sound is not everyone's cup of tea, but I prefer them for my go to sound. Steel wound strings (can) wear out your frets faster in my experience.
 
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