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Why do people consider EB Slinky's bright sounding?

#22
Might just be my chemistry (Rotosounds get dull for me the moment I open an envelope), but EB Slinky die quickly for me. There's zing, then bright-ish, then dark, then thud in a matter of weeks. They were just fine for fretless, but not on fretted basses.
I switched to Fender 7250ML and they suit me just fine.
 
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#25
Rabidhamster said:
I havent watched it and it’s not linked that I saw, does he specifically say two packs PER bass? Does he only use one bass? What is he playing for the string change mid show?
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I could be remembering wrong, but I think he sometimes changes the strings on his primary Wal (he uses a different Wal for The Pot and a Stingray for Descending) during the set break if he feels he needs more brightness.
 
#26
Fresh Slinky's are bright to my ears. And they mellow out a little but still have solid crisp tone. My go to Nickles are Dean Markley Blue Steel during the Pandemic I switched to MJC Ironworks the owner passed away RIP MIKE. I bought up all I could find.
For basses I want a brighter sizzle I use Slinky's Blue Steel's work great on my Jazz basses.
 
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#27
Chancellor’s tech was very clear that he can change a set of strings in 5 minutes and often does it mid-show. Seems crazy—just have a third Wal. I mean, Chancellor can afford it. But hey, whatever works for him.

Anyway if someone is playing Slinkys and has access to an unlimited supply of free strings, I can totally see this. I think Slinkys fresh out of the pack are indeed pretty bright but I’ve never played any string that went dull faster than those. I initially tried them because they’re cheaper than D’Ad XLs but I found myself spending more because I was constantly replacing them.
 
#31
Hi,
I find them bright?
A lesser known fact that Geddy switched to Slinkys for part of the Rush Vapor Trails tour. Again no doubt Ged's aggressive playing style and trebly tone contribute to it but if you have a chance listen to anything from Rush in Rio. They sound plenty bright to me! :)

Brent
 
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#32
the_Ryan said:
I could be remembering wrong, but I think he sometimes changes the strings on his primary Wal (he uses a different Wal for The Pot and a Stingray for Descending) during the set break if he feels he needs more brightness.
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Yes that’s exactly right. He said that he and his bass tech look at the graphs of the treble output and if they’re below a certain level they change the strings.
 
#33
Swerve said:
To my ears they are the darkest sounding nickel wound strings I know of (besides maybe GHS), and that is what I like about them when I want that broken in rounds sound quickly.

I just installed a brand new set of Power Slinky's 110-55's on my Fender P and even with the tone knob dimed they were still darker than a set of XL's that are several months old with the tone knob nearly rolled off. D'Addario, Fender, DR, Roto, Dunlop, are all much brighter out of the box than Slinky's.

I saw that recent Rig Rundown interview with Justin Chancellor of Tool and he only plays Slinky's. He mentions their bright tone and how he uses two packs per show. I'm thinking to myself if he used just about any other NPS he'd get a brighter sound for an entire show, maybe several.
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I don’t think he cares. He has a tech ;)

Don’t know what to tell you…I definitely wouldn’t call Justin’s tones dark. And while they may very well be darker than most NPS rounds, they still sound like rounds to me. And that roundwound twang is what makes people think they’re bright.
 
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#35
One of my favorites bassists, Nikki Monninger (an endorser), plays 50 -105’s. She changes them about every two weeks or so when she notices them getting dull. She likes the growl she gets from her Thunderbirds with them. I like the 45 - 105’s ok, and they’re bright enough. To me they are a bit brighter out of the pack than XL’s. But not as bright as my favorites: SIT Powersteels and Dunlop Marcus Miller stainless Superbrights. I generally prefer stainless over nickels.
 
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#37
Swerve said:
To my ears they are the darkest sounding nickel wound strings I know of (besides maybe GHS), and that is what I like about them when I want that broken in rounds sound quickly.

I just installed a brand new set of Power Slinky's 110-55's on my Fender P and even with the tone knob dimed they were still darker than a set of XL's that are several months old with the tone knob nearly rolled off. D'Addario, Fender, DR, Roto, Dunlop, are all much brighter out of the box than Slinky's.

I saw that recent Rig Rundown interview with Justin Chancellor of Tool and he only plays Slinky's. He mentions their bright tone and how he uses two packs per show. I'm thinking to myself if he used just about any other NPS he'd get a brighter sound for an entire show, maybe several.
Click to expand...
I agree completely. DRs are bright strings but Slinkys aren't.
 
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