Your go to strings

[noveltea93]

Also have dunlop super brights on the way

Just put a set of those on my vintage mod J. They're bright, and have lots of bite to my ear. They sound awesome for slap, and aggressive playing. I can see them being quite good for other applications once they break in a little bit more if they can mellow out while keeping a little high end shine. Also very affordable!

 

[Double Agent]

It’s been DR Fat Beams for me for several years now. I switch between basses with flats and rounds, and my flatwound brand of choice changes, depending on the bass. But my roundwound basses always get Fat Beams and I have yet to find a bass they don’t sound good on.

 

[Jon Jensen]

Yeah, Blue Steels used to be it for me... I used to string up Rotosound Swing Bass 66, too, but they just didn't last very long. The Blue Steels USED to be great, and I have a set to put on my Geddy Jazz, but, I put on a set of whatever the stock Fender strings were that came with it... They sound and feel great (to me anyway), even after months of heavy playing.

As for my fretless, I used the tapewounds... They looked cool, but for me, I want a bit more brightness, without going with rounds... I'm going to try some D'Addario half-wounds... We'll see.

 

[kkaarrll]

chromes or ghs precision flats

 

[Jedson]

My 'go to' string choice is D'addario. However, I have picked up other brands if I see a bargain/discound e.g. Fender, Warwick and Ernie Ball.. I'll always go for the D'addarios though.

 

[feschyn]

I just put some nickel D’Addarios on my P-Bass. I’d usually use Swing Bass 66 on it but I had those laying around. I’ll never go back to the Rotosounds for it. Just love the D’Addarios on that bass so much. A new favorite.

I too am a fan of the D'Addario nickels and have used them for a long time. I think they are a good value, and just about everyone seems to stock them. For my 6s I go with the 40-100 4-string set (EXL 190?) and add a .125 B string and a .032 C string. I recently tried the nickel Dunlops on my Warmoth Deluxe 5 J and did not like them as much as the D'Addario nickels.

 

[TH63]

Depends on the bass and what I want from it.

I like LaBella or GHS Flats on my PBass. GHS Pressurewounds on my Jazz and currently I have DR Pure Blues on my G&L 5 string although that could change. Overall I prefer somewhat mellower rounds and old school "thuddy" flats.

Me too. GHS pressure wounds on.my jazz. It's awesome even when I play it.

 

[dougjwray]

I used nothing but GHS Bass Boomers for many years, but now I use (on various basses): GHS Precision Flats, D'Addario Chromes, DR Fat Beams and DR Pure Blues.

 

[Fuzzbass]

Depends on the bass and what I want from it.

This.

I always keep at least one P-bass strung with flats. As for the rest: I match the strings to the bass. I absolutely love LaBella Hard Rockin' Steels on my Benavente 51-style P-bass.

Also, I love Elixir Nanowebs on my hard rock bass, the black Sadowsky P5 in my avatar. I gig that bass a lot, and the coating keeps them sounding fresh for ages, even through hot/humid outdoor gigs where my sweat can quickly kill a set of uncoated rounds. Also, I use overdrive/distortion for rock, and it's nice to have slightly softer treble when using dirt.

My other basses are strung with DR Lo Rider steels, Dunlop Super Brights (steel or nickel, I forget), D'Addario XLs, Rotosound RS66, Ernie Ball Cobalt flats. Waiting to be used (or re-used in the case of some flats): Ernie Ball Slinky, TI Jazz Flats, DR Hi Beams, LaBella nylon tapes.

 

[Kevin Colt]

I use ghs boomers on all my fretted basses, tape wound fenders on the fretless. have used d'addario half rounds in the past, they sound pretty good but they're not very easy to find anymore. I'll try anything if it's priced right though.

 

[Kevin Colt]

My "go to" strings of late are La Bella RX Stainless rounds. They last, sound good, and feel better to my fingers than most other stainless rounds. That said, my all-time favorite bass strings were the old D'Addario XL Reds back in the late 80/early 90's. The outer windings were copper or copper-coated. They were laser-bright for the first couple weeks and then mellowed nicely. The copper would develop a patina that would turn your fingers and frets green like cheap jewelry, but as they aged, the strings got a very flat-wound dark woody tone.

I tried those xl reds, they turned my fingers green. lol.

 

[wluffman]

Just like basses and amplification, the choice of strings is very personal; with strings especially, it's a matter of both sound and feel. Roundwounds usually have more sizzle than flats, but I like to stay in the deep end so flats serve me well for that. I started with Rotosound (on my instructor's recommendation) and have stayed with that brand, both rounds and flats; they feel right under my fingers, and I can get the sound I want. Maybe I'll try other brands, and maybe I'll find something I like better, but as a bedroom player I'm happy with what I'm used to. YMMV, and probably will.

 

[sharkbait130]

Chromes ECB 81's. I have them on three of my four basses. They work well for both E standard and D standard tuning. If I ever decide to get a new set of strings on the fourth bass (not likely , I only use it for practice and the strings on it are in pretty good shape) I'll probably go with another set of Chromes.

 

[Rob Rogers]

Definitely GHS Bass Boomers Medium. Sound great and last a solid amount of time.
I love Roto's but it tears up my neck.

 

[Jscriv]

Definitely GHS Bass Boomers Medium. Sound great and last a solid amount of time.
I love Roto's but it tears up my neck.

Yes the damage done over time on the board is a big factor for me. That's the other factor that keeps me cautious.

 

[sean_on_bass]

I'll say that traditionally on both bass and guitar my go to has been some sort of Daddario set, either chromes or nickels on the bass. I even continued the traditional with the upright bass for the last two string sets, Zyex and Helicore. I just recently got a set of TI's for my upright and love them so much that i will likely be getting some TI flats for my electric. I have a feel that will become my go to.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I'm sure this topic has been discussed a million times over but here goes one more. I've been a loyal Ernie ball super slinky player for the last 16 years. And for some reason I'm finding myself very gun shy on decided on trying something new. I love the tone I get out of the slinky's, but I wonder if there's something out there just just sounds better. As vague as that is, what's your go to strings and why?

Dr lo riders on my Fender basses, Warwick round wounds on my Warwick.

I tried DRs on my Warwick but I got a whole lot of nasty overtones. I like the Lo Riders have hex core and I get a little extra time out of them. As for the tone, I’ve used roto sounds, GHS boomers, and a bunch of others, and the Lo Riders win hands down.

 

[Arknark]

Played DM Blue Steel for a few years but then changed over to EB Slinky. After 10+ years of that I decided to try out a set of Blue Steel again. Switched all my basses over to the Blue Steel a few months ago. Can't for the life of me figure out why I stopped using them in the first place.

Yeah Blue Steels are awesome, I use them on my six strings too.

 

[drifter grey]

GHS Bass Boomers M3045. I've spent a bunch of money on the way to finding out these are the best for me overall. I just like the way they age. Also, being nickel wrapped, they are easy on the frets!

 

[ale_vanlager]

Used Rotosound 66s forever, switched recently to Dunlop Super Bright Stainless 45/105. Love those strings!