Your go to strings

[IvanBassist]

D’addario XL’s on (almost) everything except my Rics which get stock Ric strings (which I believe are made by D’addario anyway ..... My Fodera YYS and P bass get Fodera brand strings and My Dingwall needs DR’s as the standard D’addario XL’s don’t have a long enough E string for the extended range fretboard.

I’ve been playing bass for 35 years and D’addario XL’s have always been consistently bright, punchy, uniform, long lasting and surprisingly inexpensive at about $17 a set. That ends up saving me a lot of money over the years as I change strings quite often.

Which DR's do you use on your Dingwall?

 

[NMTB]

Ric 4003 and Fender American Elite P-Bass, both restrung with GHS Pressurewound M7200s.

 

[_One//Man//Mutiny_]

I'm a big believer in Fat Beams too. I love the feel, the sound and the fact they last longer for me than any D'Addario or EB rounds I have tried. I do like other strings but the fat beams eventually end up on almost all of my basses.

They really are the bomb, they got a ton of flavor to them and lend themselves well to any tone you strive for. My sterling and L2000 both had flats on them when I bought them and I rocked them as is for the longest time but I eventually swapped to my trusty fat beams and BOOM!! Those strings make any bass come to life. I even have them one my Rickenbacker, the bass in my avatar, which most people use tapes or rotos so that’s saying something.

 

[_One//Man//Mutiny_]

+1 !
Ever since I put the DR Fat Beams on my Basses, I have stopped looking for another brand! I have one set which I installed on February 2017 on my P Bass Custom Shop and stil to this day, they cut through like a knife!

They sound great on anything. I really haven’t played a better string tonewise or in quality.

 

[Cracker7]

DR Sunbeams 45-105

 

[SturmUndDrang]

SIT RB nickels. Their power wound nickels are nice too but the RBs have a little extra tone and last very long for me. Like Dave Ellefson, I think I'm done with steels.

 

[bassbully]

Chromes are all I use.

 

[Jscriv]

I use Ernie Ball super slinky and regular slinky strings and can't find a reason to change either. I LOVE the tone, they last for a while if cared for and can be found for under $20 a set. I keep telling myself I'm gonna try something new, but then I always end up buying the Ernie Balls. I bought another bass brand new last year and it came with d'addario XLs and after a few days I ripped them off and re-strung with slinkys. I guess I just like having Balls!

They say the coated EBs last long and have a micro coating so they retain the feel of regular slinkies. So I'm gunna order those and I ordered the cobalts juat for fun and I found em for 20 bucks.

 

[mistermikev]

I always found tape wounds to be duller than flats. I find the Black Beauties to be still bright and tonally similar to nickel round wounds. At least on my 6 string.

I would agree. I love that. bb are def brighter but (IMO) not quite as bright as typical roundwounds. they really aren't even in the same (dark) category but still are a bit more gentle on the fingers/frets.

 

[gjohnson441496]

The same set of Thomastik-Infeld and Ernie Ball Cobalts have been on my 2 basses for at least a year, maybe longer.

 

[shawshank72]

Ernie Ball Flatwounds (original recipe) 50/65/85/110
Everything I need to do can be done with them.

 

[AdamR]

I have 3 sets I kinda switch back and forth with. D'Addario Nickel XLs, Dunlop SS super brides and DR high beams.

 

[Jscriv]

That would also be interesting to see what gauges everyone prefers. Personally 45/65/80/100. Considering going lighter on some XLs

I do have a 5 that goes 32/45/65/80/100

 

[Bentfield]

DR Nickel Lo riders for rounds
D'addario chromes for flats

 

[gitfiddl]

That would also be interesting to see what gauges everyone prefers. Personally 45/65/80/100. Considering going lighter on some XLs

I do have a 5 that goes 32/45/65/80/100

45/65/85/105 La Bella RX stainless on my 4-strings. 45/65/85/105/130 of the same on my 5.

 

[brianrost]

I am the poster boy for laziness. When I buy a bass, if the strings are in good shape, they stay on. I don't even think about changing them until I need to.

For flats, when I picked up my vintage Ps years ago from Bass NW (RIP) they recommended Ernie Ball flats, so that's what I got. One has mediums which have darkened into the classic thump of ancient flats, but the other has lights (because they were out of mediums) and they still twang.

That convinced me something as simple as changing gauges can make a huge difference. But that doesn't make me want to start experimenting! For one thing, if you own more than one or two basses you need to try different sets on each bass because what works on one may sound like poop on another. The other issue of course being coughing up $30 or so for every new set you try, some of which you are really going to hate.

For rounds, I buy GHS Boomers because they are found everywhere cheap and they sound good to me.

DB strings are damn expensive...steel strings start at just over $100 a set these days, nylon (synthetic gut) about the same and real gut strings start at about $300 a set (why I use nylon )...so I slap on a set and they stay there until they unravel. I had one brand which I loved, they were $250 a set but sounded so sweet...but they kept breaking on me, once when I was putting on a new set the E string broke! So I changed brands and took a slight hit in tone to gain longevity...plus changing a string on a DB at a gig is like water torture.

 

[Kmonk]

I used Ernie Ball Cobalt round wound for several years. I loved the tone and growl. However, I found them to be very aggressive on the fret wire. In fact, after 3 years of using them, my 2011 MIA Jazz was showing more fret wear than my 1976 Precision. I got a deal with Curt Mangan strings and have been very happy. I am also an endorsing artist and have my own custom set that I order as needed.

 

[AdamR]

That would also be interesting to see what gauges everyone prefers. Personally 45/65/80/100. Considering going lighter on some XLs

I do have a 5 that goes 32/45/65/80/100

40-55-75-95-135T right now. Its a balanced tension 4 string set. Ive also used the 45-60-85-107 set with a 145T low B.

 

[Gorn]

Gorn, what gauge are your using with the TI jazz on your bass? I bought a set a few months ago to put on my jazz bass and after 15 minutes they were gone and replaced with other strings. I couldn't stand the tension (better, the lack of tension), it was like playing with slinky's no tension to them. I heard so much good things about TI, there must be something I'm missing...

I think the E string is an 87 or something like that. They take getting used to but eventually it’s worth it. Effortless playing.

 

[Jscriv]

I am the poster boy for laziness. When I buy a bass, if the strings are in good shape, they stay on. I don't even think about changing them until I need to.

For flats, when I picked up my vintage Ps years ago from Bass NW (RIP) they recommended Ernie Ball flats, so that's what I got. One has mediums which have darkened into the classic thump of ancient flats, but the other has lights (because they were out of mediums) and they still twang.

That convinced me something as simple as changing gauges can make a huge difference. But that doesn't make me want to start experimenting! For one thing, if you own more than one or two basses you need to try different sets on each bass because what works on one may sound like poop on another. The other issue of course being coughing up $30 or so for every new set you try, some of which you are really going to hate.

For rounds, I buy GHS Boomers because they are found everywhere cheap and they sound good to me.

DB strings are damn expensive...steel strings start at just over $100 a set these days, nylon (synthetic gut) about the same and real gut strings start at about $300 a set (why I use nylon )...so I slap on a set and they stay there until they unravel. I had one brand which I loved, they were $250 a set but sounded so sweet...but they kept breaking on me, once when I was putting on a new set the E string broke! So I changed brands and took a slight hit in tone to gain longevity...plus changing a string on a DB at a gig is like water torture.

Try eBay man. Under 20 a set. I can tell you that makes me cringe at the fact I just ordered cobalts. I have a bass my drummer owns that in "servicing" that might get those cobalts. I don't think my strings make it more than 2 or 3 months. I like that brand new out of the package twang. But that also fits the style of music that I play. If any of you guys dig that broken in string sound I'll stop cutting the "old" ones in half and start selling them as.......reliced?