Bass Strings

[Noirie.]

Never bought bass strings before (I’ve barely lived etc.)

What would youse recommend?

[GreenKnee]

Obviously it depends on your preference, what you play blah blah etc etc

From my experiences I would recommend D'Addario. I "toured" with a couple of bands for a few years playing a Musicmaster Bass and these strings:



One set lasted me the whole time, no breakages, sounded ace once bedded in.

I recently swapped them out when setting up the bass and giving it a good clean, and went for the flatwound Chromes of the same type:



They're ace, feel and sound great. They give the 70s strat pickup in the bass some more oomph to work with, couldn't be happier. They're very pricey (£50+ pricey) but I'm hoping they'll last forever, which apparently flat wound bass strings can do.

[Nick]

What is the bass they're going on?

I recently put a set of Rotosound RS77s (flatwound, shortscale) on my Hi Flyer bass, I love how they play and sound on that. For roundwounds I'm not really as sure, most basses come with rounds-they never break and my fingers aren't that oily so they last forever. I usually only need to buy strings if I'm swapping for flatwounds.

[plopswagon]

I used Rotosounds Swing 66 roundwounds for a few years but they’re fret eaters. I switched to Earnie Balls after that.

I have d’Addario half flats on my pbass now, same set for about 10 years, though I’m not in a touring band these days.

[BearBoy]

I have d’Addario half flats on my pbass now, same set for about 10 years, though I’m not in a touring band these days.

I’ve got these on my Jaguar bass. Put them on when I bought it about eight years ago and have never felt the need to change them. They sounded so much better than the stock strings but I suspect that’s as much to do with the stock strings being shite as anything else.

[Noirie.]

Need a roundwound set for a Jazz Bass.

Was looking at Rotosound but will steer clear if they’re gonna fuck up my frets.

[Nick]

The other thing I always hear about Rotosound rounds is they go dead pretty quickly...found this thread on talkbass but it doesn't seem to offer much ultimately http://www.talkbass.com/threads/rotoso ... ons.41850/

[plopswagon]

I agree, they’re a lively string but not for long.

[sunshiner]

Rotosound on my acoustic guitar were like that. At first they livened up a bit the sound of the cheap plywood acoustic, but went dull quite fast

[Noirie.]

I guess I'll get d'addario then.

Just got my Thinline back from setup and it's strung with d'addario. Maybe just some cleaning up and tweaking but they feel better than EB's.

[kim]

Roto eat frets idd, i used them for a while back in the day after using d'addario.

For budget, i do recommend the fender set

7150 (M) i think they were 105, they cost only €15 and i really liked them. Clear but warm. And cheap to install a fresh set (i liked using a fresh set for one rehearsal before a gig so went through a lot of strings for that sound).



The packaging has changed now it seems :



http://shop.fender.com/en-BE/accessoriesstrings/7150-pure-nickel-bass-strings/0737150406.html?rl=en_US


They have a nickelplated steel version too which would stay clear longer but i liked pure nickel on bass.


Nowadays i use d'addario again (nickelplated steel 120-50) for the tuning i had it in but looking for a set for standard tuning again. Might check out those new 7150's.
As i don't use bass often anymore i'd been considering flatwounds from thomastik but i'm not big on flatwounds for the bass sound i like.

[Ankhanu]

I primarily use DR Black Beauties, in part for aesthetic, in part for sound and longevity.

D'Addario strings are decent, and, as Kim said, Fender are pretty good for price if you want to spend a little less.

[Noirie.]

Could I get away with a light set tuned to E flat?

[kim]

E flat isn't a big difference should be good even with a light set (95 or 100)

what scale is the bass ? 34" jazz bass ?

[Ankhanu]

I haven't had issues with most gauges downtuned a step or so on long scale basses. Light in Eb should be fine, even on short scale.

[Reece]

What is the bass they're going on?

I recently put a set of Rotosound RS77s (flatwound, shortscale) on my Hi Flyer bass, I love how they play and sound on that. For roundwounds I'm not really as sure, most basses come with rounds-they never break and my fingers aren't that oily so they last forever. I usually only need to buy strings if I'm swapping for flatwounds.

just bumping to say I bought some of these for my ibanez talman short scale bass and the e string seems bloody awful. It's well floppy and very noticeably starts out sharp then goes flat as the string rings out if I'm playing above the 3rd fret or so.

maybe I should have got a higher gauge but I assumed what they sell as "short scale, standard gauge" would do the job.

[BearBoy]

Are they these ones, Reece?

40-90 does maybe seem a bit light. The D'Addario short scale ones come in 40-95 ("Super Light"), 45-100 ("Regular Light") and 50-105 ("Medium"). I've got the half round "regular light" ones and the tension on the low E is fine but it could maybe do with being a tad heavier. It does feel looser than the other three strings. Might have a look about and see if I can get a thicker one.

[Reece]

Are they these ones, Reece?

40-90 does maybe seem a bit light. The D'Addario short scale ones come in 40-95 ("Super Light"), 45-100 ("Regular Light") and 50-105 ("Medium"). I've got the half round "regular light" ones and the tension on the low E is fine but it could maybe do with being a tad heavier. It does feel looser than the other three strings. Might have a look about and see if I can get a thicker one.

Yeah those are the ones.

I'm gonna give them some time and see how I get on, only put them on half an hour before making that post.