Favorite Strings?

[NoXX]

Sorry if this one has been done to death already. I did do a pretty thorough search and didn't come up with much, so I wanted to ask you fine folks about your string preferences, both in terms of "weight" (light, heavy etc...), brand and type. I have med DR Hi-beams on my Aria - I like them, but boy are they bright with a pick (I wanted bright, but was not prepared for needing sunglasses ). I have tried Ernie Ball Slinky's (they were 'ok'), but given that they are pricey these days, I figured I'd pick your brains rather than blow all of my cash on strings.

Any thoughts on ground-wound/half-round, and nickel, chrome, stainless etc... very welcome.

[Agent00Soul]

Have you ever tried flatwound? I can recommend a few different types.

[pjmuck]

For rounds, I use Elixirs almost exclusively these days. Not super bright but enough zing and punch to satisfy me, great silky feel (though some hate them for that reason) AND they last forever, which is a big plus for me since I'm too cheap and have too many instruments these days to want to restring them every month. As for flats, depending on the bass, I use either LaBella Deep Talkin' (Jamersons on my P bass; "Beatle" bass on my Hofners and Gibson EB3) or D'Addario Chromes.

[AustinLeftyBass]

My strings.

Flats: GHS Precision Flatwounds
Rounds: Daddarrio XL 50-105
Hofner: LaBella Beatle Bass set
Longhorns: Daddario short scale rounds
Bass VI: LaBella Bass VI flats
Misc: Rotosound TruBass nylonwound flats

[NoXX]

Nice responses so far... many thanks! I'm interested in taking this a little further: when would you use flats vs rounds, and can you do so on almost any bass, or not? I have one bass at present (the Aria), so I'd like to set it up right (trying to surpress bass-envy of those folks with 'oodles' of basses ).

What little understanding I have is as follows: rounds are brighter than flats, and can cut through the mix easier. It seems that a lot of punk/metal folks like them for that reason (and the 'jangly' discordant sound you can get when you add effects). For flats, my gut feeling tells me they give more of an old-school sound (double-bass ish?). I'd be grateful for an education on this - for example, do you get less string noise with flats because of their design (those silky Elixirs recommender by pjmuck may fix this also?). I see a lot of P-bass owners loving the flats, so I'm intrigued as to the possibilities (I'd also love a P or a J bass, but that's another thread ).

[pjmuck]

I'm a fan of both rounds and flats for different reasons. There is no rule of thumb, though certain basses do shine better with certain strings. But first off let's dispel the myth that rounds "cut through the mix better". Depends on your definition, but brightness and treble do not automatically equate to cutting through better. They may offer you the brighter top end and lower end punchiness, but it's those mid frequencies that get you slicing through a mix. Thus, a bass with scooped mids that's all treble and thundering lows won't get you through a wall of overdriven guitars, though if the guitars are the carrying the majority of mid range frequencies then having the bass EQ'ed over and under it can give you a huge overall sound covering the full range. Again, not "cutting through", but rather, filling out the overall frequency ranges to create an overall wall of sound. But, I would argue that flats can cut through a band mix better because, and this really depends on what bass you're using them on, they offer you a the right thump/attack and mid frequency bump. (Precisions were MADE for flats, IMO. The perfect blend of low mid bump and thump). Slapping/popping, without question, I'd use rounds, though there's no rule of thumb and you can slap on flats too. (Larry Graham, anyone?). Just a different tone. And that's also not to say a bass strung with rounds couldn't be EQ'ed to achieve similar mid bump results, and likewise a bass with flats could be EQ'ed with the mids scooped out as well. Check out early Joe Jackson records or even the first Dead Kennedys record to hear how trebly, bright, and aggressive flats can sound, for example. As for string noise, I generally find flats more forgiving, though, again, depending on how you choose to EQ your sound, you can certainly dial in any amount of ugly, clickity clackity, fret/string noise you want in combo with your bass's setup/action and EQ. (Steve Harris has made this part of his sound with his flat strung P).

I guess I haven't really answered your questions. Bottom line: determine what you want to do, try each, and especially try them with the rest of your band/musical endeavor, since you should be focusing on the overall band sound and not how great your bass sounds at home solo'ed.

[Malfunct8]

I'm a huge fan of ground wounds (half rounds) and use them on everything. they have a more "zing" than flats, little string noise and last for a long time. The only guys making them these days are D'Addario.

[NoXX]

Dang!.... I was happily sitting at work, being productive, until I read pjmuck's post... Seeing the DK reference sent me back in time. I love "Fresh fruit...", and Klaus Flouride has always been one of my musical heroes. I didn't realize that he was a lefty that played right-handed though - I just found that out on his site. I had to post a picture of his '66 Jazz in his honor. Being an English guy, I've also got a soft spot for Steve Harris (though not in his spandex) and his P Bass. I think his Rotosound strings would snap my delicate Aria neck like a twig, however.

Thanks again for all the advice! I will go forth and try some flats.... and save my pennies for a Jazz bass.

[Agent00Soul]

Two of the more modern sounding (more twang along with requisite thud, longer life etc) flats I can recommend are Joe Osborns by Lakland and Black Label by Sadowsky.

[AzWhoFan]

And then there are taper core strings, which are my personal faves. I'm very much into the piano-like ringing tone that they provide. I'd recommend either Ken Smith's or Dean Markely SR-2000's.
One downside of them is that 5 string sets are darn expensive!

[screambasses]

I used GHS Boomers since 1985 but last year switched to Curt Mangan strings exclusively.
They're the strings I use on all of my builds. I've never fallen for the "more expensive is
more better" hype. I'm thinking of LaBella but many strings are just overpriced. Plus,
I know where the strings are manufactured and he'll actually reply to an e-mail.

pete

[andrew]

I use DR Hi Beams 45-105. I'm all about the bright strings. I find DR's have a sound that I really like, there's a coloration to the sound of their strings I dig.

On the rare occasion I use flats my fave are Rotosound Steve Harris signature flats. So high tension it's ridiculous, but they sound great.

[Frenchy-Lefty]

I am with ya on the DR's Hi-Beams 105-45. The round core seem to bring more mass and therefore a more powerfull tone. They are well balance and don't get harsh. It gets a bit pricey when you change your strings regularly. I am very tempted to try the Elixirs though.

Now, the gauge of the strings has also a big impact on the sound. After the 80's/90's slap/tapping craze had fadded extra light strings (such as 95-40) became rather scarce. Everyone eventually realized that If you want a bright, powerful and woody tone you do a need a bigger string with more tension on the neck. Although, I recently got a fretless and love the GHS Boomers 95-40 on it.

Flatwounds seem to work much better with passive than active basses, and I agree the concept of cutting through has more to do with the right EQ than the strings. The D'Addario Chromes are my favorites.

Half-wounds are a great compromise but feel sticky when you slide on the string.

All in all, it is matter of taste

[AzWhoFan]

I am with ya on the DR's Hi-Beams 105-45. The round core seem to bring more mass and therefore a more powerfull tone. They are well balance and don't get harsh. It gets a bit pricey when you change your strings regularly. I am very tempted to try the Elixirs though.

Now, the gauge of the strings has also a big impact on the sound. After the 80's/90's slap/tapping craze had fadded extra light strings (such as 95-40) became rather scarce. Everyone eventually realized that If you want a bright, powerful and woody tone you do a need a bigger string with more tension on the neck. Although, I recently got a fretless and love the GHS Boomers 95-40 on it.

Flatwounds seem to work much better with passive than active basses, and I agree the concept of cutting through has more to do with the right EQ than the strings. The D'Addario Chromes are my favorites.

Half-wounds are a great compromise but feel sticky when you slide on the string.

All in all, it is matter of taste

Holy cow, they used to make .90's? Never knew they even existed. I've never used anything less than 100's or 105's for my E

I've got some Labella James Jamerson on my 70's P bass and love them.

I also used DR HiBeams on the MM SR5 I sold to Matt and liked them a lot.

[andrew]

I am with ya on the DR's Hi-Beams 105-45. The round core seem to bring more mass and therefore a more powerfull tone. They are well balance and don't get harsh. It gets a bit pricey when you change your strings regularly. I am very tempted to try the Elixirs though.

My one exception to DR HiBeams (though i've used them plenty on that bass too) is I love Elixir Polywebs on my Stingray. I don't think Elixir makes polywebs anymore. I got a couple packs ages ago and have been holding on to them for the day the Stingray gets some playing time again.

[slybass3000]

After I ended my sponsorship with LaBella after developing the Modulus set with them , I was really happy and satisfied with D'Addario XL. I use these now because the QC is excellent and I rarely have a bad set. The sound is full and even and they last long for me. And they are not expensive compared to DR which I find the QC poor. 1 set out of 2 is bad.