Jimryan Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Afternoon all, In the next few weeks I'm going to be getting myself a new DB after a few years of not playing. Remembering from last time and looking through here over the past few days a lot of people suggest new strings straight away (as I do with my electric basses anyway). Now, the ones I've been looking at are the rotosound DB strings. What are people's opinions on them? I'm not bothered about using a bow this time round as I barely touched it last time I had one, so it'll mainly be fingers and occasional slap. Cheers guys, James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I haven't met or heard of anyone using these, so while they may turn out to be fine it could be a bit of a leap into the unknown for your first set. From what I can gather they're a low tension, slap-friendly nylon set. If that's what you're looking for, I'd look at Innovation strings first as a number of people on here have used them and should be able to advise on which set would suit you best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRev Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I haven't used the Rotosounds either but I've had almost every set of Innovation strings available. (Silver slaps, Super Silvers, Honeys, Rockabillys & Ultra Blacks) I'd suggest trying Super Silvers first - decent enough pizz tone from the E and A but still flexible enough to slap. Another option (and my current go-to string) would be Thomastik Spirocore Weich. Very defined, warm pizz tone but surprisingly slappable for an all-steel string. Plus, if you don't like them, you'll have no trouble selling them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimryan Posted September 15, 2015 Author Share Posted September 15, 2015 Cheers for the advice guys. Hopefully someone will come along with some insight on the rotos. The main reason I want to try them is because I can get them from my endorsement, so I won't be spending a fortune on a set of strings straight away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 [quote name='Jimryan' timestamp='1442339539' post='2866227'] Cheers for the advice guys. Hopefully someone will come along with some insight on the rotos. The main reason I want to try them is because I can get them from my endorsement, so I won't be spending a fortune on a set of strings straight away. [/quote] In that case, get a set, try 'em out and then [i]you [/i]can tell [i]us[/i] how they pan out, no..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimryan Posted September 15, 2015 Author Share Posted September 15, 2015 [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1442339888' post='2866233'] In that case, get a set, try 'em out and then [i]you [/i]can tell [i]us[/i] how they pan out, no..? [/quote] Point taken :-p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrywillard Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Before pursuing music full-time, I actually used to work for Rotosound here in Sevenoaks way back in 2005-2007 making their electric bass strings, but I did get to try out a set of their double bass strings free during that period. Personally, I could never get on with them. The gauges never felt right under my left hand (G-84, D-105, A-87, E-104). From what I can remember they were pretty stretchy, but just very uncomfortable. The gauges and mix of nylon/monel winding just made the whole set feel very 'backwards' and unbalanced to me when playing. I couldn't get on with them at all, so they didn't last long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisan Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I used Rotosound RS4000's for about a year & found them pretty good for slap/pizz. The D & G were excellent & the most gut like synthetic string I have ever tried,very nice to play too. Where as the E & A were a lot higher tension & had a quite different tonal character with a pretty harsh slap tone,I swapped them for a pair of innovation super silvers I had laying around,this made a pretty good set. Currently I'm using innovation gold slaps E & A with plain gut D & G. So the Roto's are pretty good but rather unbalanced as a set IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invicta59 Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 All the bands I have ever been in have been rockabilly bands. Back in the (early eighties) day, Rotosounds were the the only real alternative to steel, so I used them for about 10 years. It was never a major problem, but the slight tonal differences between the top pair and bottom pair occasionally caused me some aggravation while trying to get a decent EQ from the amp, but I never had any problems with playability. I started using Innovation about 8 or 9 years ago, and the Silver Slaps are quite similar in tension, but the tone and volume leves are considerably more even across the set, so they are my (current) string of choice... for gigs Now the quirky part... While the Innovation strings are great for amplified gigs, I am not that fond of the acoustic sound. This doesn't bother me usually, as I have absolutely zero interest in playing quietly, but our last album was recorded acoustically to try and emulate some of the fifties recordings so I had to change strings to get a more natural sound.. to RS4000s, which are less 'clanky'. I think that the Roto's are about £40/£50 dearer than Innovations. Personally, I dont hear £50 of improvement, but while I would choose Innovations first, I would take Rotosounds over gut or steel any day of the week. Any of this helpful? Probably not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistair Sutcliffe Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I use the rotosounds. All pizz and slap. I prefer the sound and feel of them to the Innovation silver slaps and super silvers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimryan Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 [quote name='invicta59' timestamp='1442403202' post='2866650'] All the bands I have ever been in have been rockabilly bands. Back in the (early eighties) day, Rotosounds were the the only real alternative to steel, so I used them for about 10 years. It was never a major problem, but the slight tonal differences between the top pair and bottom pair occasionally caused me some aggravation while trying to get a decent EQ from the amp, but I never had any problems with playability. I started using Innovation about 8 or 9 years ago, and the Silver Slaps are quite similar in tension, but the tone and volume leves are considerably more even across the set, so they are my (current) string of choice... for gigs Now the quirky part... While the Innovation strings are great for amplified gigs, I am not that fond of the acoustic sound. This doesn't bother me usually, as I have absolutely zero interest in playing quietly, but our last album was recorded acoustically to try and emulate some of the fifties recordings so I had to change strings to get a more natural sound.. to RS4000s, which are less 'clanky'. I think that the Roto's are about £40/£50 dearer than Innovations. Personally, I dont hear £50 of improvement, but while I would choose Innovations first, I would take Rotosounds over gut or steel any day of the week. Any of this helpful? Probably not [/quote] [quote name='alistair Sutcliffe' timestamp='1442422690' post='2866879'] I use the rotosounds. All pizz and slap. I prefer the sound and feel of them to the Innovation silver slaps and super silvers. [/quote] Awesome, I'll order a set tomorrow. Cheers guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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