strings flat wound, round wound, copper, steel etc. etc.

[ergon]

Strings, the most important feature of the guitar, everything is built specificly to make them usable and hearable, so heres a question correction some questions i've allways wanted to ask but allways feared i would look stupid:
What are all the different string types you can get?
How do they affect playability?
how do they interact with the rest of the bass (settings etc.)?
if anyone could point me in the right direction these are some facts i should probably know.

Edited December 7, 2007 by ergon

[bass_ferret]

There are a lot of threads on here about different stings and quite a bit on the wiki as well. There might even be a link to some sound clips but I dont think it works now. Have a search and read the wiki. If you are still confused after doing that then the combined wisdom of basschat is sure to confuse you more.

[Mobius]

There are 2 main types for electric basses, roundwounds and flatwounds. Roundwounds have a more attacking, zingy tone to them whereas flatwounds are a little darker. Roundwounds are more popular for fretted basses and flats more popular for fretlesses as they don't gouge the fingerboard as much. You can also get strigns in between round and flat, often called half-round or ground-wound. The material that the strings are made out of also affects the tone, with stainless steel a little brighter than nickel. Copper or phosphor bronze strings are only used in acoustic basses as they have poor magnetic qualities.

[ergon]

ah right , that vleared it up a bit, i'll have a look at the wiki too, anybody know what the best brand for a poor bassist is?

[Mobius]

I use Rotosound stainless steel roundwounds, they're reasonably cheap.

[wateroftyne]

Stringbusters do La Bella Hard Rockin' Steel rounds for 13 quid.

SHAZAM!

Edited December 8, 2007 by wateroftyne

[simon1964]

[quote name='Mobius' post='101257' date='Dec 8 2007, 04:02 AM']The material that the strings are made out of also affects the tone, with stainless steel a little brighter than nickel.[/quote]

+1. And stainless steel and nickel have a very different feel, even within the same brand. Unfortunately, which you prefer is entirely trial and error, and the only way to find out which you prefer is to try a number of different types, which can be costly!