Best Budget Strings

[RickFrom76]

Hello All, Now heres a question and a half.... Being new to purchasing bass strings I was wondering what is the most common bass string bought amongst you good people? Having looked on Flea Bay I can see Ernie Balls, Rotosounds and D`addario`s which are around the £15 mark then upto a whopping £39 for the signature Steve Harris Rotosounds. But which are the best? and more importantly which are not going to cost half a weeks food budget!

Regards Rick

[Moos3h]

Legacy strings from Stringsdirect are fantastic!

[iiipopes]

What do you mean by "best"? There is no single "best" string. Depending on the tone you want, the style you play, your budget, how your bass interacts with the string, and otherwise what you need out of a string, there are a lot of variables. Cheapest isn't always crap, and most expensive isn't always desireable.

Longevity is an overlooked factor. For example, if you need the brightest possible tone and have the gigs to back it up, changing Rotosound Swingbass every gig is not out of the question. But if you play only occasionally and have a tight budget, something like Fender Flats 9050CL which are economical and last a long, long time may be the string. If you want "THE" Sir Macca tone, then you're going to have to pay for the TI's or Optimas, and so forth.

And in spite of the marketing hype, having tried just about everything out there for the past 36+ years playing bass, all of the standard brands (not the imported strings or the "boutique" strings) of nickel plated roundwounds are about the same, good all-round strings with reasonable tone and life for the average player.

Edited May 15, 2012 by iiipopes

[WalMan]

You might try saving for something like Elixirs. They are more expensive, but last a looooooooooooooooooooong time so probably end up working out mush the same as a cheap set you have to change constantly.

[Muzz]

Elixirs aren't much use if you play with a pick, tho - well, not unless you like your strings to have a 'beard' pretty quickly

I do like D'Addario Nickel rounds, tho: they're great for the money. As far as stainless rounds go, I've always liked the cheapo Hartke ones, although they're getting harder to find.

Edited May 16, 2012 by Muzz

[MrTaff]

I like the sound of Roto steels, but they kill my fingers & frets.

[WalMan]

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1337194360' post='1657041']
Elixirs aren't much use if you play with a pick, tho - well, not unless you like your strings to have a 'beard' pretty quickly
[/quote]I do. Not a problem IME

[skidder652003]

[quote name='Moos3h' timestamp='1337109770' post='1655724']
Legacy strings from Stringsdirect are fantastic!
[/quote]

yep legacys are ace, £7 a set. never broke one yet even with a pick, last 3 months a time, nickel suit me best, fine for gigging in a leary rock band!

[Muzz]

[quote name='WalMan' timestamp='1337198175' post='1657119']
I do. Not a problem IME
[/quote]

Really? My set looked like crap a few weeks in, beardy and scabby, and I don't use the heaviest of picks - .88 Dunlops. Blimey.

[Donnyboy]

[quote name='Moos3h' timestamp='1337109770' post='1655724']
Legacy strings from Stringsdirect are fantastic!
[/quote]

I hope so I've just bought 3 sets!!

[KingBollock]

I've always bought cheap strings and never been particularly happy with any of them. There always seems to be a very short period between too bright and new and dead. I have to confess that I won't replace them unless I break one, then I will change the whole set because the remaining ones won't match the new one. The last set of strings I bought I decided I wanted to try flatwounds but thought that if I wanted a fair representation then I shouldn't just buy the cheapest I can find. I bought D'Addario Chromes and I adore them. I loved them as soon as I put them on and several months later they're just as good. They're not cheap, but I don't expect to be replacing them anytime soon, in the end they will work out a lot cheaper and I'm a lot happier. Because of the price it's taking me time to get around to changing the strings on all my Basses to the Chromes, but it will happen.

[WalMan]

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1337202078' post='1657185']
Really? My set looked like crap a few weeks in, beardy and scabby, and I don't use the heaviest of picks - .88 Dunlops. Blimey.
[/quote]They beard. It's not a problem as I don't care what they look like as long as they sound good, which they do, and it's barely noticeable - and I use 3mm Dunlop Stubbies

[chrismuzz]

I really like Elites Stadium Series strings. They're around 2/3 of the price of the most common brands, and have a very bright sound, with them being stainless steel. They also are very smooth feeling compared to some other brands like Rotosound or Warwicks, which people say cut their hands to ribbons!

[Delberthot]

Rotosound flats. Very bright and possible to EQ so that they sound like slightly worn in rounds.

£30 a set and I'm 18 months into mine so that works out at £1.67 per month so far.

[shunt2]

+1 for the rotosound flats, really nice after using roundwound steels for years.

[gafbass02]

[quote name='Moos3h' timestamp='1337109770' post='1655724']
Legacy strings from Stringsdirect are fantastic!
[/quote]

This

[fatgoogle]

For cheap, i generally go with warwick red labels, especially if re-stringing the 6 string. I dont find them half as harsh as new roto's which is a plus.

[TheGreek]

Check out the Alice strings on eBay - I bought a set of the coloured ones which I really liked...the postage is normally more than the strings themselves.

[yepmop]

I went for Fender flats and absolutely love them and at £15 a set I love them even more

Might save up for some Roto Flats to compare to the Fenders but at nearly twice the price I really need convincing that they are that much better.

[Dave Vader]

[quote name='yepmop' timestamp='1339522620' post='1689903']
I went for Fender flats and absolutely love them and at £15 a set I love them even more

Might save up for some Roto Flats to compare to the Fenders but at nearly twice the price I really need convincing that they are that much better.
[/quote]

+ the 1. I tried the Status ones instead, but didn't like them and went back to Fenders. Have had the same set on my P-bass for nearly 2 years now, and they still sound ok (in the middle of a loud rock band )
The ones on my fretless are 3 months in and still mwahhhhing very nicely (cos they're steel, and my board is ebony)

[chrismuzz]

Jus strung my 5er up with Warwick Reds to see what they were like... Actually really like em! They seem to have more depth than Elites. Obviously I can't speak for how long they last yet but at that price I can't grumble

[neepheid]

If you can find 'em...