rotosound low beeee

[aende]

Is it me or is the rotosound (swing bass) low be really crap?

just fitted a new set, it is just dead...no tone at all. Anyone else got any experience with these or other sets?

[Cameronj279]

To be honest "just dead" describes exactly how I felt when I used Rotosound strings.

I used them for an hour and they sounded more dull (read: awful) than the dead strings I had just replaced! Rotos get a lot of praise though!

[HowieBass]

That's not my experience, I've got the RS 665LDN nickels on my 5 string (45 65 85 105 130) but I find I get better definition from the low B by playing it close to the bridge (between the pickup and bridge on my Curbow 5).

[aende]

The rotosound b is just dead and undefined. I was replacing a set of worn d'addarios....the d'addario low b had more zing to it.

[BigRedX]

IME the only strings that Rotosound can make with any consistency are 34" scale standard gauge 4-string sets. Anything that falls outside of that specification is pretty much hit and miss. Back in the 90s before I discovered other string brands I would regularly send back Rotosound low B strings as being unsuitable. IIRC about 1 in 4 were ok.

TBH these days low B can still be a problematic string on many basses especially those with bolt-on necks. It's a question of finding the string that suits both the bass you are fitting it to and your playing technique. Unless you get lucky it can be a long and expensive search.