Cheapo crappy strings - anyone found some good one's??????

[pete.young]

Www.web strings.com are pretty good for 12 dollars a set.

[barkin]

...plus $9 delivery, plus 22%

Happy user of the Legacy nickel rounds from stringsdirect here.

Edited September 2, 2014 by barkin

[gafbass02]

Another vote for legacy here. Great strings.

[Evil Undead]

[quote name='gafbass02' timestamp='1409879109' post='2544322']
Another vote for legacy here. Great strings.
[/quote]

Are they really on a par with Rotosound? I've heard really mixed reviews about them, some glowing of course but some have said that they dull quickly and are really high tension. Would be great to have a mini review from a couple of users.

[fingerz]

Come on honestly Rotosounds? In my experience they are the worst strings, and for some reason seem to be highly regarded by your average shop. Maybe it's the endorsements working well for the brand. Anyway, I've found Galli strings to be fantastic regardless of the price, but that considered I have to throw the brand into this conversation. Seriously great value, and great strings. I have used them next to DR in the past, but for me DR are the favourite. Gali are great as a back up or cheaper alternative.

Highly recommended value and quality. Try them out. They do a few different specs so you should find your regular 'thing' in their stable.

[TheGreek]

Alice strings:

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electric-Bass-Guitar-String-Set-Nickel-Plated-Steel-New-Alice-A606-4-M-/251275302260?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item3a812cd574"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3a812cd574[/url]

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alice-Professional-Electric-Bass-Guitar-4-Strings-Set-Nickel-Round-Wound-Medium-/350770904462?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item51ab933d8e"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item51ab933d8e[/url]

I really like the multi-coloured ones:

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRO-Multi-Coloured-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Strings-A609C-Alloy-Wound-By-Alice-/271190784636?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item3f243afa7c"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3f243afa7c[/url]

Surprisingly good value for money as they last for ages without any noticeable fade and the colour doesn't come off (I don't use a pick ...if you do don't blame me)

Edited September 5, 2014 by TheGreek

[Shonks]

I've just ordered a set of 'Stagg' 40's set of 4 strings wirewound.
only £5 + £1.50 p&p
I'll let know what they're like
S

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='Shonks' timestamp='1409586729' post='2541205']
I personally love the twangy sound of brand new roundwound strings.
I think you can use eq and damp 'em down for the old school sound or ramp 'em up
for the biting twang I adore.
Either way, they are, to me anyhow, the most versatile, and if I could afford it I'd change 'em at least
once a week, sometimes twice, and if in the studio, I'd change 'em every day.

At £15 on average, that's a hefty amount of cash, and unless you're endorsed by a decent string manufacturer,
you're gonna suffer.

I used to have an endorsement with Rotosound, but now I'm not famous enough for them I became rapidly unendorsed...

anyway, if you look on Ebay there's all these unknown brands going for about £5, and some known brands, eg Stag etc
[/quote]

Try TGI. We get Brunswick guitars in at work from Barnes and Mullins (who own TGI and Brunswick, among many other brands), and they strings they have on them don't sound bad at all. In fact, it's probably the strings that make some of the guitars sound good. They aren't a big brand of string that sells well, so don't expect to find them in your local music shop (although you might be surprised), but looking around online, it seems you can pick up a set for less than £10 - mega cheap by bass string standards. A basic set of a big seller will often be double that price.

[Qlank]

I only use Picato nickel wound now. They clank and growl, last a long time- at least six months, more often a year- and then only because the are starting to rust.
£13.00 from here : http://www.bandshop.co.uk/Picato-735-Hybrid-Bass-Strings-p/bs-pic735lhy.htm
I tried Elites-didn't like the feel. And I came across the Roto nickel wound and I was really interested to know what they were like. Really disappointed. Felt rough like Roto stainless, too clanky-OP may dig them- and they started to rust after 3 weeks. Back to Picato, more than happy.

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='Qlank' timestamp='1410108484' post='2546184']
And I came across the Roto nickel wound and I was really interested to know what they were like. Really disappointed. Felt rough like Roto stainless, too clanky-OP may dig them- and they started to rust after 3 weeks. Back to Picato, more than happy.
[/quote]

I've never had them rust so fast, but they do lose their tone quite early. They sound alright, IMO, and are quite cheap for a big-brand set of bass strings. A couple of years ago, I remember picking up sets of them in a high-street music shop for £14 a set. Undoubtedly, they'll be cheaper online.

[barkin]

[quote name='gafbass02' timestamp='1409879109' post='2544322']
Another vote for legacy here. Great strings.
[/quote]
[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1409902053' post='2544381']
Are they really on a par with Rotosound? I've heard really mixed reviews about them, some glowing of course but some have said that they dull quickly and are really high tension. Would be great to have a mini review from a couple of users.
[/quote]

Not really a review, but...

I don't like super-twangy, bright sounding strings. I like the sound of rounds, but after that initial "boing" has gone.

I find, as others have noted, that Roto's do indeed lose their newness pretty quickly. But I also find that once that happens, they pretty much stay in that same place for ages, which is great for me as that's what I like.

I switched to Legacy after seeing it suggested that they're repackaged Roto's. Whether that's true, I've no idea. To me they seem to have pretty much the same characteristics as Roto's, but at half the price.

The only other strings I've tried recently were a set of Ernie Ball Slinky something-or-other. Second rehearsal, the D string broke...first time I've had that in 20-odd years.

I've just picked up a BB1024 with a 3-4 week old set of d'Addario Pro Steels on it. They definitely seem to have more "boing" to them (see, I know all the techie terms) than my usual Roto/Legacy's would have after 3-4 weeks, but that could be down to the bass rather than the strings, and it'll be interesting to see how they fare from here.

Dunno if that helps...

[kevvo66]

Just done a gig with chord strings pretty good for a tenner.

[Annoying Twit]

The Galli range of strings are compared in this video. Though, I think I prefer the sound of the basic strings rather than any of the coated/nylon/flatwound strings.

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYAR5YM-zMU"]https://www.youtube....h?v=nYAR5YM-zMU[/url]

BTW: What's that bass being played @ 4mins in?

EDIT: I looked up the prices, and they don't seem extra-cheap.

Edited September 26, 2014 by Annoying Twit

[Shonks]

i've still got the Stagg 40's which i haven't used yet.....stay tuned on this channel folks

[Old_Ben]

I've not tried it myself but some people boil strings to bring back the brightness, could save you some money?

[Thunderbird]

I did a lot of testing of cheapo strings a while back and I found Coban strings pretty OK for the price they are about a fiver delivered from ebay I think I got about 3 months out of a set but to be honest I cant remember

[Shonks]

[quote name='Old_Ben' timestamp='1412028825' post='2565112']
I've not tried it myself but some people boil strings to bring back the brightness, could save you some money?
[/quote]don't boil them, it does bring back the brightness but promotes fatigue too.
Also, it's probably a good idea to keep metal away from water generally.

[Shonks]

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1412064428' post='2565208']
I did a lot of testing of cheapo strings a while back and I found Coban strings pretty OK for the price they are about a fiver delivered from ebay I think I got about 3 months out of a set but to be honest I cant remember
[/quote]that's a good call except I dont see them in 40's

[Paul S]

Re Legacy = Rotosound thing, I ordered a couple of sets and there was a dead string in one. Contacted Strings Direct who are going to send a replacement, of course. But I also asked if they were re-badged Rotosounds and he said 'yes they are' - so not just a rumour!

[nick]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' timestamp='1409642604' post='2541698']
a set or two of these thomann own brand ones might be worth looking at
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_valuestrings_bassguitar_medium.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...itar_medium.htm[/url]

you'd need to order 48 sets to get free shipping though
[/quote]

I've had a set of these on a cheap Farida jazz copy for a month. I've got DRs & Sadowsky strings on my other basses...whilst not in the same league, these Harley Benton strings are actually pretty good for the money. They've not gone dull & thuddy yet, and feel alright especially for a fiver.

[pfretrock]

[quote name='Shonks' timestamp='1412084735' post='2565464']
don't boil them, it does bring back the brightness but promotes fatigue too.
Also, it's probably a good idea to keep metal away from water generally.
[/quote]
Has anyone tried an ultrasonic cleaner? I changed my D'Addarios for Thomastiks yesterday and out of curiosity put one of the old strings in the ultrasonic cleaner (bought a few months back for cleaning gunk from spectacles). Clouds of gunk came off, probably dried sweat, grease and skin cells. Yuk. Don't know if it will do any good though as I'll probably not put the old strimgs on anything. Can't see water being a problem if it is dried quickly afterwards. The silk started to break up also but that should not be a problem, I've had to remove it in the past if it was on the bridge saddles. Incidentally I'm not convinced 100 degrees C will cause metal fatigue, although I'm not a metallurgist and open to correction, but I do have a VW Golf with 180K on the clock!

[pfretrock]

[quote name='Shonks' timestamp='1412084735' post='2565464']
don't boil them, it does bring back the brightness but promotes fatigue too.
Also, it's probably a good idea to keep metal away from water generally.
[/quote]
Got it, [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_corrosion_cracking"]stress corrosion[/url] probably.

[Truckstop]

At the £8-£12 price point they all sound the same to me. Clanky for a couple of hours and then settle for a few months until they need changing out of boredom.

The selling point for me has always been tension. I like La Bella Stainless Steels because they're nice and slack. A lot of the budget strings seem to be a little too taut for me. As someone with a robust fingerstyle, I like slackness!

Truckstop

[Musky]

[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1409645395' post='2541734']
Yeah, but if you're aiming to change once a week, that's almost a year's supply!

If I may veer off-topic slightly: as a Roto devotee to a former Roto endorsee, did you ever get to try the "piano bass" strings (that I've only recently blundered across)? As I normally go for nickel Swing Bass, they sound like the kind of thing I might go for, though as you rightly point out, at £15+ a pop it's potentially quite an expensive experiment!
[/quote]
I used to use Superwounds all the time. Very bright and piano like when new, in fact too bright as I had to roll off the treble to tame them down a touch. When they've worn in a little while some of that brightness disappears and you're left with strings that are bright enough (for me anyway) for ages. Nowadays I'm at the other end of the spectrum and go for a totally dead strings, so I've not used them for over 15 years.

One thing to bear in mind though is that the strings need to match your bridge, as you need to have the correct length of the core passing over the bridge before the windings start. They used to do the strings with the ball end already fixed and marked as suitable for particular bridges/basses, but also sets where you have to fix the ball ends in position yourself. It's a bit of a faff, but not something you have to repeat too often. Towards the end of the time I was using them it I could only find this latter type in the shops, so I'm not sure what the position is now but it's something worth bearing in mind.

[paul_5]

[quote name='pfretrock' timestamp='1413063182' post='2574684']
Incidentally I'm not convinced 100 degrees C will cause metal fatigue
[/quote]

To retemper stainless (depending on the grade and alloy makeup) you'd need to be close to 300 degrees C, so I reckon you're safe on that score. Fatigue might be another kettle of fish though - taking them off and putting them back up to tension repeatedly may give you some 'creep' issues.