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Nickel strings


lowdowner
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Can anyone tell me what the difference is between stainless and nickel strings? I usually use Rotosound - RS66LD which are stainless but I noticed that they also do RS55LDN which is the nickel version. Would I notice much difference?

http://www.rotosound.com/swing-bass-66/

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As mentioned nickels aren't as bright, trebly, harsh (depending on your point of view) as is usually the case with steel roundwounds. They're often described as darker or more mellow. They don't seem to change tone as much as steels when they age because they're starting off less bright. They're usually less abrasive when playing fingerstyle which is why players often prefer them and that's mainly why I've switched over to them (though I still use steel for flatwounds).

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[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1424376880' post='2695743']
Can anyone tell me what the difference is between stainless and nickel strings? I usually use Rotosound - RS66LD which are stainless but I noticed that they also do RS55LDN which is the nickel version. Would I notice much difference?

[url="http://www.rotosound.com/swing-bass-66/"]http://www.rotosound.../swing-bass-66/[/url]
[/quote]
I agree with the previous comments; I changed to nickels for a while...I really enjoyed them and gigged with them several times. After a while however my hands broke out in a painful rash.

Turns out I am allergic to nickel strings.

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[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1424379161' post='2695781']
As mentioned nickels aren't as bright, trebly, harsh (depending on your point of view) as is usually the case with steel roundwounds. They're often described as darker or more mellow. They don't seem to change tone as much as steels when they age because they're starting off less bright. They're usually less abrasive when playing fingerstyle which is why players often prefer them and that's mainly why I've switched over to them (though I still use steel for flatwounds).
[/quote]

This is exactly how I found the difference between the two.

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I tried DR Sunbeam nickel strings, to see what all the fuss was about. They didn't jump out at me as a big improvement over the DR Lo-Rider steel strings I was using at that time and they didn't last half as long.

I don't play hard enough to have a problem with steel strings.

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[quote name='louisthebass' timestamp='1424377869' post='2695754']
I used to use Rotosound Starfire nickels years ago - the brightness on nickels doesn't seem to last as long as regular stainless steels, but they do have a nicer feel on the fingers.
[/quote]

That's pretty much the main difference. Steel strings are brighter, but have a different feel to them. Nickel-plated strings are generally cheaper, and feel nicer under the fingers.

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