Finally found my fav strings

[Twincam]

Anyone else have just one favoured string type?. And why?

After much searching of rounds, flats and tapes. I'm definitely just a flatwound guy and really enjoy the fender flats of the lighter gauges. They have great tension although the mediums start to become a little too high. Good balance of brightness and classic flatwound tone. Great feel too.

I do like rounds for tone but I cant get past all the string noise. I really admire players who can play clean with rounds. Maybe as I evolve and get better as a player I might come back to them. I know part of the problem is me dragging my fingers.

Tapewounds sound great, though not for some styles of music. And never have the right amount of tension I like. And they can have a very distracting plastic sound on the frets.

[Chiliwailer]

I love those Fender flats too as they have good treble and clarity. I also use the light weight ones, but then for my style light flats always suit me better.

I tend to go for the right string for the bass and vibe I'm after. So I go between Thomastik if I need versatility, Fender flat for an old school tone, LaBella flats for a boomy bass tone or coated D'Addarrio nickel for rounds just because my sweat kills rounds easily.

Maybe rounds will suit you better on a different bass?

[Coilte]

I like both rounds and flats, depending on the type of music to be played. For flats I love the Thomastik Jazz flats. I always found the Fender flats too high tension for me. People often say the opposite (i.e. too low tension) about the Thomastiks.

I never liked the tone or feel of [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]D'Addarrio's. I much prefer DR Sunbeams.[/font][/color]

[Beer of the Bass]

I've been through something similar, trying nickel rounds, D'Addario Chromes, Status Halfwounds and D'Addario Tapewounds on the same bass over several years. I've had Sadowsky flatwounds on since last August, but I haven't been gigging much in the meantime. I have some more gigs coming up in a few weeks, so I'll be able to figure out whether they're the right thing for me or not - it's hard to tell outside of a band context.
They have a sound which I like, but sticking with a darker sounding flat on my main bass somehow feels like a bit of a commitment since the range of sounds available stops some time around 1972!

[mcnach]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1436621051' post='2819598']
I do like rounds for tone but I cant get past all the string noise. I really admire players who can play clean with rounds. Maybe as I evolve and get better as a player I might come back to them. I know part of the problem is me dragging my fingers.[/quote]

Try cutting down the high treble it helps me a lot

[KevB]

I seem to have gone against the general consensus. After years of trying various manufacturers (rotos, elixirs, ernie ball, elite, fender own brand, others I can't even recall) I came to the conclusion that one 45-105 roundwound stainless sounds much like another, there were other parts of the process that were having far bigger influences on 'my tone' than the string. So I just looked around for a cheap reliable string of the type I wanted and ended up with these;
[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coban-Guitar-Strings-Deluxe-DCG3/dp/B00A3HGGP8"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coban-Guitar-Strings-Deluxe-DCG3/dp/B00A3HGGP8[/url]
No issues so far.

[Twigman]

Only string for me: d'Addario Half rounds ENR71 45-100....best of all worlds

Edited July 13, 2015 by Twigman

[CamdenRob]

I'm back on prosteels again, tried a few others recently but now I'm back with them again everything just sounds right.

I have been given a set of SIT strings to review so I'll have a blast on those at some point in the near future.

I found the fender flats very high tension, but the set I had were quite a heavy guage, I tend to go for labella flats on my fretless basses.

[Bigwan]

I was always an Elites Stainless Steel fan, but I have a set of Ernie Ball Cobalts on the P at the minute and they're fantastic. Might carry on with them depending how they wear.

[cameltoe]

I had never played flatwounds but bought a bass with a set of the Fender flats on. Lovely! Smooth, high enough tension to get my action lower than a gnats nadgers but not too stiff. Plenty of attack and punch with enough brightness not to sound 'dead' (as I always assumed flats sounded).

I tried chromes before and hated them. Was like someone had strung my bass with wire coat hangers.

[jonnythenotes]

For me, very basic strings... Rotosound 40 60 80 90 round wound with bass tone full on, mids at 50% and top end wound back to about 80%. Play with my fingers, and its that sort of funky, (but no slap,) bass drum ' there and gone ' notes that I love, with plenty of space in between. Clearing string resonance between notes is that all important part of funk, which sets up everything else, allowing it to come through with absolute clarity... Might not work too well in an AC/DC tribute band though...

[LayDownThaFunk]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1436781632' post='2820591']
I seem to have gone against the general consensus. After years of trying various manufacturers (rotos, elixirs, ernie ball, elite, fender own brand, others I can't even recall) I came to the conclusion that one 45-105 roundwound stainless sounds much like another, there were other parts of the process that were having far bigger influences on 'my tone' than the string. So I just looked around for a cheap reliable string of the type I wanted and ended up with these;
[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coban-Guitar-Strings-Deluxe-DCG3/dp/B00A3HGGP8"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coban-Guitar-Strings-Deluxe-DCG3/dp/B00A3HGGP8[/url]
No issues so far.
[/quote]
Putting cheap strings on a bass is like putting part worn tyres on a sports car.

[jonnythenotes]

But as soon as you drive out of the fitting bay they are part worn....... What is the crossover point between new and worn tyres / cheap or expensive strings...

[cameltoe]

I tried a set of £6 stagg strings once thinking there would be no difference. Never again! I could hear and feel the core rattle around inside the winding. No punch whatsoever! Couldn't wait to get them off.

[mcnach]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1436781632' post='2820591']
I seem to have gone against the general consensus. After years of trying various manufacturers (rotos, elixirs, ernie ball, elite, fender own brand, others I can't even recall) I came to the conclusion that one 45-105 roundwound stainless sounds much like another, there were other parts of the process that were having far bigger influences on 'my tone' than the string. So I just looked around for a cheap reliable string of the type I wanted and ended up with these;
[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coban-Guitar-Strings-Deluxe-DCG3/dp/B00A3HGGP8"]http://www.amazon.co...3/dp/B00A3HGGP8[/url]
No issues so far.
[/quote]


I tried them (at that price, I had to!!! )
They are not bad, but they didn't sound great to me. I replaced them with a set of Fender steel 7350M and the bass sprung to life by comparison. I guess if you like stainless steel strings after they've been on for a while, the Coban ones can be ok. The gauge seemed strange too, they did not measure what the packet said, but a little less.

For cheap stainless, I like the Red Label Warwick. They're only about £11-12, and they sound pretty good. A little rough on the fingers, but I soon get used to it.

This reminds me, I have a set of S.I.T. stainless strings to try, I should do that soon... my Jake needs restringing so it should be a good opportunity.

[Rich]

After many years wandering in the stringy wilderness, I've settled on Rotosound nickels, 45-130. I like the feel and the sound, and the longevity is good. I'm trying some similar D'Adds at the moment on the back of the 50% offer, to see how they compare.

[inthedoghouse]

I was always a Roto (round wound) user until I bought a bass with LaBella (rounds) on. I don't use anything else now, but I do have a soft spot for Fender flats I put on my P from time to time.

[Twincam]

String quality really does matter, cheap strings only cut it in an emergency.

[velvetkevorkian]

Super-light Elixirs (which in this case means 40-95 +125) 4 lyfe.

[KevB]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1436825469' post='2821257']
I tried them (at that price, I had to!!! )
They are not bad, but they didn't sound great to me. I replaced them with a set of Fender steel 7350M and the bass sprung to life by comparison. I guess if you like stainless steel strings after they've been on for a while, the Coban ones can be ok. The gauge seemed strange too, they did not measure what the packet said, but a little less.

For cheap stainless, I like the Red Label Warwick. They're only about £11-12, and they sound pretty good. A little rough on the fingers, but I soon get used to it.

This reminds me, I have a set of S.I.T. stainless strings to try, I should do that soon... my Jake needs restringing so it should be a good opportunity.
[/quote]

Someone bought me a set of Roto's for xmas so I swapped them for the Coban strings on my US precision, through my rig in a band context I couldn't hear any noticeable difference. The Roto's were just about done by last month so i changed back to a new set of Coban's. No one at a gig or in rehearsal has made any comment about any change in tone (other than a new set obviously sound a bit brighter for a while). I can't tell any difference in guage between them and the previous set of Roto 45-105's from the feel of them either. Not bothered to try to measure them.

Edited July 14, 2015 by KevB

[KevB]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1436829015' post='2821304']
String quality really does matter, cheap strings only cut it in an emergency.
[/quote]
Only up to a point and depends on who's definition of cheap we use. I'd be amazed if there weren't examples of different companies selling the same strings from the same source factories in different packaging at different prices.

[lowhand_mike]

used to use elites and slinkys years ago, but my SR's come with Elixirs and i love them, last for bloody ages and great tone. the coating makes them comfortable too

[mcnach]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1436889574' post='2821766']
Someone bought me a set of Roto's for xmas so I swapped them for the Coban strings on my US precision, through my rig in a band context I couldn't hear any noticeable difference. The Roto's were just about done by last month so i changed back to a new set of Coban's. No one at a gig or in rehearsal has made any comment about any change in tone (other than a new set obviously sound a bit brighter for a while). I can't tell any difference in guage between them and the previous set of Roto 45-105's from the feel of them either. Not bothered to try to measure them.
[/quote]

enjoy them, by all means! I'm actually envious!

[dudewheresmybass]

I've tried many many brands over the years, including many of the buzz/ trend brands.
All but Warwick red label, roto bass and swing bass left me cold and with a tone I couldn't work with.
These days I'm using 50-110 and couldn't be happier with my tone

[KevB]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1436891587' post='2821793']
enjoy them, by all means! I'm actually envious!
[/quote]

I probably should qualify that all my observations about overrall bass tone are strictly for my 'real world' situations. I play rock n pop covers in pub bands. If I can hear subtle differences in sound in isolation but they are not translated into a difference in sound when I'm playing in the band at gigging volume they are irrelevant to me. I'm only really interested in what the audience hears. This just doesn't apply to strings but changes in pick ups, amps, cabs etc. It's only when they make big enough differences to be noticeable in the 'real world' that they are of any consequence to me. I never practice at home using my gigging rig.