Strings...oh god not again!

[MoonBassAlpha]

How about using those silk gloves that Scott Whassisname uses? Then you wouldn't need to bother washing your hands at all! I'm sure it's the oil/sweat and skin cells that kills the zing.

[Muzz]

6 hours ago, NJE said:

I use Elixirs currently, never had anything but hugely positive things to say about them. They outlast everything else and make the hefty initial outlay well worth it over the course of a year.

D’Addario NYXL strings are also incredibly long lasting, especially as they do not market them as a ‘long life string’. They don’t stay super bright, but they have kept a good level of brightness the months I have had them on, which is amazing considering a set of Ernie Ball Slinkys (which I do love) last me a couple of practices and gigs and then need replacing.

I hate to be controversial and potentially antagonise any fans, but I personally find Rotosounds strings dreadful. 

This, all of it (apart from the EB Slinkys bit, which I'm not that keen on)  😁

[bassbiscuits]

I've had brilliant mileage out of a set of NYXLs I've had on a bass for about two years.

They've done about half a dozen gigs and lots of rehearsals and still sound decent. Not as bright as new but I'm not ready to change them yet. 

I find the regular D'Addario EXL165 nickels great too. Weirdly the first set I had went dead really quickly after a sweaty gig, but every other set of them had been fantastic. 

Makes me wonder if something happened at that gig which I wasn't told about...

[bakerster135]

On 20/03/2019 at 07:14, Cuzzie said:

Tech21 DP3X pedal is string CPR

DR strings are the nuts

I've been using DR Sunbeams for a while now and, despite the price, I really think they retain the new string zing for the longest time. They're really balanced and soft on the fingers, vs Dunlop super brights, EB slinkys, daddario nickels, etc. in my experience 

[bazzbass]

your body chemistry might be reacting with nickel to make em go dull so fast. Try Stainless Steels, they are inherently brighter anyway I believe

[sPiKi]

SIT stainless steel...sounding bright and giving that big piano sound three months and several gigs in. I just wipe them well after every gig and up and down with fast fret. 

[Smythe]

On 20/03/2019 at 06:50, NJE said:

I use Elixirs currently, never had anything but hugely positive things to say about them. They outlast everything else and make the hefty initial outlay well worth it over the course of a year. 

I hate to be controversial and potentially antagonise any fans, but I personally find Rotosounds strings dreadful. 

I'm with you on those statements. Love Elixirs and I'd rather use no strings on my bass than use a set of Rotosounds lol!

The most important thing I look for in a string is their playability, their comfort and string tension. (I like a medium tension, I have quite a heavy attack). I don't really know what the fuss is about a tone of a string. I like a fairly neutral sounding string. I want the tone to mainly come from my fingers, the tonewoods, pickups and preamps not from my strings!

I run Elixir nickels on both my Maruszczyk basses (Jake and Elwood) I love the balanced tension and clean rounded tone they have. I've had them  on both basses for 7months now and they haven't dulled from installation yet from medium usage.

I normally use D'addario EXL-170-5 on my Lakland 55-02, historically theyre the string I've used the longest. A true benchmark string in terms of feel and universal usage. But, currently, I've got D'addario NYXL45130 on it but  the jury is unanimously out on them for me personally which I'm gutted about. I had such high hopes for them.. The tone is good, nice and bright, but they have too low and an uneven tension for me. The E and A strings flap around like carrier bags in the wind! The fret buzz I experience is horrendous. I've bowed my neck a bit and raised the saddles and I can it fret buzz free with the action on both E and A strings around 3.5mm at the 12th fret, Which is quite extreme for me! I've ordered another set of my treasured XLs which will arrive tomorrow. 

On my fretless I use d'addario Chromes 45-100. Another brilliant, rounded flatwound string .I love their tension and slightly bright tone with flatwound fundamentals. 

On my PJ I use GHS Pressurewounds ML7200 . Another favourite string of mine. Slightly higher tension but it's even across each string. They have a rap fundamental sound. Like a growly roundwound for the first 4 or 5 months and they gradually start to enter the best qualities of rounds and flats after this period. I can get around 18months of medium to regular usage out of them.