‘Mellow‘ strings

[Jakester]

My confession is I like dead strings. Properly played in nickels really float my boat, both in terms of sound and feel. 
 

That said, I just acquired a bass which has very played in strings, perhaps too much even for me. 
 

So I’m after recommendations for strings that don’t sound too bright from new. My go-to strings are Lo-Rider nickels, but having just put a set on another bass even those sounded too bright. Would Sunbeams be better?
 

I don’t really like flats - the feel and tension are too much for me. 
 

Any recommendations?

[hooky_lowdown]

Half rounds or pressure or ground wounds, three names for the same type of strings. Rounds which have been ground down, for a more mellow tone.

[Jakester]

8 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

Half rounds or pressure or ground wounds, three names for the same type of strings. Rounds which have been ground down, for a more mellow tone.

Thanks, I’ve not tried those, so I’ll take a look. Are there any particular brands you’d recommend?

[hooky_lowdown]

1 hour ago, Jakester said:

Thanks, I’ve not tried those, so I’ll take a look. Are there any particular brands you’d recommend?

D'Addario half rounds.

GHS Pressurewounds.

Elites Groundwounds.

 

 

[Jakester]

Thanks!

[hooky_lowdown]

I like D'Addario strings, I've had a few sets of Half rounds, they sound great after they're worn in, at first they have some kind of coating on the strings which feels a little tacky, it wears off after a few weeks playing. I like a similar dead nickel tone, and once broken in the D'Addario strings feel and sound really nice.

[Dan Dare]

You can remove the coating (which is there to prevent strings corroding in the packet) with alcohol or white spirit. Better that than have it come off on your fingers, which you will then pick up food, etc with.

[ClassicVibes]

Dean Markley Blue Steels are made to sound like broken in rounds.

GHS Boomers also lose their zing very quickly. 

[naxos10]

Have a look at Newtone Strings Diamond and Platinum series. You can specify Nickel or steel, round or hexagonal core. You should find a option to suit.

UK made as well.

Edited January 23, 2020 by naxos10
Additional comment

[mcnach]

On 06/01/2020 at 10:56, Jakester said:

My confession is I like dead strings. Properly played in nickels really float my boat, both in terms of sound and feel. 
 

That said, I just acquired a bass which has very played in strings, perhaps too much even for me. 
 

So I’m after recommendations for strings that don’t sound too bright from new. My go-to strings are Lo-Rider nickels, but having just put a set on another bass even those sounded too bright. Would Sunbeams be better?
 

I don’t really like flats - the feel and tension are too much for me. 
 

Any recommendations?

 

I like DR Sunbeams because they get into that 'played in' zone quickly. But recently I tried the DR Pure Blues and I'm really enjoying them. It's the first roundwound string that I like from the first minute, and they get better over the next few days. The low end may be a little less pronounced than other strings (Fat Beams or Sunbeams, typically for me), but it's marginal and easy to compensate for. The mids are strong, and the top end is there but mellow. From the start. Really nice and flexible too, if you like that.

[Jakester]

Ended up with the Sunbeams in the end as a good price on Amazon for a 5-string set. Happy so far, a bit toppy straight away but a bit of foam under the bridge temporarily calmed that, and after one 3hr jam and a couple of home practices, they’re bedding in nicely. 

[TheGreek]

On 06/01/2020 at 14:08, hooky_lowdown said:

Half rounds or pressure or ground wounds, three names for the same type of strings. Rounds which have been ground down, for a more mellow tone.

Has anybody tried these?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alembic-bass-strings-Compression-Wound-nickel-steel-alloy-40-100/162604446894?hash=item25dbfaf4ae:g:2HQAAOSwBiJZdziV

Very well price considering the brand name..mind the P&P though

 

[mcnach]

5 hours ago, Jakester said:

Ended up with the Sunbeams in the end as a good price on Amazon for a 5-string set. Happy so far, a bit toppy straight away but a bit of foam under the bridge temporarily calmed that, and after one 3hr jam and a couple of home practices, they’re bedding in nicely. 

 

I like those, that extra top end mellows out nicely in not too much time. 

It sounds like you might enjoy the DR Pure Blues.

[Jakester]

56 minutes ago, mcnach said:

It sounds like you might enjoy the DR Pure Blues.

Yep, I did consider those too. Maybe next time!

[jb90]

For me? Only flats. But you don't like them so probablly I would choose EB Slinky strings. Not too bright and when they start to sound dull they have good hi-mids but overall sound mellow. But for the best results I would choose the best - DR, LaBella, Thomastik - both flats and rounds are the greatest on the market (imo). Just play them for good amount of time and make rounds dull quickly. Especially those cheapier ones like D'Addario or Slinky's dead very quick when you dig them well.

Edited January 26, 2020 by jb90

[jazzyvee]

On 25/01/2020 at 16:16, TheGreek said:

Has anybody tried these?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alembic-bass-strings-Compression-Wound-nickel-steel-alloy-40-100/162604446894?hash=item25dbfaf4ae:g:2HQAAOSwBiJZdziV

Very well price considering the brand name..mind the P&P though

 

I have used these Alembic strings on and off since I have had an alembic bass. They are a great sounding string and do have a more mellow tone than for example my regular strings D'addario Pro steels. Also they are smooth to the touch right out of the bag unlike other strings I have tried. The main reason I don't use them more is that for some strange reason my fingertips don't seem to get on with nickel coated strings either on bass or guitar. I use them on the bass I use for reggae because the mellower tone suits that genre better and I can cope with the sensation on my fingertips for an hour long gig. .

[BlueMoon]

On 29/01/2020 at 11:12, jazzyvee said:

I have used these Alembic strings on and off since I have had an alembic bass.

Does Alembic make them or are they contracted out to a core-business string manufacturer? Never tried them; just curious.

[markdavid]

On 06/01/2020 at 10:56, Jakester said:

My confession is I like dead strings. Properly played in nickels really float my boat, both in terms of sound and feel. 
 

That said, I just acquired a bass which has very played in strings, perhaps too much even for me. 
 

So I’m after recommendations for strings that don’t sound too bright from new. My go-to strings are Lo-Rider nickels, but having just put a set on another bass even those sounded too bright. Would Sunbeams be better?
 

I don’t really like flats - the feel and tension are too much for me. 
 

Any recommendations?

Have you tried Fender pure nickels? They stay out sounding bright-ish but they get that dead sound really quick , when I used rounds they were too dead sounding for me 

[artisan]

GHS Pressure wound for me.

I have the medium light set on my Rick & mediums on my P bass.

Both sound very sweet with out the horrible zing of rounds & importantly they last very well too,my Rick has done loads of rehearsals plus several gigs with no loss of tone/feel.

Btw they are much cheaper from Bass Direct than they are from Strings Direct.