Strings again !!! could use some help / advice

[dmccombe7]

I know we've discussed strings many many times on BC and i've searched thru 3 pages of string topics and couldn't find what i was looking for.

I'm using La Bella low tension flats on my Sandberg VM4 and i really like the feel of them compared to the nickel wounds. The problem i have is that in some songs they just don't carry enough bite, growl or edge like a round wound.

I've also checked out half rounds or ground wounds on youtube clips but i'm guessing they don't last as long as flats 

Is there an alternative string that you can recommend. (I play finger style with 40-100 gauge.)

1. Feel of flats or easy on the fingers

2. more zing or hi end like rounds

3. last longer than 2-3mths like round wounds i've used

4. similar tension to the La Bella low tension flats

My apologies for repeating something we've discussed before but i did try searching before posting this one.

Dave

 

[Chiliwailer]

3 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

I know we've discussed strings many many times on BC and i've searched thru 3 pages of string topics and couldn't find what i was looking for.

I'm using La Bella low tension flats on my Sandberg VM4 and i really like the feel of them compared to the nickel wounds. The problem i have is that in some songs they just don't carry enough bite, growl or edge like a round wound.

I've also checked out half rounds or ground wounds on youtube clips but i'm guessing they don't last as long as flats 

Is there an alternative string that you can recommend. (I play finger style with 40-100 gauge.)

1. Feel of flats or easy on the fingers

2. more zing or hi end like rounds

3. last longer than 2-3mths like round wounds i've used

4. similar tension to the La Bella low tension flats

My apologies for repeating something we've discussed before but i did try searching before posting this one.

Dave

 

Honestly not just saying it - but I have some 2 hour old D’Addario Chromes in the for sale section, 40-95 so light & great tension, just a bit more than the LTF, but not tight tension. They pretty much fit what you’re after. Might be good to read up on Chromes if new to you. 
 

 

[Chiliwailer]

Or check out Ernie Bass Cobalt flats, they are great too - and more like rounds than other flats   

[Old Man Riva]

May not be exactly what you’re after but I’ve a set of D’Addario Half Rounds (50-105) and a set of Rotosound Solo Bass (pressure wound 45-105) that have been tried then removed from a bass that, if you fancy giving them a try, you’re welcome to have.

Just PM your address and I can put them in the post...

At the very least it may just rule them out of your thinking!

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Chiliwailer said:

Or check out Ernie Bass Cobalt flats, they are great too - and more like rounds than other flats   

Think these are the strings i was searching for the info on other threads. Flats that sounded like rounds is what i recalled in my head but couldn't remember the name of them.

27 minutes ago, Old Man Riva said:

May not be exactly what you’re after but I’ve a set of D’Addario Half Rounds (50-105) and a set of Rotosound Solo Bass (pressure wound 45-105) that have been tried then removed from a bass that, if you fancy giving them a try, you’re welcome to have.

Just PM your address and I can put them in the post...

At the very least it may just rule them out of your thinking!

I've tried heavier strings before and just couldn't get used to them. Really appreciate your offer tho. Shows we have some nice people on BC.

Dave

1 hour ago, Chiliwailer said:

Honestly not just saying it - but I have some 2 hour old D’Addario Chromes in the for sale section, 40-95 so light & great tension, just a bit more than the LTF, but not tight tension. They pretty much fit what you’re after. Might be good to read up on Chromes if new to you. 
 

 

I'll have a look at them and see what it says about them but i thought they were more like original flats than rounds but could be wrong there.

Dave 

[Chiliwailer]

3 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

 

I'll have a look at them and see what it says about them but i thought they were more like original flats than rounds but could be wrong there.

Dave 

The Chromes feel like flats, but have some great top end and a powerful punch, more so than LaBella, which do the vintage thing very nicely. 

I’d say the Cobalts are great if you want more of a rounds overall vibe, or the Chromes if you want flats that can rock out. 

Edited August 25, 2020 by Chiliwailer

[dmccombe7]

Found it on a Google search when looking for Cobalt Flats. And its from our very own @mcnach

 

[dmccombe7]

2 minutes ago, Chiliwailer said:

The Chromes feel like flats, but have some great top end and a powerful punch, more so than LaBella, which do the vintage thing very nicely. 

I’d say the Cobalts are great if you want more of a rounds overall vibe, or the Chromes if you want flats that can rock out. 

So its possible either of these might work for me. Time to youtube again 

Thanks

Dave

[Sambrook]

I've found Labella white nylons to have all the requirements you want.. 

[Sambrook]

Particularly on fretless 

[Matt P]

Which rounds have you tried? Stainless seem to last longer in my experience and keep the attack better, maybe you could try newtone strings, they offer 2 different types in both nickel and stainless. 

 

Matt 

[Delberthot]

I always have Chromes on one of my basses and I love the growl. I've never been a fan of the thuddy flatwound tone, it's all about the growl and the smoothness under the fingers for me.

If you want rounds with a feel similar to flats then again D'addario EXL nickels. When I wanted to try something other than flats, EXLs were the string that everyone told me were the smoothest feeling rounds and they were right

[Misdee]

I don't think any flats will give you the cut of roundwounds, but the supple tone of Thomastik Jazz flats is the closest I have found to what you are describing. To me ,they are the flats that a devoted roundwound player could learn to love. I certainly have. 

They're much more  articulate than traditional-sounding flats, and have a low tension-feel to them  like you want. They've  got a really nice rubbery midrange to them that is very pleasing to the ear.  You could play dub reggae on them or heavy rock and they will give you a great rendition of some classic tones . Very versatile and thoroughly recommended. 

[BassApprentice]

2 hours ago, Sambrook said:

I've found Labella white nylons to have all the requirements you want.. 

I was going to suggest just these - I have the Nylon Coppers on a Sandberg Electra and before that they were on a Yamaha BB425. Plenty of treble gets through and zero finger noise and definitely lower tension. Only thing is the guages tend to be a bit heavier due the the nylon coating. 

I believe the whites are brightest of the range available with gold and copper being warmer. 

[Paul S]

49 minutes ago, Misdee said:

I don't think any flats will give you the cut of roundwounds, but the supple tone of Thomastik Jazz flats is the closest I have found to what you are describing. To me ,they are the flats that a devoted roundwound player could learn to love. I certainly have. 

They're much more  articulate than traditional-sounding flats, and have a low tension-feel to them  like you want. They've  got a really nice rubbery midrange to them that is very pleasing to the ear.  You could play dub reggae on them or heavy rock and they will give you a great rendition of some classic tones . Very versatile and thoroughly recommended. 

I have these on all my basses.  Absolutely love them - the feel of them, the tension, the tone.

[Crawford13]

Another approach may be to look at EQ & Drive as you said you like the feel of your current strings. 

Bumping the high mids and treble and a little gain might give you the results you are looking for. 

Edited August 25, 2020 by Crawford13

[dmccombe7]

6 minutes ago, Crawford13 said:

Another approach may be to look at EQ & Drive as you said you like the feel of your current strings. 

Bumping the high mids and treble and a little gain might give you the results you are looking for. 

I tried that. Its a tube preamp and i run it on the verge of distortion so that when i dig in it triggers that tube sound. Loading the hi mids and treble does help a bit but its more a fret rattle than a tone i hear..

I've tried it thru different types of amp and i get the same result so i'm pretty sure its down to the strings themselves. I am quite an aggressive player with rounds but i found that the flats made me play lighter which i liked.

The EQ was the first thing i tried at rehearsals as its difficult to gauge it at home unless amp is cranked a bit and the wall pictures start vibrating 

Dave

[dmccombe7]

That's quite a few good string suggestions so far and i'll take a note of them all and listen to some youtube clips tomorrow and see what comes out of that.

Even tho its a topic we've covered before it was a good response to a repeated question and many thanks for replying rather than shooting it down from the outset.

Enough to go on now.

Dave

[peteb]

6 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I know we've discussed strings many many times on BC and i've searched thru 3 pages of string topics and couldn't find what i was looking for.

I'm using La Bella low tension flats on my Sandberg VM4 and i really like the feel of them compared to the nickel wounds. The problem i have is that in some songs they just don't carry enough bite, growl or edge like a round wound.

I've also checked out half rounds or ground wounds on youtube clips but i'm guessing they don't last as long as flats 

Is there an alternative string that you can recommend. (I play finger style with 40-100 gauge.)

1. Feel of flats or easy on the fingers

2. more zing or hi end like rounds

3. last longer than 2-3mths like round wounds i've used

4. similar tension to the La Bella low tension flats

My apologies for repeating something we've discussed before but i did try searching before posting this one.

Dave

 

If I remember correctly, you are using similar gear to me, playing in a similar type of band (I’m not playing glam rock but similar lineup, sound and playing a few of the same songs in my rock covers pub band) and I would imagine that you would be looking for a similar sound, especially if you are looking for more ‘bite, growl or edge’. The difference is that I am using higher tension (hex core), heavier gauge, roundwound strings.

For what you are playing, I would have thought that roundwound strings would be the obvious choice?

[Hellzero]

Simply try the Elixir Nanoweb strings as you play fingerstyle. They last for years, but never use a plectrum as the coating will die within the next hours.

I'm quite surprised nobody mentioned these strings...

That said, I prefer the real raw round wound sound (not coated).

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, peteb said:

If I remember correctly, you are using similar gear to me, playing in a similar type of band (I’m not playing glam rock but similar lineup, sound and playing a few of the same songs in my rock covers pub band) and I would imagine that you would be looking for a similar sound, especially if you are looking for more ‘bite, growl or edge’. The difference is that I am using higher tension (hex core), heavier gauge, roundwound strings.

For what you are playing, I would have thought that roundwound strings would be the obvious choice?

I thought i would try the flats to capture the studio sound from the hit singles of the 70's Pete.  I made a huge difference on my fingers over a 3 hr set and i like them for most of the songs but some where bass is on its own with the drums i find it needs a bit more oomph or growl. Normally i would be using D'addarios nickel rounds but because i tend to dig in a lot my fingers were suffering a lot. The flats helped in that respect.

If i need to go back i will and just play lighter but the flats last a lot longer. I was going thru a set of nickel rounds every 2 months.

70's Glam Rock covers band using Mesa Mpulse 600 into Mesa Powerhouse 212 cab with mainly my Sandberg VM4.

Dave

Edited August 25, 2020 by dmccombe7

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Hellzero said:

Simply try the Elixir Nanoweb strings as you play fingerstyle. They last for years, but never use a plectrum as the coating will die within the next hours.

I'm quite surprised nobody mentioned these strings...

That said, I prefer the real raw round wound sound (not coated).

I've had a set on my Warwick Thumb bass for god knows how long but i don't play it very often these days.

I do find the tension a little bit on the tight side for me but they will be my fallback if the flats thing doesn't work.

I should have mentioned that at the start and it is a bit surprising no-one mentioned them but then again i did ask for mainly flats with more zing. 

Good choice tho

Dave

[peteb]

46 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

I thought i would try the flats to capture the studio sound from the hit singles of the 70's Pete.  I made a huge difference on my fingers over a 3 hr set and i like them for most of the songs but some where bass is on its own with the drums i find it needs a bit more oomph or growl. Normally i would be using D'addarios nickel rounds but because i tend to dig in a lot my fingers were suffering a lot. The flats helped in that respect.

If i need to go back i will and just play lighter but the flats last a lot longer. I was going thru a set of nickel rounds every 2 months.

70's Glam Rock covers band using Mesa Mpulse 600 into Mesa Powerhouse 212 cab with mainly my Sandberg VM4.

TBH, I thought that most bass players were using rounds by the 70s! 

Perhaps you could use rounds and go up a gauge? You might not need to dig in so much to get the oomph you're after. You definitely need to play with a lighter touch if you're hurting your fingers like that.

I'm using roundwound nickel 45-105s, either DRs or D'addarios through the same amp as you. Always sounds great and would work well with your set, depending on how far you feel you need to go for an authentic tone. The DRs are expensive but do last a bit longer. 

[dmccombe7]

10 hours ago, peteb said:

TBH, I thought that most bass players were using rounds by the 70s! 

Perhaps you could use rounds and go up a gauge? You might not need to dig in so much to get the oomph you're after. You definitely need to play with a lighter touch if you're hurting your fingers like that.

I'm using roundwound nickel 45-105s, either DRs or D'addarios through the same amp as you. Always sounds great and would work well with your set, depending on how far you feel you need to go for an authentic tone. The DRs are expensive but do last a bit longer. 

The D'addarios have been my favoured strings for quite a few years. Did try the DR's and they lasted about same time as the D'addarios so being more expensive it seemed pointless sticking with them and when i went back to the D'addarios i found them to be smoother than i first thought.

Part of the reason for sticking with the flats was they will last a lot longer.

Dave

[Hellzero]

The Fodera nickel round wound strings are just amazing, soft touch feeling, lower feel tension for the same gauge, very flexible strings almost impossible to break even when making a sharp angle and they last quite long depending on your sweat, of course.

The Kalium hybrid are very good at it too.

That's it for the "nickel" round wounds I tend to prefer.