D'Addario NYXL - Wauh!

[Baloney Balderdash]

So I have been using a set of D'Addario XL Nickle roundwound strings on my main Ibanez GSRM20 Mikro Bass, that I upgraded with a DiMarzio Model P pickup wired directly to the output jack socket, with the J pickup lowered considerably and disconnected, using gauge .095 - .075 - .055 - .040 strings, and tuned in F# standard, 2 half steps above regular 4 string E standard tuning, since I figured out that was best suited for the musical project that has my main focus at the moment, a bass/vocals - drums sort of progressive psychedelic stoner rock duo, where I also run the bass signal through an always on 1 octave up effect, giving an effect somewhat similar to that of an 8 string "octave" bass, with pairs of respectively bass and octave strings (thanks to the editable EQ settings for the signal feed to the octave engine as well as the octave output signal of my TC Electronic Sub'N'Up Mini, and it's as good as flawless polyphonic tracking and exceptional low latency, it actually sound pretty close to natural in the mix, and without any traces of odd digital artifacts).

However I recently found out that the bass riffs for the songs I have been working on for this project sounded even better with the bass tuned an additional half step up, to G strandard tuning, as in 2 half steps bellow A standard baritone tuning, and for that the string gauges I used had just a bit too much tension, being way too inflexible.

So I decided giving the D'Addario NYXL nickle roundwounds a try, which got a new high carbon steel alloy core, and with the nickle wound wrapped tighter together, as well as they have slightly lower tension than similar gauged XL nickle wound strings, making then more flexible and the tighter nickle wounds making them feel a bit smoother.

To get the desired tension I had to use guitar strings for the 3 upper strings though, which has slightly higher tension than the NYXL strings for bass at similar gauge, which I assume means a bit thicker core.

Anyway, so I ended up with a gauge .095 NYXL bass string, and gauge .070 - .053 - .038 NYXL guitar strings, the length of the guitar strings actually fitting perfectly to my Mikro Bass's just 28,6" scale length, threading the guitar string through the cut off ball ends of bass strings, for them to not fall through the bridge string holes.

That combination giving me almost perfectly balanced tension across all 4 strings, which is just about 30 lbs pr string when tuned to G standard (which is 1 to 2 lbs lower than the tension of the A and G string on a regular short scale 30" 4 string bass equipped with a gauge  .100 to .045 D'Addario XL Nickle roundwound string set and tuned in regular E standard tuning), pretty much the same as the gauge .095 - .075 - .055 - .040 set tuned in F# standard, only the tension being even more equally balanced, including the .095 string, which otherwise had been about 2 lbs bellow the average tension of the other strings.

And as it turned out they also happens to be really balanced output and tone wise.

But the best thing is the considerably improvement of the tone these strings are responsible for!

Beside the D'Addario NYXL having slightly higher output than regular D'Addario XL Nickle strings, and feeling a bit smoother and really nice on the fingers, they have this really snappy edge and punch, though without being too brittle or harsh, but rather having an exquisite clarity, as well as what sounds like a distinct upper mids boost,  which I absolutely love.

They actually got a bit of that stainless steel strings flavor, but without the fret eating part or the coarse feeling of playing on something reminiscent of a metal file.

Time will tell how I like them when they are a bit more broken in and lost that spanking new strings metallic zing, but I can tell already now that even without that fresh string zing I will like the basic tone they deliver a lot more than regular XL strings, and the set of single strings I use is only about 40% more expensive than the XL set I used before, and as the consensus of people who use these strings seems to be that they typically will last up to 3 times longer than regular XL Nickle roundwound strings before they go dull, I'd say it is money well spend. 

The D'Addario NYXL nickle roundwound strings with a high carbon steel alloy core is no doubt by far my new favorite strings for bass.

Just "Wauh!", simply amazing strings!

Without question what I am going to use in the future for all my basses, and might even try them out for my electric guitar as well, even if I am actually really satisfied with the Elixir Nanoweb strings that is on my guitar currently (their bass strings not exactly my cup of tea though).

 

 

Edited September 10, 2020 by Baloney Balderdash

[hooky_lowdown]

Can you do an abbreviated version, can't be bothered to read an essay on nyxl strings. 😆

[Baloney Balderdash]

17 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said:

Can you do an abbreviated version, can't be bothered to read an essay on nyxl strings. 😆

"....so I decided giving the D'Addario NYXL nickle roundwounds a try, which got a new high carbon steel alloy core, and with the nickle wound wrapped tighter together, as well as they have slightly lower tension than similar gauged XL nickle wound strings, making then more flexible and the tighter nickle wounds making them feel a bit smoother...."

"....But the best thing is the considerably improvement of the tone these strings are responsible for!

Beside the D'Addario NYXL having slightly higher output than regular D'Addario XL Nickle strings, and feeling a bit smoother and really nice on the fingers, they have this really snappy edge and punch, though without being too brittle or harsh, but rather having an exquisite clarity, as well as what sounds like a distinct upper mids boost,  which I absolutely love.

They actually got a bit of that stainless steel strings flavor, but without the fret eating part or the coarse feeling of playing on something reminiscent of a metal file.

Time will tell how I like them when they are a bit more broken in and lost that spanking new strings metallic zing, but I can tell already now that even without that fresh string zing I will like the basic tone they deliver a lot more than regular XL strings, and the set of single strings I use is only about 40% more expensive than the XL set I used before, and as the consensus of people who use these strings seems to be that they typically will last up to 3 times longer than regular XL Nickle roundwound strings before they go dull, I'd say it is money well spend." 

 

There you go!

That'll be 5 quid!

Just use Mobile Pay.

Edited September 10, 2020 by Baloney Balderdash

[hooky_lowdown]

Abbreviated, not quoted. Seems you have confused the two, or maybe just confused?? 🤣

 

[Baloney Balderdash]

48 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

Abbreviated, not quoted. Seems you have confused the two, or maybe just confused?? 🤣

 

Well, that was the basic essence of what I actually wrote about the NYXL strings in my OP, with all context cut away, if you want it even shorter, to the point of pointlessness, here you go:

 

They are great!

I like them a lot.

 

Satisfied?

 

Now tell me why you play bass and your favorite strings in 3 words.

 

Edited September 9, 2020 by Baloney Balderdash

[hooky_lowdown]

[shoulderpet]

They are great, great strings, im not usually a fan of Daddario strings but the Nyxl's are really good and they are very aggressive sounding for nickels, definitely as stated above a bit of a stainless steel vibe to them, sadly I stopped using them as they don't do them in short scale and although I am not totally against long scale strings cut down to size I do like to use a dedicated short scale set if possible.

[lownote]

Loathe them, chucked them within a day of fitting them.  But that's just me, obv.

[Woodinblack]

I am a fan of them, have them on one of my basses. A bit more expensive though

On 09/09/2020 at 22:34, Baloney Balderdash said:

Now tell me why you play bass and your favorite strings in 3 words.

Bass goes boom!

[Misdee]

I read one or two accounts of NYXL  being rough on frets. I would love to hear what any ones' experience is in respect of that potential pitfall. They sound superb on YT, that's for sure. 

[BreadBin]

26 minutes ago, Misdee said:

I read one or two accounts of NYXL  being rough on frets. I would love to hear what any ones' experience is in respect of that potential pitfall. They sound superb on YT, that's for sure. 

I thought that was the point of nickel wound? IE they are softer than steel frets...

[Baloney Balderdash]

49 minutes ago, Misdee said:

I read one or two accounts of NYXL  being rough on frets. I would love to hear what any ones' experience is in respect of that potential pitfall. They sound superb on YT, that's for sure. 

There seem to be a rumor that they are, but the wraps are the same material as regular nickle roundwounds, the cores are different, and the nickle wraps are wrapped closer together.

If you do a Google search on "D'Addario NYXL fret wear" you will find a lot of people having picked up this rumor asking but even more people who debunks it based on their own experience.

Too early for me to be able to say if they do or not from personal experience, but judging from the above search it seems like there's 1 or 2 claims of increased fret wear being the case, a lot of people picking up on this rumor, asking if it is in fact the case, but then even more people replying that from their personal experience that there is absolutely nothing to it, which to me makes sense, since the NYXL strings are still essential nickle roundwound strings, even if having a different core material and the nickle being wrapped differently.

The nickle wraps is still what will meet the frets, and since it's wrapped closer together on the NYXL strings, giving them a slightly smoother feel than regular nickle roundwounds, if anything the opposite should logically be the case, that they perhaps would even wear the frets slightly less.  

Edited September 15, 2020 by Baloney Balderdash

[TheGreek]

I was given a set by Andy (formerly with D'Addario) at the first Herts Bash but for the life of me I can't remember what I used them on or whether I liked them.

What you should remember is that they have a membership here - @D'Addario UK - and are happy to engage in any discussion about their products. I've never had any reason to complain about any of their products and the CS has always been excellent - there are a number of threads confirming this.

[chris_b]

I've been using NYXL's for about 3 years and I love them. They are full range with a nice top end, and they are just fine on my frets.

[Misdee]

Thanks for the info, I will have to try a set then!

They sound mighty impressive in the demos I have heard, something quite special. I really like XL's, although in recent years Dunlop Nickel have been my default string of choice. It's just a shame the NYXL's are twice the price of the XL's, but maybe they are more expensive to produce . Something must make them sound so good.