115 string sets

[danbowskill]

I play Drop C with a 4 string P ,I've always used Rotosound 110-50 sets.....love the sound and feel of rotosound, I've tried many other brands over the years but keep coming back.... Lately I've been wanting to play harder but with 110 gauge it's a little to clacky.

Anyone recommend a 115 set the sounds similar to Rotos?.... As roto don't do rounds in 115 🤷‍♂️

[Skybone]

Quick search on Stringsdirect: https://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/strings-c1/string-sets-c865/bass-guitar-c34#t925:t944:t1356

[danbowskill]

Should have said, I've tried Dunlop and newtone 115 sets... Neither had that roto punch for me

Edited October 11, 2020 by danbowskill

[Skybone]

Think that 115's are a bit of a rarity, you'd have better luck looking for a 120 set.

TBH, I find the opposite. Dunlop's DBS's have plenty of punch & brightness, as well as longevity. Haven't tried any Roto's for may years, mainly because I used Roto 66's (LD's IIRC) for many years, mainly because at the time, they were the cheapest available, but always found them to be a bit lacking, and they'd not last very long.

[Wilson_51_]

I’m currently using kallium strings on my basses tuned to cgcf. I use a .124, .082, .061 and .045 set though but I’m sure they’ll have the string sizes you want and I find them to be great sounding. Before using these I was using rotosounds before. 
 

if you really want rotosounds go on stringsdirect and you can order singles. I think they do .115 on there and make your own custom set out of singles. 
 

https://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/strings-c1/single-strings-c810/bass-guitar-c536/rotosound-sbl115-swing-bass-stainless-steel-roundwound-single-string-115-p6094

Edited October 11, 2020 by simon88wilson

[shoulderpet]

20 hours ago, danbowskill said:

I play Drop C with a 4 string P ,I've always used Rotosound 110-50 sets.....love the sound and feel of rotosound, I've tried many other brands over the years but keep coming back.... Lately I've been wanting to play harder but with 110 gauge it's a little to clacky.

Anyone recommend a 115 set the sounds similar to Rotos?.... As roto don't do rounds in 115 🤷‍♂️

They do 115 singles but obviously  you will have to buy a set of strings and purchase the 115 separately

[BassApprentice]

Try Newtone strings, they'll make a custom set to any guage you want and I'm sure if you tell them what you're looking for they will give you some advice on what they can offer! 

[BigRedX]

Which Newtone set did you try - round or hex core? You should try the other version.

 

[thodrik]

I would just buy singles and work out your own preferred gauge. If you are finding a 110 a bit clacky I would actually recommend moving up to at least a 120, maybe even heavier than that if you like a decent amount of tension or you play with a heavy touch. You might need to alter the nut of the bass to fit the heavier string, but you might need to do that for a 115 anyway so it shouldn't be a big deal. 

There are relatively few 115 sets of strings out there. GHS do a set of heavy gauge Boomers of 115-50. D'addario have a 'balanced tension' set of 120-50 which I have used for drop C tunings for the last 6-7 years. I preferred that to the GHS sets, the Dunlop sets I tried and a set of Rotosounds I made up from single strings. I tried a custom Newtone set and they were pretty good but didn't entirely blow me away and frankly I preferred the D'addario. Much preferred the Newtone though to the DR DDT 115-55 set which I frankly think were incredibly overpriced and very unbalanced. 

Ultimately for drop C I am now using  Elixirs bought as singles. They are expensive but they last for ages. You might not get that initial roundwound 'zing' of a new Rotosound, however the tone on the Elixir remains constant for months. 

If it has to be Rotosounds though, I would recommend buying a set of singles or a light 120-35 five strings set and just using the 55, 70, 90 and 120 strings. 

Edited October 19, 2020 by thodrik

[danbanbass]

I’ve got a set of Stainless steel DR DDT 115-55 on a Stingray and they are great for D Standard and dropped C - I’ve had these on since July with around 5 hours of playing per week and am now looking to replace as the zing has now gone but the strings themselves despite being discoloured are perfectly serviceable.

On my Jazz I’m trying out some Nickel D’Addario EXL160 Balanced tension 120-50 which are great in the same tuning also, just put these on the Jazz so will report back on these.

[Grav]

I was also going to recommend you try out the 115 DR DDT's too but dandanbass beat me too it.

I also got good results by buying a 5 string pack with a 120 gauge low B and just use the 4 strings I need 120-100-85-65, that kind of thing worked well for C standard and drop C for me (with appropriate neck tinkering of course 🧐)

[Baloney Balderdash]

115 strings, now that's something.

Sure it's a bass and not a harp?