The best strings....

[TheGreek]

From the same source as the "Best beginners bass" comes this list of the 10 best strings.

https://www.musicradar.com/news/best-bass-strings

 

Edited May 7, 2021 by Hamster
Whole web page copied & pasted

[Paulhauser]

The only thing I'd comment on is the Cobalts have great feel and sound and they are now my preferred strings of choice (yes, pity about the no 6 string set...and would love a .125/.045 5er set, too. I know, they offer single strings, too but they are a PITA purchasing with the options I have)

[ead]

Not keen on any of those. Nailed on D'Addario fan and also Newtone.

Edited May 6, 2021 by ead

[Killed_by_Death]

 

Slap/Tap/Pop isn't in my fingers' vocabulary, but I do enjoy that extra high-mids crunch I get from Stainless DR Lo-Riders.

I've learned to alter my technique when tuning down so that I don't need to have larger-diameter strings.

I used to like GHS, but I've had so many online run-ins with their guy, Moody, that I stopped purchasing those.

Same reason I won't purchase anything from Dunlop, their loudmouth rep. on TB is as obnoxious as they come.

 

[gjones]

Bass strings are expensive to experiment with but they do make a huge difference to your sound.

Sound is subjective and what one person loves, another will hate.

I do love Elixirs though.

[Guest]

I’m more of a DR Hi Beams/Fat Beams type but I can’t understand how you can have a top 10 for something that is highly subjective. At least one of my favourite flats made the list (DTF). 

Edited May 6, 2021 by Moving Pictures

[Delberthot]

6 hours ago, ead said:

Not keen on any of those. Nailed on D'Addario fan and also Newtone.

Much the same as me. I still try something different occasionally but most of the time it's D'addario Chormes, EXLs or Prosteels for me.

 

I'd tried hundreds of different strings over the years before I discovered D'addarios and now I don't see the point in going any further now that I've found what I want in a string

Edited May 7, 2021 by Delberthot

[Trueno]

I’ve tried guite a few but always come back to D’addario.

[itu]

Compared to the "first bass" article elsewhere this was far better. The basics are there and could help the one who tries to find a suitable set.

[Guest]

12 hours ago, TheGreek said:

"...not too stiff..."

I like a nice taut string, only have to roll one squishy fingertip over it and it comes alive, a lovely vibrant sound. 

[Cato]

These 'top ten best whatever' lists are pure clickbait, even on otherwise respectable sites like Music Radar.

The reviewers don't even pretend to have tested every available make of string according to consistent criteria.

At best it's just a list of strings that people working for the site like, at worst there may be some undisclosed financial or quid pro quo deal going on between the reviewers and the 'winning' manufacturers meaning that the whole exercise is essentially a thinly disguised advert.

Edited May 7, 2021 by Cato

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

1 - Rotosound jazz bass 77 - hahahahahahahahahahahaha!

What a ridiculous load of bollocks

[TheGreek]

2 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

1 - Rotosound jazz bass 77 - hahahahahahahahahahahaha!

What a ridiculous load of bollocks

Generally not a Rotos fan ...that was my thinking too.

I imagined that they sell to lots of people somewhere.

Edited May 7, 2021 by TheGreek

[Lfalex v1.1]

Skimmed through it. 

No mention of anything I've used in the last 20 years, nor any of the more interesting alternatives;

DR Fatbeams/Sunbeams

"Regular" Elixirs for electric basses

TI jazz or flats...

I could be tempted by Cobalts, but regular Slinkys feel like fret-eating cheese graters to me.

Round Rotosounds just don't last, but if I had something like an Ibanez SRH500f then their tapewound flats might be nice. 

I'll be headed to Newtone when the time comes to re- string the Stick..

[Doddy]

They could have had a bit more variation of companies and I'm surprised they mentioned Rotosound just for their flats and tapewound strings, when their rounds are what they're known for.

Personally, I've tried a lot of strings and end up going back to Elites on most of my basses. Although lately I've been loving the exposed core LaBella Super Steps.

[NickD]

No matter what I try, no matter how well reputed or expensive, I always end up realising that D'Addarios sound better and last longer at a considerably lower price, and end up going back to them.

[Sarah5string]

I'm currently obsessed with the Drop down tuning DRs. They sound great on my Dean 5 string which I keep 1/2 step down. I barely have to adjust the tuning at all and the intonation is spot on.

[zbd1960]

I'm just thinking about restringing my Fender for the first time.... As a cellist, I tend to think bass strings are relatively cheap.... Despite some of the manufacturers being the same... replacing my cellos C string (lowest string) will be around £120. On the plus side, apart from the A string (top string) cello strings last a long time. Just as well at around £300 to restring   

[Rich]

Elixir stainless. Not on the list, but my choice every day of the week.

 

[Lfalex v1.1]

Funny that DR feature an Insect (strictly an Arachnid) on a set of strings that share an acronym with an insecticide, namely Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)

[fretmeister]

IIRC at the moment I have TI Flats (P bass); EB Group 4 flats (Sandberg); Dunlop flats (5 string Ibanez Mezzo); D'Addario Nickels (the rest).

So that list is completely wrong!  

 

[4000]

On 07/05/2021 at 12:20, TheGreek said:

Generally not a Rotos fan ...that was my thinking too.

I imagined that they sell to lots of people somewhere.

They sell lots of Swing Bass to me. Have tried loads of strings over the past 40 years and always come back to Roto stainless, much prefer them to anything else.  

[Guest]

1 hour ago, 4000 said:

They sell lots of Swing Bass to me. Have tried loads of strings over the past 40 years and always come back to Roto stainless, much prefer them to anything else.  

I'm enjoying my first set of steel 66s, and am eager to try the nickel 66s too, I hear they too have a good strong character

[skidder652003]

7 hours ago, Rich said:

Elixir stainless. Not on the list, but my choice every day of the week.

 

same. had a set on my jazz for a year now (ok no gigging) but still passably fresh 

[Guest]

On 17/05/2021 at 07:35, Sarah5string said:

I'm currently obsessed with the Drop down tuning DRs. They sound great on my Dean 5 string which I keep 1/2 step down. I barely have to adjust the tuning at all and the intonation is spot on.

I tried these on a 5-string once and I thought they were pretty good. I tried Dean Markley Helix after that and stuck with those until the were discontinued. I always come back to DR. 

On 07/05/2021 at 06:57, Lfalex v1.1 said:

I could be tempted by Cobalts, but regular Slinkys feel like fret-eating cheese graters to me.

Cobalts are the most aggressive strings I have used. They aren’t as harsh feeling as regular Slinky’s but I do think they sound better. YMMV of course. In the end not for me.