The Joy of fresh String Tone

[BassAdder60]

Just put a set of Dunlop Super Bright nickel roundwounds on my PBass and it’s funny how you forget that great zingy tone that slowly dies off after playing. 
 

Also trying Prosteels ( stainless) on my Yamaha to see how they last or eat frets.

 

Both now very zingy and clear bottom end when played fingers. No need for pick to get that clarity now

 

If only you could have this consistent tone from a set of strings more than a few weeks !

[ped]

Elixir is the answer. I used to actually hesitate to play my basses for fear of killing the strings 'needlessly' before I found Elixirs - now they stay fresh for literally a year or more.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, ped said:

Elixir is the answer. I used to actually hesitate to play my basses for fear of killing the strings 'needlessly' before I found Elixirs - now they stay fresh for literally a year or more.

 

With new Elixirs, do you miss out on the insanely zingy first few days of regular strings, or does the coating not take away any of that?

[ped]

31 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

 

With new Elixirs, do you miss out on the insanely zingy first few days of regular strings, or does the coating not take away any of that?

It's been so long I can barely remember but they probably aren't as insane as brand new uncoated strings. I get the nickel ones anyway which sound a little warmer (and they don't do the steel ones in super light gauge for some reason)

[Mudpup]

42 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

 

With new Elixirs, do you miss out on the insanely zingy first few days of regular strings, or does the coating not take away any of that?

I've tried them on a few occasions and they sound like 5 gig old steels from new in my opinion. Every few year I have another go at them and realise they aren't bright enough for my taste. 

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, ped said:

It's been so long I can barely remember but they probably aren't as insane as brand new uncoated strings. I get the nickel ones anyway which sound a little warmer (and they don't do the steel ones in super light gauge for some reason)

 

Mention of light gauges has prompted me to wonder if heavier strings, being at a higher tension, have more brand-new sizzle to lose?

[BassAdder60]

I tried Elixirs some years back and found the coating started to wear and I still lost the zingy tone after about two months tops !

 

Any recommendations for Elixir for 40-105 long scale Roundwounds running in Eb tuning ?

 

 

Edited October 11, 2021 by BassAdder27

[ped]

All these (except the first) are Elixir 40-95 nickels. Basses in drop D. Several months old. I've never had coating come off my Elixirs, but I never use a pick. I think the older 'polyweb' design used to flake a bit but the new formula (nanoweb) are perfect for me.

 

 

[SteveXFR]

Hold on, aren't bassists supposed to prefer ten year old strings because Jamerson said old strings sound better?

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

Hold on, aren't bassists supposed to prefer ten year old strings because Jamerson said old strings sound better?

 

John Entwistle, fresh rounds every gig. Steve Harris, fresh flats every few gigs.

[BassAdder60]

Just checked online and they sure are pricey !  
 

May try a set of Elixir Nickel as my next set and see how much longer they appear to last 

[Reggaebass]

I suppose it depends on what you play, I don’t like new strings, most of the strings on my basses are between 5 and 15 years old ,and if I need more I usually advertise for used flats, but they obviously wouldn’t be any good if you wanted that nice bright tone for slapping or funk 

[Crawford13]

I love the new string tone, so much so that I always think I have found my new favourite string when trying new strings. 

 

I just put on a set of DR round core nickel blues and love them! Just have to wait and see how long they last. 

[SteveXFR]

19 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

 

John Entwistle, fresh rounds every gig. Steve Harris, fresh flats every few gigs.

 

So that's why Jamerson never played metal. He was too cheap to buy strings 

[Lozz196]

I needed that fresh new steel rounds sound in my last band, whereas currently the slightly worn in sound of Elixir steels suits what I’m doing. I’ve never had the coating flake off and I’m a pick user (and can get a bit carried away at times). 

[jacob hebeisen]

I too love that fresh string zing and the problem is if I buy five packs at a time I start burning through them really fast as after a week I’m not happy with the sound and I want to put a new set on…

[casapete]

7 hours ago, Mudpup said:

I've tried them on a few occasions and they sound like 5 gig old steels from new in my opinion. Every few year I have another go at them and realise they aren't bright enough for my taste. 

That’s my experience of them too. I guess the trick is learning to appreciate how they don’t deteriorate from that sound for ages though. For me, the cost doesn’t justify the outlay so I’ll stick with my D’Addarios for now.

[Rich]

+1 for basically everything Ped has said so far  I too love the nearly-but-not-quite-brand-new tone I get from Elixirs, and the fact that it takes ages for them to become dull is just perfect for me. They've saved me an absolute fortune over the last few years

[ubit]

20 hours ago, BassAdder27 said:

Just put a set of Dunlop Super Bright nickel roundwounds on my PBass and it’s funny how you forget that great zingy tone that slowly dies off after playing. 
 

Also trying Prosteels ( stainless) on my Yamaha to see how they last or eat frets.

 

Both now very zingy and clear bottom end when played fingers. No need for pick to get that clarity now

 

If only you could have this consistent tone from a set of strings more than a few weeks !

 

 

A like minded soul. I just love the sound of brand new rounds. I use stainless (mainly because I am allergic to nickel and when I sweat it irritates my fingers) but I also love the brightness of stainless. I tried Elixirs as their coated guitar strings are great but I found them dull sounding. I used to change my strings after three gigs and that was because I couldn't afford to change them every gig. I boiled them up to get another couple of gigs out of them.

I just hate the sound of dull strings.

I started buying cheap packs of ten stainless online which made it slightly cheaper.

[Doddy]

I love fresh strings. I find I just get far more tone out of them when they're new. I prefer stainless steel for both sound and feel, although I don't mind nickel even though I don't find them quite as bright. I've said it in other threads, but I really don't like coated strings. The D'Addario EXP were ok, but Elixir were the worst string I've used and I had loads of issues with them.

[Lfalex v1.1]

20 hours ago, ped said:

Elixir is the answer. I used to actually hesitate to play my basses for fear of killing the strings 'needlessly' before I found Elixirs - now they stay fresh for literally a year or more.

This is my experience also. 

My sweat is very corrosive, yet Elixirs will last me until the cores start to go "soft" (about a year for me as well)

Not so good for plectrum players- the coating eventually flakes off from the abrasion of the pick. The frets will also wear the coating on the underside of the string,  but this doesn't seem to make much difference. 

[Woodinblack]

17 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

 

So that's why Jamerson never played metal. He was too cheap to buy strings 

 

Maybe he was never paid enough for new strings?

[gary mac]

Pro Steels for me, had a new set on for last week's gig and I thoroughly enjoyed the growly zinginess.

[BassAdder60]

3 minutes ago, gary mac said:

Pro Steels for me, had a new set on for last week's gig and I thoroughly enjoyed the growly zinginess.

Have you noticed fret wear using Prosteels ?? 

[Jack_Stroud_Bass]

Hi all, I've owned my P bass since early 2019, and it's had the same set of flats on it since forever. This weekend I decided to change them to some DR Sunbeams ahead of 3x gigs on the bounce... 

 

Wow what a difference! Everything everyone up above is saying - zing, bottom end for days, growliness... Through a markbass rig with a little drive from the SansAmp, I couldn't have been happier. PLUS the festival backline on Sat. was an Ampeg SVT with matching 8x10 - heaven  Think I'll be sticking with rounds for a while now.