Pure Nickel Roundwounds

[BassAdder60]

There doesn’t appear to be as many offering Nickel Roundwounds compared to nickel plated 

 

I know Fender do them as I’ve just put some on my bass.. I like them for now !

[fleabag]

DR  Sunbeams , AKAIK, are Nickel  over round core.  Damn fine strings too

[franzbassist]

Pyramid do them, and the Chicago Music Exchange La Bellas are pure nickel too I think.

[BassAdder60]

Just put Fender 7150ML on my bass and I like them 

 

Pure Nickel Roundwounds and I dropped from 45-105 to 45-100 and I like the result 

 

 

[Supernaut]

I like the 7150s although they don't do my preferred gauge anymore. 

[Munurmunuh]

I'm about to try the 7150 45-105 on my BB, as I like the nickel-plated steel 7250 on my P

 

I fancy trying to find something with a nice mellow but full tone for the BB .... but still have that nice hexcore stiffness.

 

Would the 7150s feel as stiff as the 7250s?

[Munurmunuh]

BTW, the GHS Balanced Nickels are nickel/nickel roundcore. Quite pricey though: £37 from Bass Direct.

[BassAdder60]

43 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

I'm about to try the 7150 45-105 on my BB, as I like the nickel-plated steel 7250 on my P

 

I fancy trying to find something with a nice mellow but full tone for the BB .... but still have that nice hexcore stiffness.

 

Would the 7150s feel as stiff as the 7250s?

I’m not sure however they have higher tension I believe than some.

I dropped down to 80/100 instead of 85/105 in the usual 45-105 sets.

I also play in Eb tuning so any floppiness would show up, it didn’t they felt great and no change to truss rod needed etc 

 

Good price to at circa £18 a pack 

[Supernaut]

7150s are like flats. They properly break in 3-6 months after installing. 

[BassAdder60]

43 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

7150s are like flats. They properly break in 3-6 months after installing. 

I would be relieved if they lasted that long !! I assume they go dull quicker than that ? 

[Supernaut]

Probably around a year before they are super thuddy from what I recall. 

[Munurmunuh]

One thing I learnt early on was that one man's broken in is another man's dead. 

[Munurmunuh]

On 01/12/2021 at 13:00, BassAdder27 said:

I’m not sure however they have higher tension I believe than some.

I dropped down to 80/100 instead of 85/105 in the usual 45-105 sets.

I also play in Eb tuning so any floppiness would show up, it didn’t they felt great and no change to truss rod needed etc 

 

Good price to at circa £18 a pack 

I've now got a pack of 7150. Can't decide whether to try them on my BB (PJ, rosewood fb) or my Squier P (Dimarzio Model P, maple)

 

The Squier currently has a set of 7250, so I would get a nice clear comparison of the two .... but would all-nickel and the Dimarzio cancelled each other out?

 

Never had all-nickel before, so am feeling a bit clueless 

[Munurmunuh]

On 20/12/2021 at 18:14, Ricky Rioli said:

The Squier currently has a set of 7250, so I would get a nice clear comparison of the two .... but would all-nickel and the Dimarzio cancelled each other out?

 

The all-nickel 7150s have indeed successfully cut the knackers off my P 😳 They will be replaced very soon.

[Munurmunuh]

By the way, this 45-105 set of 7150M sounded a lot more characterful when I momentarily tuned them to Eb Standard. I might give that another go before I entirely give up on them. As said earlier in this thread, no floppiness at all when tuned down — at E Standard they are very tumescent 

[lonestar]

On 30/11/2021 at 18:18, fleabag said:

DR  Sunbeams , AKAIK, are Nickel  over round core.  Damn fine strings too

I have DR LoRider nickel plated on my Jazz. I really like them.

[hooky_lowdown]

Fender 7150 sound warm straight out the packed, the output is lower than nickel plated rounds, I have some 7150's on my short scale precision, at the lower tension they sound dark, not so much warm anymore. 😎

[fretmeister]

Newtone nickel plated Platinum strings have a lovely played in tone.

[Munurmunuh]

1 hour ago, Ricky Rioli said:

 

The all-nickel 7150s have indeed successfully cut the knackers off my P 😳 They will be replaced very soon.

 

1 hour ago, Ricky Rioli said:

By the way, this 45-105 set of 7150M sounded a lot more characterful when I momentarily tuned them to Eb Standard. I might give that another go before I entirely give up on them. As said earlier in this thread, no floppiness at all when tuned down — at E Standard they are very tumescent 

 

And off they've come already, a fresh set of 7250M have replaced them.

 

Ahhhhh that's better  

 

I knew it would be an experiment, and I knew within 5 minutes they weren't for me.

 

Good clear low notes on the E string, btw, a bit better clarity than on the 7250's .105

[BassAdder60]

That’s odd .. I found them perfect and a clear sound on my PBass 

I tune to Eb standard and tension is lovely 

I use 45-100 though and find it the best match for my bass and style of playing 

Edited December 30, 2021 by BassAdder27

[Munurmunuh]

58 minutes ago, BassAdder27 said:

That’s odd .. I found them perfect and a clear sound on my PBass

 

No complaints about the quality of the string, if anything the tone felt more even and clear as I moved around than on 7250s. 

[Alfie]

As a teenager in the late-nineties I went up to Denmark Street with a grand intention of playing a Rickenbacker through a valve amp. Confronted by the frostiness of late-nineties Denmark Street hospitality, I lacked the balls to go through with my plan and ended up doing a quick circuit of the shop and pointing to the first set of strings I saw behind the counter before leaving with a mixed sense of shame and relief. A tale as old as time.

 

Of course the strings in question were Fender Original Bass 7150s and this started a lasting romance. It helped that for a young bassist, the smoothness of the nickel, compared to the scouring nature of the steel roundwounds that was all my local shop would carry (Rotos in the orange packet). This made playing so much easier. I loved the initial zing, gradually developing into a mellow thump and less obnoxious than the clang of steel roundwound. Santa got me a set of 7250s once and that ruined the dream of Christmas for me. 

 

Over the years I have put flats and steel roundwounds on various basses, even those weird black nylon things, but the bass I have always picked up the most and gigged the most has carried Fender pure nickels because it has the best compromise between steel roundwound and flatwound. The only downside is that the sweet-spot does not last long and I am too lazy to change them as often as I should.

 

Also they changed from a gold sil wrap to no wrapping at some point. I muched prefered the silk wrapped version, both aesethically and tonally.

[Munurmunuh]

On 31/12/2021 at 10:35, Alfie said:

the bass I have always picked up the most and gigged the most has carried Fender pure nickels because it has the best compromise between steel roundwound and flatwound

 

I think my mistake was that I hadn't appreciated this fact - I knew the nickel core would give a more mellow mids-warm tone, but I thought it still being a hexcore would have qualities I've liked in other roundwounds. I now have had my lesson, and know that they come specifically from the steel core.

 

When I next change the strings on my BB, I will pop the 7150s on it briefly, as I'm curious to see how much they counter the scoop produced by having both pickups on at once. Do the 7150s sound particularly good on a Jazz? 

[Munurmunuh]

Giving away my 45-105 set of 7150 here. Would rather they went to someone who's read this thread.

 

 

Edited January 19, 2022 by Ricky Rioli

[Downunderwonder]

At what percentage Ni is a steel considered 100% pure 'nickle' steel?