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Strings... nickel/steel. I never realised I was a "steel guy"!


mcnach
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[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1424609974' post='2698202']


At least it wasn't Amazon! :rolleyes:
[/quote]

I'd rather use my local shop but A. They never have anything I want. B. £45 for a set of Roto jazz flatwounds? C. They argue with me about what I want. Rotosounds are to short for my Lakland. They say they aren't. I volunteer to get my bass as I live opposite the shop so they can show me how they fit if they are so sure. They "dont have time"

Daddario stainless all the way for me.

Edited by Vinnie V
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[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1423835459' post='2689531']
Good thread.

I'm totally over the moon with the Fender Flats, 9050ML. Never tried them until recently, and they have blown me away.

The feel amazing, so superb, and not too bright - just right to me. I found some Flats to sound way too dead in the wrong environments, but these are just superb. I've tried a few Flats before, but never really bonded - tried GHS, Chromes, etc., and thought that I'd just be sticking back with rounds - until some online searching tweaked my interest in the Fenders.

Highly recommended! :)
[/quote]

Me too. They feel nicer after a few months too.

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[quote name='Vinnie V' timestamp='1424610544' post='2698214']
I'd rather use my local shop but A. They never have anything I want. B. £45 for a set of Roto jazz flatwounds? C. They argue with me about what I want. Rotosounds are to short for my Lakland. They say they aren't. I volunteer to get my bass as I live opposite the shop so they can show me how they fit if they are so sure. They "dont have time"

Daddario stainless all the way for me.
[/quote]

As I've said many times on this forum before - Your shop will only stock things that you want when you support them through regular custom, and build a relationship with them. If everyone was doing that, everyone would be happier with what they're being offered.

But some shops really aren't that interested in pushing up their standards and creating new "regulars". Their loss, really. And their loss is good business for me.

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DR Fat Beams imo are the sh*t Jose. DR's are expensive but i love them, and they last for a long long time. best electric bass string in the world imo. just put a set on a Lakland 55-02 and its great. Bass string royalty is them DR's. Low Riders are nice also. For Flats La Bella Deep Talking are really great.

Edited by bubinga5
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I bought a new Modern Player Jazz V a few weeks ago and, whilst it does sound great, I do really need to change the strings over to my usual Prosteels. The stock fender strings (whatever they might be) are just lacking the bit of grit in the upper mids and zing at the top that I like in my sound and the d'addarios always give me that.
I used Rotosound 66s for years and years (probably started using them as a kid just because John Entwistle was mentioned on the packet) and whilst they did give me that tone, the Prosteels give me more of it and stay brighter for longer to boot! Whenever I've tried experimenting with nickels I've always found them too polite sounding for my tastes.

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[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1424613836' post='2698260']
DR Fat Beams imo are the sh*t Jose. DR's are expensive but i love them, and they last for a long long time. best electric bass string in the world imo. just put a set on a Lakland 55-02 and its great. Bass string royalty is them DR's. Low Riders are nice also. For Flats La Bella Deep Talking are really great.
[/quote]

Yup, I've hat Fat Beams on my white EBMM SUB for a while now, and restrung your old 75RI Jazz with them too. Beautiful strings. I tried the Hi Beams too, but not the Lo Riders. Fat Beams have been my favourite for a while, I just did not realise it was a lot to do with them being stainless steel until recently.

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i like the slight floppiness that the Fat Beams have because of the round core., ,nice and loose and with a well set up bass you can get some great growl. but the Low Riders have a hexagonal core which makes them much tighter. a super low action you can get...but I'm definitely a Fat Beam man. imo they are in a different league to any other company, when it comes to electric bass strings.

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I've been a nickel user for, since forever really. When I bought my Squier VM jazz I really liked the brightness of the Fender strings that were on there but they died within a week (maybe they were on for a while in the shop though). I don't usually like bright strings. My favourites were Overwater nickels or GHS Bass Boomers (they're the same string IMO) about 5-7 days after having them on. The initial bright clang would be gone and the slightly worn sound lasted a while before slowly dying off.

So when I wanted that bright sound that the Fenders had I tried a set of Elixir steel strings. I'd heard that the nickel ones would sound a bit duller than nickels, which would have suited me earlier actually, but now that I wanted that bright nickel sound I opted for the steels. And they certainly do sound like a set of new nickels and haven't lost any brightness in 4 months so far. They feel nice and smooth too, not like some steels that I had on a bass I bought second hand.

Edit: I totally agree with what everyone says about the difference strings can make. If I pick up my Overwater classic jazz with its dead Overwater strings on it then it sounds rubbish compared to my Squier jazz. If I swapped the strings around I'd feel the opposite I'm sure as the Overwater is a great sounding bass.

Edited by Mornats
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[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1424617202' post='2698318']
...GHS Bass Boomers (they're the same string IMO) about 5-7 days after having them on. The initial bright clang would be gone and the slightly worn sound lasted a while before slowly dying off.
[/quote]

I used GHS Bass Boomers once, because I was an utter RHCP fanboi, and that's what Flea uses. First thing to note is that they aren't cheap, even by bass string standards. I believe I paid around £20 for them online, and this was maybe 4 years ago, D'Addario nickels were around £15/£16 at the time, and I was a student with very little money - it was a big deal, for me.

I was sorely disappointed at the longevity of the string. They died so quickly! And they weren't that "smooth" either. I remember them taking lumps out of my fingers.

And then I understood why Flea, even in the early days of RHCP, changed his strings every gig. They wouldn't do 2 sets a week apart. You'd sound completely different at each gig.

If you don't like a bright string, I suggest a string that isn't designed to be bright (the Boomers are, although they're incredibly short-lived). A set of D'Addario half-rounds would do the trick. They're half-way between flats and rounds, so have some of the brightness of rounds, but the longevity of flats :)

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My Yamaha TRBX came with D'addarios which I described once as being "dull from the start, just like dying Bass Boomers". Bass Boomers had a sweet spot that lasted a while for me but I only gigged 45 min sessions every 2-3 weeks at most so I guess that's the same as playing for 2 weeks for most people. Anyway, my Elixir's are great, just how I want a string to sound and last. Weirdly, it wasn't until I got my VM jazz that I wanted a bright string. I'm happy with mine now anyway and I also notice that you sell Elixir's on your site so I'll grab all my future ones from your good self :)

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[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1424652043' post='2698874']
My Yamaha TRBX came with D'addarios which I described once as being "dull from the start, just like dying Bass Boomers". Bass Boomers had a sweet spot that lasted a while for me but I only gigged 45 min sessions every 2-3 weeks at most so I guess that's the same as playing for 2 weeks for most people. Anyway, my Elixir's are great, just how I want a string to sound and last. Weirdly, it wasn't until I got my VM jazz that I wanted a bright string. I'm happy with mine now anyway and I also notice that you sell Elixir's on your site so I'll grab all my future ones from your good self :)
[/quote]

We do indeed do Elixirs! Feel free to get in touch with me if you need any help :)

I've never experienced this problem with the D'Addarios. I suppose the fact that they were pre-strung on a bass that you bought didn't help. But they do all different kinds of strings that vary in brightness. The flex steels are super-bright - even brighter than ProSteels, and ProSteels were a market leader regarding brightness.

The thing that I find about steel strings is that they last longer. Is steel less reactive or does it corrode less than nickel?

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