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Dunlop Super Brights and super low tension


bassjim
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My personal brief experience with these. Based on me,my bass (fender jazz) and how I got on with them all be it briefly. I was given a set of these to try. The bloke from Jamiriqou and a few other celebs are singing their praises so I gave them a whirl.

Considering the greatness of the players that use them and how much they say these are fantastic I had great expectations. I'm sure all these great pros cant be wrong. You can see em doing their thing on youtube ect and they are indeed loving em.

I already have a low action so when I put these on, well..low tension? Yes I know it says so on the pack but they were so low tension they were practically falling off the fretboard. As it was prior to a gig I didnt have time or the inclination to do a complete action,intonation and neck adjustment so put my usual rotosound cheap as you like nickels back on. (they work for me!)

The Dunlops are so low tension that at first i wondered if they had put the wrong gauge in there. Without making any adjustments I would describe the feel of these as "floppy", "rubbery" and "elastically". Try detuning your bass down a step to get an idea. They sounded completely different as well.(possibly in a good way though, Not sure as they didnt stay on the bass long enough to find out).

Probably best for me to test these properly another time and not just prior to a gig but I would say if like me you already have a low action and straight as you can neck watch out cause these will need more attention.

When I try something new like this I need to be wowed over rather than yes ok ,but only on the basis I do this that and the other first. At £25.00 a set this is not the cheapest of experiments so thought Id share my personal experience.

This is in no way a "dont use these because", its just how I got on with them..

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Which ones did you try, nickel or steel and which gauge?

I put a set of 45-125 steels on a bass that usually has D'Addario nickels of similar gauge and they do rattle a bit (I haven't had time to set it up properly). I have a 40-100 set of nickels coming in to try on a P-Bass which should be interesting...

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I recently tried a set of the steels on my Wal sixer... they lasted about an hour before I swapped them out for my usual prosteels.

Not for me. Despite the suggestion of "super bright" they were actually pretty dull.

Edited by CamdenRob
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The low tension on them is exactly why I like 'em so much, I've been using the 45-105 nickels for a while now. I was looking for a while to get away from high tension steels and these seemed to fit the bill.

I don't have my action super low as am a heavy handed bugger, but the OP is correct, they will usually require the truss rod to be adjusted if you've had other higher tension strings on.

I will say you can get them cheaper than £25 though. My last ones (last week) were £17.50 delivered.

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I was a bit disappointed in the lack of brightness, I should really be a bit less susceptible to brand names by now.

They weren't terrible but I was a lot happier when I restrung with hi beams.

Edited by Cato
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But bear in mind guys these are designed with slap players in mind, and as such they are the best strings for slap I've used in my albeit short time playing bass. But as I said on the DR thread, not so great for plucking. You need a featherlite touch or else things get clanky, and we don't like clanky.

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[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1464709728' post='3061685']
I bought the light gauge ones for my P Bass as I like clanky.
[/quote]

How does one get rid of clank? I have a Jazz Bass strung with .045-.105 DR Pure Blues nickelwound strings and it clanketh like Iron Man having a seizure. Is it the strings, does the action need raised a tad, or something else?

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[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1464710638' post='3061702']
How does one get rid of clank? I have a Jazz Bass strung with .045-.105 DR Pure Blues nickelwound strings and it clanketh like Iron Man having a seizure. Is it the strings, does the action need raised a tad, or something else?
[/quote]

A mixture of strings, tension, action, string age/condition, and EQ (e.g. anything sounds clanky through a VT Bass with the character knob whacked up)!

Maybe standard Dunlop nickels as they are a bit duller than some (I'll do you a good price on an unopened 45-105 set!) or DR Sunbeams, or compression wounds / tapewounds / flatwounds?

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