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Physical reaction to stainless steel strings


Guest MoJo
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On the recommendation of a friend, I replaced my usual nickel-plated Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkys, with a set of Dunlop Stainless Steel Superbrights. At the end of the first set of Sunday night's gig, I noticed that my fingertips on both hands were tender and sore. I hadn't been playing any harder than usual, so could only assume that it was a reaction to the stainless steel. Has anyone else experienced this?

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Guest Jecklin
50 minutes ago, MoJo said:

On the recommendation of a friend, I replaced my usual nickel-plated Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkys, with a set of Dunlop Stainless Steel Superbrights. At the end of the first set of Sunday night's gig, I noticed that my fingertips on both hands were tender and sore. I hadn't been playing any harder than usual, so could only assume that it was a reaction to the stainless steel. Has anyone else experienced this?

I would hazard it's not a chemical reaction.

One is far more likely to have a reaction to nickel than the relatively inert/unreactive stainless steel.

 

However I would imagine the stainless rounds are considerably more aggressive than the nickels you were used to and you are suffering from having an abrasive effect from the stainless windings. You will just need to build up thicker callouses

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Agreed.

Nickels are a wee bit softer than Stainless, where Stainless are harder, and more abrasive because of it. You won't get a skin reaction with Stainless, but they are a bit harder on the fingers (and frets).

I used to get a skin reaction from Nickels (dead skin on my fingertips), but since moving to Stainless, I've not had that. It did take a while to build up my fingertips, and it did hurt after playing, but it's a muscle / callous thing rather than a skin reaction.

The solution? Play more bass! :D

Edited by Skybone
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As already said, stainless steel strings are much tougher on the fingers than nickel. Before switching to flats I often ended up with bloody fingertips.

I will try another set now I've started to use a lighter touch to see if they are still as brutal!

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Yep, I`ve been using Rotosound steels for years, recently decided to try Warwick Red Label steels and the end of my index finger on my left hand has developed a bit of fraying skin - am amazed, didn`t think they came rougher than Rotos!

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10 hours ago, MoJo said:

On the recommendation of a friend, I replaced my usual nickel-plated Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkys, with a set of Dunlop Stainless Steel Superbrights. At the end of the first set of Sunday night's gig, I noticed that my fingertips on both hands were tender and sore. I hadn't been playing any harder than usual, so could only assume that it was a reaction to the stainless steel. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

It could be that they're rougher, not necessarily a 'chemical' reaction.

There are some strings that seem like a lot more work on my fingers because of their coarseness, while others have tighter windings with lower gauge wire and they feel smoother. Over a couple of hours that's noticeable. If you play a couple of gigs during the weekend, on Monday the fingertips may feel a bit... sensitive.

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1 hour ago, Skybone said:

Agreed.

Nickels are a wee bit softer than Stainless, where Stainless are harder, and more abrasive because of it. You won't get a skin reaction with Stainless, but they are a bit harder on the fingers (and frets).

I used to get a skin reaction from Nickels (dead skin on my fingertips), but since moving to Stainless, I've not had that. It did take a while to build up my fingertips, and it did hurt after playing, but it's a muscle / callous thing rather than a skin reaction.

The solution? Play more bass! :D

 

I don't think it has anything to do with being harder or not... both metals are considerably harder than fingertips ;) 

How rough a roundwound string feels is a function primarily of the wire gauge used to wind around the core. There's quite a variety out there. If you then get coarse strings that are also less flexible (they feel more taut)... fingertip killer, until you get used to them

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56 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Yep, I`ve been using Rotosound steels for years, recently decided to try Warwick Red Label steels and the end of my index finger on my left hand has developed a bit of fraying skin - am amazed, didn`t think they came rougher than Rotos!

 

I like the ss Red Labels, and their price!!! but they're quite coarse... The DR Fat Beams sound nicer and they feel sooooo much smoother, that I pay the 3x price difference without second thoughts.

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10 minutes ago, mcnach said:

 

I like the ss Red Labels, and their price!!! but they're quite coarse... The DR Fat Beams sound nicer and they feel sooooo much smoother, that I pay the 3x price difference without second thoughts.

Yeah I went for these primarily for the price, and really like the sound which is a bonus. I need that new string sound, have to change strings once a month so a real bonus that I can now do it for £8.

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19 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Yeah I went for these primarily for the price, and really like the sound which is a bonus. I need that new string sound, have to change strings once a month so a real bonus that I can now do it for £8.

 

If I changed them once a month I'd do the same! I only start really liking my strings after a couple of weeks... and then keep them for about a year, depend on usage (I rotate a couple of basses live, and at home I use other basses).

As I type, I still have a couple of sets of Warwick Red labels... I keep them as backup with my live stuff, in case myself or somebody else ends up needing a set in a hurry.

By the way... £8 is even better than the £11-13 I've found. Where do you buy yours? 

 

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Got them off of amazon - did a search and found a place in Germany doing them at about £7.84 per set, delivery extra so I bought 6 sets at once to keep costs down, 6 sets of strings for about £52, can`t go wrong with that.

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General consensus is that it is most likely the coarseness of the windings which seems very plausible. I don't think that Dunlop Stainless Superbrights are the one's for me. I'll stick to the smoother roundwounds that I'm accustomed to 

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Got to agree that Warwick Red's are pretty coarse. Used them for a while, but wasn't too happy with the feel or the sound. Changed to Fender 7350M's, not quite as cheap as the Red's, but cheaper than Roto's, decent quality and a nice sound.

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