After a string recommendation,need something aggressive that cuts through

[shoulderpet]

Hi all
Am after a string recommendation, have switched my bass from flats to rounds recently however whilst I enjoy the added articulation solo i find those frequencies getting lost in a live situation, I have considered slinky flats but have ruled those out as I have read reports of premature fret wear with those strings, I want to try something different from flats.

Extra light gauge (95-40 or 95-35) is an absolute must as my hands don't handle stiff strings too well (arthiritis), if I can lose some string noise when doing slides then that is a bonus but not necessarily a must, the most important thing to me is that the string sounds aggressive and cuts through. I have considered Daddario half rounds but I have heard reports that they are more flat sounding than round sounding so i think they may be too dark.

Thanks

[Lozz196]

I`ve been very impressed with Warwick Red Label Steel Rounds. I have a very twangy aggressive sound and these can do it easily. I use 45 - 105 and tension is ok, so dropping a couple of gauges should reduce it further. Plus they`re cheap, and last a long time, I used to go through a set of Rotosounds in 3 weeks/a month, I`m getting 2 - 3 months from the Warwicks.

[gary mac]

These days I go with Pro Steels from D'Addario, as they give me that agrressive bite. Prior to that I was using DR High beams, which were also great.

[Hellzero]

Turn up the mids on your amp, but you'll ear every default in your playing.

It's strange that you're asking for low gauge for round wounds when flat wounds are always (except for the Thomastik's) heavy to very heavy gauge.

Steel is brighter and more aggressive than nickel.

The cheaper the brighter.

[The59Sound]

DR Fat Beams 40-95. Before I used Pure Blues, I used these and cut through extremely well in live situations. 

[shoulderpet]

Thanks for the replies , I tried a set of extra light Daddario xl nickels as I have heard good things and they are relatively affordable , they sound great however I have some issues with the G , firstly I noticed it has more excursion than the previous strings (TI flats) to the point where it buzzes on some frets, I then noticed it has a chorus effect going on, checked the string wasn't twisted etc , wondering if the excessive string excursion is related to this strange chorus effect?

[The59Sound]

Have you done a full set-up since you changed strings? I.e. truss rod, saddle heights, intonation etc? 

[shoulderpet]

1 minute ago, The59Sound said:

Have you done a full set-up since you changed strings? I.e. truss rod, saddle heights, intonation etc? 

Yes , have done all that and lowered the pickups slightly to rule out the possibility of the pickups being too close to the string.  I am thinking it is probably a duff string , the chorus effect should not be happening and the G has a lot of excursion (you can actually see it hit the frets when plucked)

[Hellzero]

What you call a lot of excursion is simply due to the fact that, now, for an unknown reason, your string is really moving freely. The chorus effect is certainly a twisted when fitted string, quite easy to correct, simply release the tension and put the string backwards a bit, you will notice that it's twisted.

It's not against you, but a lot of people including some repair shops are mounting the strings by turning them around the post, so twisting them and thus creating that chorus effect (which as you wrote could also come from a too close pickup). If you mount your strings this way, it's ok as long as you untwist them the way I explained above.

[markdavid]

Hmm some food for thought

Edited July 23, 2018 by markdavid

[mcnach]

On 05/07/2018 at 11:23, shoulderpet said:

Hi all
Am after a string recommendation, have switched my bass from flats to rounds recently however whilst I enjoy the added articulation solo i find those frequencies getting lost in a live situation, I have considered slinky flats but have ruled those out as I have read reports of premature fret wear with those strings, I want to try something different from flats.

Extra light gauge (95-40 or 95-35) is an absolute must as my hands don't handle stiff strings too well (arthiritis), if I can lose some string noise when doing slides then that is a bonus but not necessarily a must, the most important thing to me is that the string sounds aggressive and cuts through. I have considered Daddario half rounds but I have heard reports that they are more flat sounding than round sounding so i think they may be too dark.

Thanks

 

Labella white nylons.

Roundwounds with a nylon coating. Very flexible/soft to the touch (50-105... don't be afraid, they'll feel softer than a standard 40-95), very well balanced sound, and prominent low mids... The copper version of the white nylons are a bit nicer in my opinion, but I think you'd enjoy either... and being tapewounds, string noise is non existent.

[Delberthot]

I've been using D'addario EXL nickels for a few years now since moving from D'addario Chrome flats and wouldn't touch anything else now.

For me they have the perfect balance of being pretty smooth and cut through really well. I play with quite an aggressive sound but don't use any overdrive. I have my bass set up so that when playing softly there is no fret rattle but when I dig in I get as much as I need depending on how hard or soft I play.

I change my strings every 3-4 months

[spongebob]

D'addario NYXL's? Keep brighter a bit longer, very nice tone and feel to me.