NYXL strings ?

[dmccombe7]

Decided to order a set of D'Addario XT 45-100 strings. £31.99 on Amazon free delivery tomorrow so not too bad if they last longer.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

Put the XT 45-100 on my Sandberg VM4 and they feel nice and have a very twangy tone same as the NYXL from memory.

Will use at rehearsals tomorrow and see how they get on.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

Put the XT's on my Sandberg VM4 and used it today at 6hr rehearsal.

Have to say i like the tone and they are a lot nicer on the fingers.

Not as harsh as a new set of EXL190's but nice and clear thru the range. More like a broken in set of EXL190's.

If they last longer than my EXL's then its a big plus and could be cheaper in the long run.

Definitely liked the feel of the strings 45-100 rather than my usual 40-100 but didn't notice any great difference in that respect.

Dave

[Kev]

I've been looking for a while now for an alternative string to the NYXLs as I hate paying so much for strings.  But I can't find anything.  There's just something about NYXL strings that I can't move away from. They are comfortably the most stable string I've used (bar extreme weather changes i've never needed to retune when taken out of the case) and their broken in sound seems to last an age, long past when XLs/Prosteels would be completely dead.  They're brilliant.

 

Haven't tried the XTs!

[dmccombe7]

11 minutes ago, Kev said:

I've been looking for a while now for an alternative string to the NYXLs as I hate paying so much for strings.  But I can't find anything.  There's just something about NYXL strings that I can't move away from. They are comfortably the most stable string I've used (bar extreme weather changes i've never needed to retune when taken out of the case) and their broken in sound seems to last an age, long past when XLs/Prosteels would be completely dead.  They're brilliant.

 

Haven't tried the XTs!

The XT's are coated NYXL's as far as i know and from memory they sound the same as the set of NYXL strings i tried. Only reason i didnt buy another set was they didn't last any longer than my EXL's.

The XT's are about £32 depending where you buy them. I bought mine on next day delivery Amazon Prime. The NYXL were around £10 more if i remember right.

Dave

[thodrik]

My NYXLs are still okay a couple of months in but starting to get a bit duller. 
 

Great strings but I think I will be going back to Elixirs which just last so much longer.

 

On reflection I’m not sure I consider the NYXLs to be noticeably better than the standard D’Addario nickel strings, which I still really rate as my favourite non coated string.

[dmccombe7]

If you like the NYXL's try the XT's hopefully they will last a bit longer than your NYXL's.

Smoother on the fingers than EXXL's or NYXL's too. 

Dave

[thodrik]

41 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

If you like the NYXL's try the XT's hopefully they will last a bit longer than your NYXL's.

Smoother on the fingers than EXXL's or NYXL's too. 

Dave

Cheers I might try them next!

[Misdee]

On 07/10/2022 at 11:59, Mike Brooks said:

If this is of any use to you, happy to be of service... so far, upto 15 gigs with plenty of life left in them.

 

Thanks Mike, I've been watching the series with great interest.  For one thing, it had never occurred to me before that the apparent tension of certain strings might change with use. 

 

For what it's worth, the first set of bass strings I ever bought well over forty years ago were Rotosound RS66, and all these years later a fresh set of Swing Bass are still the best sounding strings on the market in my opinion. 

[Misdee]

Does anyone else remember D'Addario Slow Wound strings? They were terrific but they discontinued them, they said because they had upgraded the manufacturing of the regular XL bass strings so they sounded so similar it wasn't worth making the  (more expensive) Slow Wound anymore.

 

Regarding longevity in non-coated nickel strings, my experience has been that Elites Players have just about been the best in terms of retaining their brightness and punch. I don't play it very often, but I've got a set on a Yamaha BB2024x that must have been on for twelve years since I bought it!  They still sound and feel fine. Still tune perfectly well, too.

 

Maybe it's a sign of middle age but I feel increasingly less inclined to try and sound like John Entwistle and Chris Squire nowadays, anyway. Dead strings can be a bit more forgiving of my playing, too!😊

Edited October 11, 2022 by Misdee

[gary mac]

I'm a fan of the NYXLs, well worth the cost, the set on my gigging bass have been on there for over a year and still sound fresh. 

I've recommended them to a number of my bass playing customers, who all seem to love them.

[musicbassman]

Can I refer you nice people to this thread I started on the Accessories and Misc page on this site back in September?

 

My rather poor opinion of the XT strings hasn't changed, but I've also become a bit disillusioned with the NYXL's fitted to my standard P - having done a few gigs with them I've realised they have a decent bottom end on the E and A strings but sound a bit thin and lifeless on the D and G strings, and really lack any middle at all.

For comparison, I also have NYXL's of similar vintage fitted onto my active PJ bass and they sound really good there - the bridge pup picks up the mids well whereas they are completely lacking on the standard P.

 

Edited October 11, 2022 by musicbassman

[dmccombe7]

That's interesting as i was using my active Sandberg with the XT's and i did notice the G string was noticeably louder than my usual EXL's but i put that down to fact it was a different gauge on the D & G strings. XT's is 45 / 65 whereas my EXL's are 40 / 60.

Have to admit i quite enjoyed the G string being a bit louder as i've always had to play the G string a little harder to get it to stand out in the mix.

If the XT's last longer i might try them on other basses to see how they sound.

At the moment i remain quite happy with them tonally and the feel is smoother on my dainty little delicate fingers. 😁

Dave

[Mike Brooks]

19 hours ago, Misdee said:

Thanks Mike, I've been watching the series with great interest.  For one thing, it had never occurred to me before that the apparent tension of certain strings might change with use. 

 

For what it's worth, the first set of bass strings I ever bought well over forty years ago were Rotosound RS66, and all these years later a fresh set of Swing Bass are still the best sounding strings on the market in my opinion. 

Thank you, much appreciated. They work for me too! Cheers!

[dmccombe7]

Wee update on the D'addario XT's.

They lasted approx 2mths and i can hear the tone changing now altho i could probably get about another month before i would normally change. Have a good gig coming up so i've changed them today to a set of DR 40-100 Black Beauties and WOW, just WOW.

The Black Beauties sound almost exactly like my EXL's do but smoother on the fingers and for them being coated they have a decent low tension compared to other coated strings i've tried.

Tone wise at home i'm overwhelmed to say the least. Its not often i put a new set / type of string on my bass and it WOW's me right away.

Playing for 30mins at home they stayed in tune from original fitting and tune.

aT £30 FREE p&p from US thru Amazon i'm so far very pleased with them but proof of the pudding will be at a rehearsal next Monday night and if all good i'll use them at the important Xmas gig on 17th.

I've got a set of XT's as a back up at the moment just in case i'm not happy with them at rehearsal.

I'll update after the 6hr rehearsal next week.

Plus they are black on my Polar white Sandberg VM4.

Another thing is they sound amazing with just the humbucker selected and bass knob boosted a bit. Very mid sounding almost like a warm jazz on its bridge pick up. Liked that but its not a usable tone in my current bands but nice to doodle around with at home.

These have put me in a very happy Xmas mood now. 

Dave

Edited December 7, 2022 by dmccombe7

[spongebob]

Big fan of NYXL's since the launch - my favourite string out there!

[dmccombe7]

Did try them but they died around the same amount of time as my standard EXL's and grudged the extra cost for no gains.

Dave

[40hz]

I've recently tried my first set of NYXL's on my Jazz Bass Deluxe.

 

Tonally they're 'ok'. Nothing particularly stand-outish. They have retained their brightness fairly well over the 2 months I've had them.

 

Feel wise, they've been nice and not too abrasive compared to other brands. No irritated fingertips like I get with most strings.

 

However, the main reason I went for them was the strength of the core, 20-40% stronger than conventional strings I read? So they give me peace of mind during gigs that I'm far less likely to have any breaks/snappages!

 

Overall - decent enough, but not the quantum leap D'addario make them out to be, and frankly, overpriced a little.

Edited December 7, 2022 by 40hz

[dmccombe7]

Just now, 40hz said:

I've recently tried my first set of NYXL's on my Jazz Bass Deluxe.

 

Tonally they're 'ok'. Nothing particularly stand-outish. They have returned their brightness fairly well over the 2 months I've had them.

 

Feel wise, they've been nice and not too abrasive compared to other brands. No irritated fingertips like I get with most brands.

 

However, the main reason I went for them was the strength of the core, 20-40% stronger than conventional strings I read? So they give me piece of mind during gigs that I'm far less likely to have any breaks/snappages!

 

Overall - decent enough, but not the quantum leap D'addario make them out to be, and frankly, overpriced a little.

Have you actually broken strings while playing @40hz ?

I play very hard finger style over 45yrs and can only remember breaking one string back in early 80's. It was a Rotosound and the core broke inside the wrapping. Whether that was down to my playing or a faulty string i dont really know.

Dave

[40hz]

22 minutes ago, 40hz said:

I've recently tried my first set of NYXL's on my Jazz Bass Deluxe.

 

Tonally they're 'ok'. Nothing particularly stand-outish. They have retained their brightness fairly well over the 2 months I've had them.

 

Feel wise, they've been nice and not too abrasive compared to other brands. No irritated fingertips like I get with most strings.

 

However, the main reason I went for them was the strength of the core, 20-40% stronger than conventional strings I read? So they give me piece of mind during gigs that I'm far less likely to have any breaks/snappages!

 

Overall - decent enough, but not the quantum leap D'addario make them out to be, and frankly, overpriced a little.

I broke loads in my first few years due to my general cack-handedness and trying to impersonate Flea! (I used Rotosound back then, too, fwiw - not remotely a fan of those, but that's another story).

 

Within the last 10 years, probably two or three? But the idea of it happening during a first dance or something fills me with dread (I always have a backup bass ready to go though, so I don't know why this worries me).

Edited December 7, 2022 by 40hz

[asingardenof]

19 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Wee update on the D'addario XT's.

They lasted approx 2mths and i can hear the tone changing now altho i could probably get about another month before i would normally change.

Mine lasted for a good three months of heavy home use (had to learn 21 songs for new band as quickly as possible) before I realised they were going off significantly. Definitely a good investment for me, especially as I bought them from Sweetwater and delivered to my MIL while my wife was in the States over the summer, so a set cost me less than £30

[dmccombe7]

2 hours ago, 40hz said:

I broke loads in my first few years due to my general cack-handedness and trying to impersonate Flea! (I used Rotosound back then, too, fwiw - not remotely a fan of those, but that's another story).

 

Within the last 10 years, probably two or three? But the idea of it happening during a first dance or something fills me with dread (I always have a backup bass ready to go though, so I don't know why this worries me).

I always have a back up bass too but its more in case electronics or something like that causes a problem. Its easier to switch basses than change a string  or try and repair an issue.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

49 minutes ago, asingardenof said:

Mine lasted for a good three months of heavy home use (had to learn 21 songs for new band as quickly as possible) before I realised they were going off significantly. Definitely a good investment for me, especially as I bought them from Sweetwater and delivered to my MIL while my wife was in the States over the summer, so a set cost me less than £30

If just using at home i'd get 3 mths from most sets of strings as i dont sweat at home. When doing the Glam Rock thing the outfits and wigs cause considerable sweat and i've killed a new set of EXL's in 2 gigs. Completely dead.

That's my worst case scenario on very hot nights and i forgot my stage fan. They normally last approx 2mths.

Dave

[thodrik]

My NYXLs are still working okay after about 3 months. However, I am not playing that particular bass regularly (gigging and rehearsals have dried up recently), so it probably gets played about 2 hours a week at the most. Even then I am not convinced that the NYXLs last demonstrably longer than normal XLs as they have started to dull slightly even in that time. From being a long time user of the D'addario XL strings though I am not convinced that there is a massive jump in quality from XL to NYXL. I think I still prefer Elixirs though so will be going back to using them next as over the long terms they are a good investment. I prefer the initial tone of the fresh NYXLs (and fresh XLs) to most strings I have tried but the Elixirs deliver a 8.5 out of 10 sound which remains constant for about a 18 months. 

 

On another bass I got a set of Ernie Ball Super Slinkies which I loved, well for two weeks and then the E string just died. 

[dmccombe7]

I've moved on to the DR Black Beauties and they sound and feel very much like the standard D'addario EXL's i used. Being coated they feel nice but have that twang in the tone which i'm hoping these strings will last a decent length of time.

I really do like the feel of them. Definitely a WOW moment when i plugged the bass in after tuning.

All going well and they last more than 6mths i will definitely be putting these on my other basses. To be honest if they can last 3-4mths i'll be chuffed to bits.

Dave