La Bella ASP-45125 Ian Martin Allison Signature Super Polished Stainless Steel Bass Strings

[fretmeister]

Finally ordered some of these as BD have them at a great price. Hopefully be here in a day or two.

[edstraker123]

On 18/11/2025 at 10:45, fretmeister said:

Finally ordered some of these as BD have them at a great price. Hopefully be here in a day or two

Let us know what you think. I was tempted but they sounded really bright from the vids I watched. I really like the Super Polished so the fact these were more grippy put me off - be interested to know what they feel like too.

[fretmeister]

The arrived yesterday and I got them installed on a Sandberg TT4

 

I usually have TI Flats or D'addario 40-100 rounds on this bass. The La Bella's have much higher tension that either of those. Possibly a bit much for me - I'll have to play more and see. I've done a set up and adjusted the action and so on but it's still a lot more effort for the left hand than my usual choices.

 

I think they feel smoother than the D'addario nickels. Left hand finger noise is a little lower, but interestingly the finger noise is at a very different pitch - much lower - so it doesn't stand out as much anyway. Doesn't feel like a flat to me.

 

When played finger style they sound deep and clear. My Sandberg TT4 is quite a bright / articulate bass with rounds and these tame the top just a little but without losing clarity. When swapping to slap they sound much brighter.

 

So far I like the tone, I like the general feel, but I do wonder if the stiffness will annoy me. They are not La Bella DTF stiff or anything, just more than I usually like. The 103 E string is perfect, but the ADG could do with being a lighter gauge for me. 40-58-78-103 would be about perfect for me as a guess.

 

I have some recording to do in Eflat and D tunings so that will no doubt be easier, and if they survive getting wrapped on a large tuning head post then they might be just right on a shortie until La Bella get round to offering them for 30 scale.

 

There was a little stickiness out of the packet but after a rub down with Fast Fret to clean them that went away in about 10 mins.

[BassApprentice]

I think that kind of sums up what others have said across the internet.

 

They aren't bad strings - just maybe not what you were expecting given the branding.

[fretmeister]

Yeah, I think that's fair.

It does put me off trying the regular Super Polished as the gauges for those are higher and I definitely don't want more stiffness / tension.

 

I'd describe the feel as either a smoother round or a lumpy flat! I really like the feel. Just wish I could get lighter gauges.