D’Addario Rounds

[dmc79]

Never used D’Addario bass strings much other than some XLs briefly on a short scale I didn’t keep for long. Bought some XT on here, fitted today and trying to play the fresh string zing and squeak out of them. 
 

Just wondering what the difference is between their rounds. XL seem to be standard, not sure what NYXL offers, and XT has some sort of corrosion resistant coating, but the coating isn’t particularly smooth.

 

That said, I’ve been going back and forth between Fender 9050 flats & GHS Pressurewounds, so most nickel rounds are gonna feel cheese grater like I suppose. What’s meant to be the smoothest feeling D’Addario round? Which have you tried and liked or disliked for whatever reason? 
 

I’m not insistent on staying with D’Addario, just curious as I’ve never played their bass strings much. Also the XT might be fine once they’ve settled in, but one video I saw had them dying off pretty fast. 
 

Suppose really I’m just after a nickel round that’s as smooth as possible. Is the Elixir Nanoweb coating very smooth feeling?
 

GHS Pressurewounds are definitely quieter in terms of finger squeak, but I’m not a massive fan of the feel and stiffness of them (even the medium lights) and they’re also a bit too middy for me, where I want something more well balanced all round. Appreciate any replies 

 

Edited Sunday at 16:37 by dmc79

[Lozz196]

I can’t answer re the D’Addarios but re the Elixir nickel nanoweb strings I find them to be very smooth & comfortable to play. 

[Jamieboy]

DR Sunbeams are a pretty smooth nickel roundwound. Think I recall daddario NYXL feeling slightly smoother than the normal XL strings too (and preferred them in other ways as well).

[dmc79]

On 16/11/2025 at 19:38, Lozz196 said:

I can’t answer re the D’Addarios but re the Elixir nickel nanoweb strings I find them to be very smooth & comfortable to play. 

 

Thanks. I've seen these mentioned a lot, I'll try them one day for sure. 

 

 

2 hours ago, Jamieboy said:

DR Sunbeams are a pretty smooth nickel roundwound. Think I recall daddario NYXL feeling slightly smoother than the normal XL strings too (and preferred them in other ways as well).

 

Thanks. Never tried DR, but heard good things about them. Added these to the list to try someday. In what other ways did you prefer NYXL to the normal XL? 

 

I'm after nickel rounds with as smooth a feel as possible, reduced finger squeak and a well balanced sound (ie not too middy, grindy or boomy), would consider anything that fits this description. It's a bonus if they don't take ages to get the new string zing out of them!

 

I like a fairly bright sound (I play with the tone wide open) but perhaps slightly less than I used to - I used Roto RS66LDN nickels for a while, think I'd find them perhaps a bit too bright now, they seemed to take forever to settle in when now from what I recall. 

 

Not greatly concerned about lifespan, as I'll change them once or twice a year regardless (I imagine I play less often / shorter sets, than a lot of people here). Meanwhile I'll keep searching and adding to the shortlist to try out. If there was some sort of brightness chart / smoothness ranking for popular nickel rounds, that would be most helpful. 

Edited 10 hours ago by dmc79

[Jamieboy]

If its the new string zing you dont like, my experience is that Elixirs tend to bypass that immediately but sound like a just broken in set for ages. They are smooth too so they could well be up your street.

 

Re NYXLs I think they had a slightly lower tension than the standard xls which I find a bit too stiff. Slightly different tone, which I preferred.

 

Strings are such a personal thing so YMMV but I'd say neither of those are a "bad" choice. 

 

 

[dmc79]

4 hours ago, Jamieboy said:

If its the new string zing you dont like, my experience is that Elixirs tend to bypass that immediately but sound like a just broken in set for ages. They are smooth too so they could well be up your street.

 

Re NYXLs I think they had a slightly lower tension than the standard xls which I find a bit too stiff. Slightly different tone, which I preferred.

 

Strings are such a personal thing so YMMV but I'd say neither of those are a "bad" choice. 

 

 

Thanks. I love the idea of the Elixirs being like slightly broken in nickel rounds right off the bat. GHS Pressurewounds were like this, but I want to try others for reasons already stated. 
 

I’m very curious to try DR Sunbeams, I keep reading that they’re quite smooth for NPS, also they have a round core, where most are hex core, so maybe be a bit less stiff. Also seen mention of DR Nickel Lo-Riders & Pure Blues, but the Sunbeams seem to be the most loved of the 3. 
 

I guess I’ll try Sunbeams, Elixirs & NYXL at some point, along with anything else that might get added to the list. 
 

I’m playing a 4 string passive Precision by the way. I’ve read that some much prefer GHS Pressurewounds on a Jazz, which maybe figures, the low mid grunt on them was just a bit much for me. 

 

 

 

Edited 5 hours ago by dmc79