What bass strings are you using and for what?

[Falloffthebonetone]

Brand, gauge, material, wind, etc... And what do you play with them?

[Adieu]

Re: What bass strings are you using and for what?

Ernie Balls, 55-130 for BEAD (unhappy, worked better for drop C)
Ernie Ball 45-105 afair - okish
Ernie Ball 45-105+single 135 off another set for AEADG on a bass i rebuilt for another guy (Ibby SR 1015 + Blackouts), not bad

...TRIED penny pinching GFS lights for like 8 bucks outta curiosity - HIDEOUS! Thats what you get for buying strings with spelling errors on the packaging lol (added them to a pts order since I was paying shipping anyways)

Still looking for something thatd make me happy. Somehow guessing DRs might do the trick, but the $40 price tag kinda kills my excitement. Might put em on my Christmas list and have some generous relative get me a set tho :-) sure beats crappy fugly sweaters or ill fitting designer boxers lol

[DeathMetalRob]

Re: What bass strings are you using and for what?

T-15 Combination set - Octave4Plus .375 - .160, Dean Markley HD NPS .128 - .045, Dean Markley Electric Guitar .026 - .008
Wing 7 - Warwick Dark Lord .175, Dean Markley Blue Steel .145 - .035
SR500 - Circkle K Strings .254, SIT .195, Warwick Dark Lord .175, Elite .135.
P-Bass NC - RotoSound Nylon .115 - .065

[One Bad Monkey]

Re: What bass strings are you using and for what?

Caveat: I'm the Social Media and Marketing Manager at GHS Strings, so my list is understandably biased. However, prior to starting here I was an endorsing artist on the GHS roster for a number of years, so the switch wasn't immediate. Okay, with that out of the way...

Warwick Alien Acoustic/Electric 6 String Fretless: GHS Pressurewounds, strung E-F (.105-.018): This bass is used for a lot of folk, kirtan and other world type gigs where acoustic instruments are usually used, and need a string with a lot of character and less finger noise than the phosphor bronze that normally comes on this bass. The volume is slightly less, but given that this bass is always plugged into an amp, it's a non-issue.

Warwick Corvette $$ Electric 6 String Fretless: GHS Boomers, strung E-F (.100-.020): I use this bass for a lot of different gigs, and having the high F helps facilitate a lot of ergonomic hand movement.

Warwick Streamer LX Broadneck 6 String Fretted: GHS Progressives, strung B-C (.126-.030): Another "workhorse" bass that covers nearly every style imaginable. The Progressives are warmer than steel strings, but have more overtones and clarity than nickel.

Warwick Corvette Std. 5 String Fretted: Prototype Tapewounds, strung B-G (.135-.050): One of the perks of working at a string place is when you're revisiting string sets or devising new ones, you can put them on your own bass. Case in point.

Warwick Pro Series Jack Bruce Survivor 4 String Fretted: GHS Precision Flats, strung E-G (.100-.045): I set this bass up strictly to get a traditional, old school (well, as old school as you can) sound whenever something like this is called for. Used this config for a three week theatre run of all 50s doo-wop music, and the tone on stage was fantastic.

Lakland Skyline 44/64 4 String Fretted: GHS Big Core Bass, strung E-G (.105-.045): These are a relatively new string, and I put them on this bass as it would be a good "litmus test" for people to play/hear it, when they went to Bass Player Live! last month. The strings themselves are a combination of steel wraps and nickel-iron wraps, to get a warm tone that's beefy, but still tight enough to punch through the mix. The slightly heavier core wire also lets people drop tune somewhat easily.

[ginormous]

Re: What bass strings are you using and for what?

I've tried almost every kind of string available in retail... I play D'addario XL medium gauge rounds on bass and guitar.

Some guys hate what they see as the "vanilla, boring" ordinariness (if that's even a word). I prefer to view it as consistency.
Pack to pack, low string to high, unless they're beat all to hell these strings keep their sound, and they hold standard tuning quite well.
Especially for recording, consistency is important. On bass parts, I've had to punch in sections of track weeks apart, and the new sections matched the old.
Not to mention that just about everyone carries them.

If the shop is out of Dads I'll go with Rotos, but to my ears the fabric wrap at the ball end dulls the harmonics.

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: What bass strings are you using and for what?

Dunlop Stainless Steel 45-65-85-105-125 Standard through C#. Anything lower than AEADG is not really worth playing. Music Man SUB Ray5. Black with Maple Fretboard.

[simimatt]

Re: What bass strings are you using and for what?

Warwick Black Label Strings are one of my favorites..highly recommended!

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: What bass strings are you using and for what?

Nice. I use 50-105 Daddario Chromes. Thickest flats they make. Usually in Eb or D standard.

[threechordcharlie]

Re: What bass strings are you using and for what?

GHS Precision Flats, strung E-G (.100-.045) on my 4 string P bass. I'm an old school guy who spends the majority of my time playing western swing when I'm gigging. The set up works great when I'm jamming in a classic rock and blues trio as well.

[jeremy]

Re: What bass strings are you using and for what?

i use dr fat beams or rotosound flats. tried bunches of stuff and loved the feel and tone of those two overall

[uOpt]

Re: What bass strings are you using and for what?

I have the Fender 8250s on my main player, my 97 Precision. Round core, nickel wound, so pretty mellow. Bridge-tapered E string which I don't like, might replace with DR Sunbeams.

I like the GHS boomers on things like my Warwick. Sound the same as the other hex core nickel wound but don't have the silly silk.

D'Addario's balanced set with the 0.120 E string really wakes up my Stingray. Sadly these string don't fit most bridges that aren't Fender style.


In general I like:
- tell me what the things are, what core, what winding. No voodoo and "trust us it's good" please
- simple. No taper, no silly silk


ETA: silly silk

[dg27]

Re: What bass strings are you using and for what?

I have used GHS Bass Boomers Heavy (50-115) for years on everything except my Fender Mustang and my Gibson--on those I used tapewound.

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: What bass strings are you using and for what?

In general I like:
- tell me what the things are, what core, what winding. No voodoo and "trust us it's good" please
- simple. No taper, no silly silk

That's what I love about Dunlops. I get the stainless steels and no silk. Only Dunlops that are taper core I believe are the Robert Trujillos. I wouldn't ever play those anyways. I don't like my strings to be different materials (stainless steel on the EADG strings and NPS on the B string if you get the 5 string set). Tapers look like they aren't as structurally secure as the regular untapered strings.

[One Bad Monkey]

Re: What bass strings are you using and for what?

Tapers look like they aren't as structurally secure as the regular untapered strings.

That depends on how the string is wound, but I can assure you that tapered or exposed core strings are just as structurally sound as untapered ones.

[jtougas]

Re: What bass strings are you using and for what?

OLP MM4 : DR Black Beauties 45-105... sounds surprisingly good, and the pickup swap from stock to passive Bartolini didn't make nearly as much difference as I thought it would.
Spector 2004 : dunno, haven't changed 'em, may get more DRs to put on it.
Spector Legend Classic : Ernie Ball 45-105s, I think... I'll need to check the case
P-Bass : ditto, I think...

All of 'em can be used for pretty much whatever you want to do.