Best strings?

Hey which are the best BRAND of strings...overall

I dont want different types like flatwound or jazz etc.. just the Best brand out there?

That's a totally subjective thing!

I personally use and like GHS strings. I've also used Thomastik-Infeld and Pyramid strings and dug them profoundly. But there are certainly plenty of great strings that I HAVEN'T tried, and I'm quite sure that folks will chime in with what they like.

And none of us will be wrong, because it's a totally subjective thing!

Tim

D'addario for sure. I've tried Ernie balls and ghs and neither of them last as long or keep the new string shine as long, and they sound uh-mazing. But that's just my 2 cents.

Do note that this question is in the Bass forum, so I suspect the OP is asking about bass strings...

Tim

My favorite brand as for now is Rotosound.
Thick, solid, indestructible strings. They make perfect flatwounds.

But my favorite particular strings are Fender Black Nylon Tapewounds. Nothing sounds and feels like them, it's like touching wool, not bass strings, while the sound is warm and unique.

I use Elixer strings on everything i own

Fender flats have worked for me, but then again I didn't spend too much time searching either... Never had a reason to.

Do note that this question is in the Bass forum, so I suspect the OP is asking about bass strings...

Tim

yep! im a guitar player..my sister plays bass.. and i wanted to get her a simple gift

I like rotosounds on everything personally but thats a really subjective question

Okay, what kind of bass does she play? Do you know whether she uses roundwound strings (most do) or flats (a few of us old-school types)? What style of music does she play?

And most important: how much are you willing to spend?

:mrgreen:

Tim

Totally subjective.

My favorites are Ernie Ball rounds and LaBella flats.

I use D'addario, but all of the strings mentioned above are fine.

If she's in for the oldschool playing, I'd really give those tapewounds a try - they're soft, deliver nice, quite vintage sound... and look classy. :cool:

I always played Ernie Ball pure nickel 11-48´s.But after a friend told me to try Pyramid´s(same gauge - same material) is was shocked....they sound the same, but just half the price....now i can change every two weeks my strings and spending just a little more than 3,- Euros....great!

I'm a fan of Snake Oil Strings from Dean Farley. Use them on all of my electric basses and guitars.

Specifically, I use the SL set, 45-100's

http://snakeoilstrings.com/strings.htm

Sort of like "Best Underwear" or something.

I love Maxima/Optima Golds for bass. They're nice and articulate without being too bright.

They're expensive, but finger oil and dirt have trouble sticking to the gold wrap so they last for years...

Haven't bought tapewounds since Beggar's Banquet was new. Don't care for them.

Hopefully the wrap stays on the new ones better than it did back in the day... :roll:

Fender bullets.

There I said it, strings are strings are strings..

The more you play and the better you become the less "brand" is an issue.

I alone know the best brand. Everybody else is just wrong. I don't know why they even bother playing.

Hey, we just point out the brands each of us considers best, thus they are our favorite. As long as we point out some arguments, there's no prob :razz:
But there certainly is no objective truth about which strings ARE the best in the world. I guess it would even be much easier to point out the WORST strings then the BEST :wink:

Always fun to compare notes on strings.

I've used several brands over the years. My own bias is toward nickle rather than steel but I'll take flats or rounds depending on what I'm looking for. I tend to the P-bass side of the P-to-J sound scale.

You don't hear much about SIT, but their "Sileners" are a good variety of "pressure wound" . Strings for guys that like the sound of rounds and go crazy over the sting noise. Solid sound of rounds just a tad on the dark side. Comparable in their way to GHS. I think they probably do a better job on 4s

I've had GHS Boomers and Brite Flats on my short scale and wound up favoring the Boomers. Hard to go wrong with them.

I just put a set of Sadowsky Black Label Light Rounds (nickle, naturally) on my 5 and can't imagine liking anything any better for clarity, punch, zing and general modern sound.

I love TI flats and absolutely cannot stand D'Addario Chromes though I know a lot of guys swear by them. In fact I've never had much luck with D'Addario, so it's clearly me not them (a good company by all accounts)

The Labella tapes have a permanent place on my fretless. I've tried the Roto 88s on there ( Very different animals those are), Fender tapes and TI flats. The Labellas win hands down.

Never tried any DRs and I'm curious. So next time my wallet reaches critical mass and I have some time to experiment . . .

I like TI Jazz Flats on my Jazz, and D'Addario EXL170's (nickel wound 40-105 Round wounds) on my Precision. I use DR nickels on my Warwick 5 string.
The D'Addarios are consistently good, with a strong piano quality, and the TIs are pricey, but they last almost forever.

Fender bullets.

There I said it, strings are strings are strings..

The more you play and the better you become the less "brand" is an issue.

Fender bullets are guitar strings. This is The BASS Place.

I disagree completely with your last sentence. Different strings can make an enormous difference in sound, especially on bass, and it has nothing at all to do with how much you play and how good you are.

Fender bullets are guitar strings. This is The BASS Place.

I disagree completely with your last sentence. Different strings can make an enormous difference in sound, especially on bass, and it has nothing at all to do with how much you play and how good you are.

Well said, and absolutely objective as well.

My experience is that different basses react different to the same strings.
Great on one bass and ***** on the other ...

A medium thing between flats and rounds are halfwounds ...
A have a set of d'Addario ENR-71 Halfrounds on one of my basses and it sounds good.
A friend of mine uses one of these strings sets for 18 years now without changing. :shock:

This might be a present for your nephews or nieces, too - even if they are not born yet. :grin:

I think a lot of strings are made by a few manufacturing facilities and they just put different names on them.

I think a lot of strings are made by a few manufacturing facilities and they just put different names on them.

That's an old myth kept alive by music store clerks who want to sell you what they have in stock instead of what you want.

There are more brands than factories -- which is true of just about any consumer product -- but there are at least a dozen string factories in the US and many more overseas.

I think a lot of strings are made by a few manufacturing facilities and they just put different names on them.

I've wondered that about the new Fender strings that have d'Addario colour coding.

I've wondered that about the new Fender strings that have d'Addario colour coding.
Cause, yeah, d'Addario makes strings for Fender. And they're branded 'Fender' and packaged into 'Fender' boxes...

I just started trying GHS Pressure Wound. A couple of my Bass playing friend suggested I try these. So far really liking these. Been using Ernie Ball round wound for years & years. Strings are a personal preference. Trial & error is the only way to find your favorite.

Just ordered Rotosound TruBass 88's. Can't wait to try them out!

Just ordered Rotosound TruBass 88's. Can't wait to try them out!

Interesting choice. All wrapped stings are fat, but those are fatter. You may need to have your nut slots filed out a bit.

Give them some time to break in and let us know what you think of them.

I think a lot of strings are made by a few manufacturing facilities and they just put different names on them.

In the late 70's I was given a tour of the GHS plant. Just me & Dave Holcumb going from room to room with him explaining different processes and procedures. When we got to the packing room he said, "Now you can't tell anyone what you see in here, we have a lot of contracts with various brands and they don't want it to get out that they aren't actually making the strings that go into their packaging". That said, he did go into some of the differences between the different brands that he showed me that day. So, it is possible that many of the strings are made in only a few factories but they're still made to the specifications laid out by each individual brand.
As for my preference(s) I lean toward GHS & D'Adarrio for both bass and electric guitar. While on a trip to the States in July I stocked up on acoustic strings and the jury is still out at the moment. Right now I have a set of Dunlops (12-54) which really surprised me compared to the Pyramids that I tried. Though I haven't found D'Addarios to be all that pleasing on acoustic but am really interested in how the Flat Tops are going to perform. I have a set of half-rounds (ENR70) on my bass and they're the best of both worlds IMHO.

It is very subjective, rather like socks really ...

With my PV T40 it's a case of which strings fit a 34-in "long" scale with a long tailpiece and string-through fitting, without the silk wrap being over the nut ? = Thomastik.

I had Pyramid flats on my Hofner Beatle Bass and loved them. I have also used GHS flats on it and they were great, too. I had Ernie Ball flats on my EB3 bass and GHS flats on my short scale fretless and Fender tapewounds on my Squier fretless Jazz bass. I really see no reason to try other strings but I may see what else is out there when I need to change them.

Daddario 1/2 rounds. I like the sound and feel.

DR "Pure Blues" for sure. I was never partial to any string manufacturer before trying DR's. My personal experience with them is that they last longer, bend easier, and are more ear pleasing. The Tite-Fits are great strings too, and I tried those first, but the feel of the Pure Blues is what I look for in a string.

DR "Pure Blues" for sure. I was never partial to any string manufacturer before trying DR's. My personal experience with them is that they last longer, bend easier, and are more ear pleasing. The Tite-Fits are great strings too, and I tried those first, but the feel of the Pure Blues is what I look for in a string.

Agree. This is all I use. I get the occasional bad string that won't intonate but the tone is so good I'll just buy another pack. Nothing else is even close for me.

Daddario 1/2 rounds. I like the sound and feel.

What guage would you suggest for a P-Bass?

What guage would you suggest for a P-Bass?

I use 45-105 on mine, but it's very subjective, and your taste might vary according to the string. (I use Rotosound Jazz Bass 77's (monel flatwound) on my '70RI P-Bass with an American Vintage pup set. Very much an old school sound :mrgreen: )

My favorite brand as for now is Rotosound.
Thick, solid, indestructible strings. They make perfect flatwounds.
.

+1

I alone know the best brand. Everybody else is just wrong. I don't know why they even bother playing.
I've now come across two of your posts (the other one on a home recording thread), and I gotta say, I like your attitude towards gear snobbery. :mrgreen:

-Gnobuddy

There I said it, strings are strings are strings..

The more you play and the better you become the less "brand" is an issue.
I basically agree with you, but I can say that I have run across at least one case where a different brand of strings fixed a very audible problem - and it was a problem that could not be fixed by playing technique.

To be specific, a year ago I bought a 5-string bass, a Yamaha RBX 375. With the stock strings from the factory, there was a distinct and dramatic change in tone between the 5th string (low B) and the other four strings. The 5th string had a much duller and more muffled tone than the other four strings. This was true whether that string was open or fretted.

This was a big problem, as it pretty much invalidated the whole point of having a 5 string bass instead of a regular 4-stringer. Every time I crossed over to that low 5th string while playing, all I could hear was that sudden change to a duller and less distinct tone.

I searched TDPRI and found someone else who had asked for help with this same problem (dull sounding low B string). One of the people who responded said that switching to La Bella M45 HRS strings cured this problem for him. (These strings: http://www.samash.com/p/Labella_M45B%20Hard%20Rockin%20Steel%20Standard%20 Electric%20Bass%205%20String%20Set%2045128_-49968087 )

Well, he was right. I got a set of the La Bella M45's, put them on the Yamaha, and the problem was gone. The low B now had the same tone as the other 4 strings, just at a lower pitch.

My Yamaha bass is lightly used, so that same set of strings has stayed on the guitar for over a year now. They still sound good, so I'm in no hurry to change them.

-Gnobuddy

What guage would you suggest for a P-Bass?

Don't forget, that 1/2 rounds (or flatwounds) have more "material" than roundwounds! The diameter of roundwounds also includes the "air between the roundings" ...

Someone who normally plays 105 roundwounds should first try 100 1/2 rounds and not 105 ...

Okay; the Fender flatwounds are (were? now by d'Addario?) special flats.
But the 90 Fender flatwounds feel like 100 oder 105 roundwounds.

But this is different from brand to brand!
I have 105 Maruszcyzk flatwouds on my two (Poland built) Maruszcyzk basses - and these thrings feel like norml 105 roundwound strings ...
www.public-peace.de

My 5 string bass has d'Addario 1/2 wounds with 100 e-string - and that's great ...
I would also recommend them for a P bass ...

I have 105 Maruszcyzk flatwouds on my two (Poland built) Maruszcyzk basses
Its Maruszczyk (spelled Mah-roosh-tshyck). Trust me, I'm Polish :razz:

The "Half-Rounds" are hard to beat. Very meaty, and long lived. Good intonation, and a decent "ring" with the attack. RotoSound roundwounds just eat the frets and ruin your instrument from my experience with them.

Thanks. I have TI Flats on my P-Bass right now, but I think I'd like a little more zing without going to rounds. I don't know what guage the TI's are. They were on it when I got it. Starting with a 100 set makes sense.

Don't forget, that 1/2 rounds (or flatwounds) have more "material" than roundwounds! The diameter of roundwounds also includes the "air between the roundings" ...

Someone who normally plays 105 roundwounds should first try 100 1/2 rounds and not 105 ...

Okay; the Fender flatwounds are (were? now by d'Addario?) special flats.
But the 90 Fender flatwounds feel like 100 oder 105 roundwounds.

But this is different from brand to brand!
I have 105 Maruszcyzk flatwouds on my two (Poland built) Maruszcyzk basses - and these thrings feel like norml 105 roundwound strings ...
www.public-peace.de

My 5 string bass has d'Addario 1/2 wounds with 100 e-string - and that's great ...
I would also recommend them for a P bass ...

There's really no way to answer that question. It's like which brand of car is best or which brand of ice cream is best. We all have different ideas of what best means. To some it's tone to others it's tension or feel and still other base it on how long the strings last.

You'll find that every brand of strings has been a raging success for many and an utter failure for some as well. There is no such thing as a best overall. Only what's best for you, your tastes and your pocket book.

Go to bassstringsonline.com and read the reviews many have posted about certain brands and types of strings. There and the strings forum at the TalkBass site are great places to search out answers to your question. :smile:

Don't forget, that 1/2 rounds (or flatwounds) have more "material" than roundwounds! The diameter of roundwounds also includes the "air between the roundings" ...

Someone who normally plays 105 roundwounds should first try 100 1/2 rounds and not 105 ...

Okay; the Fender flatwounds are (were? now by d'Addario?) special flats.
But the 90 Fender flatwounds feel like 100 oder 105 roundwounds.

But this is different from brand to brand!
I have 105 Maruszcyzk flatwouds on my two (Poland built) Maruszcyzk basses - and these thrings feel like norml 105 roundwound strings ...
www.public-peace.de

My 5 string bass has d'Addario 1/2 wounds with 100 e-string - and that's great ...
I would also recommend them for a P bass ...

There's no visible air space inside the string wrappings, no matter what you might read. Cut open an old roundwound and look for yourself.

Because the flat outer wrap takes up less space, flats often have larger cores than rounds of the same diameter. And since the cores are solid while wraps aren't, they weigh more, and tension is determined by the weight of the metal. Hope that makes sense.

But as you said, it's not necessarily so. Depends on the particular string brand.

Thanks. I have TI Flats on my P-Bass right now, but I think I'd like a little more zing without going to rounds. I don't know what guage the TI's are. They were on it when I got it. Starting with a 100 set makes sense.

TI Flats are an odd size set. The long scale ones are 43-56-70-100. The medium/short scale set has a 106 E. They are very low tension. They are also way too midrangey for me. Most other flats will have more top end zing.

The closest to roundwound zing will be compressed rounds. GHS Pressurewounds, Ken Smith Compressors or SIT Silencers. They are zippier than ground rounds such as D'addario Half Rounds or GHS Brite Flats.

But to me, compressed rounds and ground rounds are the worst of two worlds. I've tried most of 'em and can't stand any of 'em. JMHO, YMMV.

Rotosounds are best overall. That nice thick core wire keep 'em lively for a while and makes them quite hard to break (been playing 31 years and never broken a bass string, but there are guys who can and do). In a pinch I'll use Markley Blue Steels, they're not bad. If I were doing a recording session and needed absolute world class tone, it would be Rotosounds under most conditions although the DR strings sound unreal - but bring two sets as they are not at all consistent. And they don't last long.