bass strings?

[MooMoo!]

ok, i know what gauges work for what on guitar, but when it comes to bass i havent got a clue.

ive just been using some chepo encore ones (medium i think they where) and i want to step up in the world and get some decent ones. so what gauge works for what songs?
for example what would you just for slap & pop?

and out of curiosity what does Adam use?

 

[discotech]

i know Adam uses DR bass strings, but i'm not sure which kind or what gauge

 

[gragravar]

I would recommend Rotosound Roundwound Swing Bass standard gauge to any bass player. They're *the* classic bass string and they will work for virtually any style in my experience. I've used them for as long as I've been playing bass, I try something else every now and again just in case I'm missing out but always go back to them, generally within a week. Having said that one of my basses has a set by DR on it, purchased when I couldn't find a pack of the usual, they've been on it for a month or two now and I quite like them and would use them again if necessary, but I'll still replace them the next chance I get. I'd suggest the standard gauge over any other, the lighter ones seem hardly to be there and have less of an output too and the heavier ones feel like steel ropes at standard tuning. The standard gauge will tune down a semitone without losing too much tension, which is fine for playing U2's music; however, if you're tuning lower than E flat you might want to consider the heavy gauge, otherwise the strings start to resemble rope bridges...

 

[MooMoo!]

I would recommend Rotosound Roundwound Swing Bass standard gauge to any bass player. They're *the* classic bass string and they will work for virtually any style in my experience. I've used them for as long as I've been playing bass, I try something else every now and again just in case I'm missing out but always go back to them, generally within a week. Having said that one of my basses has a set by DR on it, purchased when I couldn't find a pack of the usual, they've been on it for a month or two now and I quite like them and would use them again if necessary, but I'll still replace them the next chance I get. I'd suggest the standard gauge over any other, the lighter ones seem hardly to be there and have less of an output too and the heavier ones feel like steel ropes at standard tuning. The standard gauge will tune down a semitone without losing too much tension, which is fine for playing U2's music; however, if you're tuning lower than E flat you might want to consider the heavy gauge, otherwise the strings start to resemble rope bridges...

ok thats sound, ill try them out. any idea how much they are?


thats the one major disadvantage to basses, the strings are usually double the price of guitar strings. here anyway...

 

[gragravar]

I think around $30 CAN which is GBP15 or thereabouts... yes, they are about 2 or 3 times more expensive than guitar strings but if you're a guitarist and are gigging regularly you'll probably want to change your strings each and every night, whereas i change 'em on my main bass no more than three or four times a year, and they'll play and sound fine for much longer than that as long as you don't abuse them ...

 

[hawk]

DR official site says Adam uses DR Sunbeam Bass.

 

[MooMoo!]

I think around $30 CAN which is GBP15 or thereabouts... yes, they are about 2 or 3 times more expensive than guitar strings but if you're a guitarist and are gigging regularly you'll probably want to change your strings each and every night, whereas i change 'em on my main bass no more than three or four times a year, and they'll play and sound fine for much longer than that as long as you don't abuse them ...

well thats good news, these have been on a year.

ive never heard of DR strings... ill have to investigate...



BTW, is "standard" gauge 45?

 

[gragravar]

Rotosound standard gauge is 45 to 105, the number on the box RS 66LD. The DRs I've got are Sunbeams and don't feel that different to the Rotosound set.

 

[discotech]

i use DR guitar strings (Edge used to use the EH-11 back in the 80s) and they are fantastic.

 

[MooMoo!]

well, turns out they dont sell rotosound, so i got some piccanto (i think they where called...) ones. the guy said theyre just as good as the ernie ball ones at half the price. have to check the internet for rotosound ones...


what do the fabric bits on either end do? (if anything?) cos the last set had it, but these are plain.

 

[gragravar]

Never heard of Piccanto... the coloured fabric bits make no difference to the sound but are used to indicate either gauge, length, or which string it is, depending on who makes the string. So (for example) with Rotosound, long scale (34" strings) have red ends, short scale (32" or whatever it is) have blue ends, etc. Other manufacturers have a colour system for each string, so blue might = 1st string, yellow = 2nd and so forth... you get the idea. Let us know how you get on with the strings... there is usually a reason why a product is half the price of a market leader but what do I know. For what it's worth I've never used EB bass strings so I have no idea whether your strings being just as good as EB is something you should be happy about, though my experience with their guitar stings has been positive.

 

[MooMoo!]

well the fabric bits on the old strings where all red, so thats not too helpful.


the guy said that teh strings where made in wales, and judgeing by the packaging they dont seem like a very big company, maybe thats why they where cheap.

they seem fine to me, had to clip them a bit as they where a little long tho.