I was going to say something about the different types of strings, but I found this here in the bass faq.
What are the different types of strings?
There are two main types of strings, roundwound and flatwound. The roundwound type is most commonly used now, whereas the flatwound was more popular in the Motown era. All wound strings are made by holding one strand of wire straight and then wrapping one or more layers of additional wire around that "core" wire. Roundwound
strings use a round wire as the wrap, while flatwound strings are wound with a flat ribbon wire. Roundwound strings provide a much brighter sound but also emphasize squeaks. Flatwound strings have a duller sound, but don't have as much extraneous noise. Roundwound strings tend to lose their brightness after some period of time, but may be rejuvenated by boiling in vinegar or detergent solutions or soaking in alcohol. Flatwound strings tend to maintain a more constant tone.
James Jamerson used flatwound strings on his Precision Bass and is said to have only changed strings if he broke one. There are also some variations on these two types, such as the pressurewound strings which have the round wrap wire slightly flattened as it is wrapped around the core.In addition, some manufacturers freeze their strings, which is supposed to add to the string's brightness and/or longevity. One manufacturer is even black-anodizing their strings!
for more info check this:
http://www.harmony-central.com/Bass/tbl-faq-11.txt
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"The bass player's got it. The bass player's fucking got it." Bono, Boston 6-9-01
[This message has been edited by AM (edited 03-10-2002).]
Drums are too complicated and expensive! lol 
