Recommendation for Bass Strings Please?

[Harley Hexxe]

To the Bass Players of the Depot;

  If I could prevail upon you to ask for opinions on the best strings I should try for my bass guitar.

   This is a 2018 Fender Deluxe Active Precision Bass I bought a few years ago on ebay. It was brand new and has never been set up and I'm going to have that done in a few weeks because I've been playing it more and more and getting into the variety of tones it offers me.

  I can choose between active and passive modes on it. In active mode, I can dial in a lot of different bass textures, with some even getting into (almost) flatwound tones, which I like for different things. I want to keep the tonal versatility of this instrument, so I'm looking for the best set of strings to get this with.

   If it helps, one thing I always try to do with my bass is keep it sounding like a bass. I'm not a fan of trying to make a bass sound like a deep-voiced guitar or the low strings on a piano, although I can get these sounds if I want them. Most of the time, I like my bass sound to be clean with good clarity across its entire range.

   I'm not very experienced when it comes to choosing bass strings so I'm asking the pro players for advice on what kind of strings would give me the results I'm looking for. Do I want nickel or stainless steel, medium or heavy gauge, flat or round wound, or taped or plain strings?

  Of course, my bass rig is the MB-1, B500B with an ADA Pitchtraq in the loop, and possibly a Digitizer 4, (for flange and/or additional chorus). Speakers are the Bassline HX 4x10, and 115.

   With this equipment, what would you choose please?

Thanks in advance,

Harley 

[rnolan]

Hey Harley, well after my bass sojourn you may remember when I bought the Alembic SC-Brown, it came with their Alembic CX-3 strings.

So here's their blurb:
We ship every new Alembic bass with our CX-3 strings. The hex-steel core is roundwound until the final wrap, which uses a compressed wire with an elliptical profile. The resulting string is smoother than a traditional one, and this means both reduced fretting noise and reduced fret wear. Appropriate for fretted and fretless basses, packaged sets are available in a variety of gauges.

These strings are awesome, buy a set, you'll love them. Apart from DR strings, which these are better than, there is nothing else I'd contemplate for a bass.

I have to import them, as no one sells them in Australia (that I've found).  Alembic have a Yahoo site/presence which has better prices.

Every now and then you find something that is just perfect, these strings tick that box for me 

[Harley Hexxe]

Richard,

   I know the sound of Alembic bass guitars, several guys I know have different models of them. They have a lot more growl than my P-bass.
   Don't get me wrong, the growl is good when it's needed, and that has always been the charm of the P-bass, but then again, there is something to be said about being able to dial that back and just get the bass sound without it. That does a lot to clean up a mix.
  Alembic, like DR, uses a hex core, and I know what DR can do for my guitars. I've just ordered several sets to re-string a few of my Strats, and for these particular Strats, I'm using the High Voltage. I'm also going to try a set of those on my Elite, since those strings weren't around back in the day when I had my other Elites.
   (Getting off topic here...let's get back to the bass)
  I'm looking at different brands, Rotosound, LaBella, GHS, Dogal, Thomastik-Infeld, Pyramid and Ernie Ball. Oddly enough, I'm looking at heavier gauge than the usual 45-105.

   Rotosound has a Steve Harris signature set that are flatwound 50-110, which I thought was odd for Iron Maiden. With my active electronics, I should be able to dial in a lot of tone ranges. The heavier gauge should also make it clearer with less distortion. (I can dial in overdrive in the MB-1 if it want it).
   I believe the strings on my bass are what came from the factory, Fender. They're okay, but I think I can do better.

   Peter, what would you do with a bass like this one?

[rnolan]

Hey Harley, personally, I hate flat wounds, you can't put back what isn't there by trying to dial in some tops (regardless of the gear, this I learnt the hard way many years ago with studio recording).  But if you like the Garry Thain (Uriah Heap) flat bass sound fine, they are easy on your fingers.  I love his playing but the lack of highs is not my thing.

A friend bought a MIM Jazz bass, sounded great, then he got me to put on a set of flat wounds for him, it just completely ruined it IMHO.

Rotosound IIRC make nice strings, and anything Thomastic are beautiful (I use them on my acoustic).  DR also make bass strings which are good.  GHS, Ernie ball probably come from the same factory (most strings do).

I suggested the Alembic strings (and you can get heavier gauges) because the elliptical winds really work, easier on frets and fingers but no loss of tone (I love them, but hey that's me).  If you want to wind back the tone, use the tone knob (or MB-1 patch).

Unfortunately bass strings are expensive, so changing them out to get what you want .

[Harley Hexxe]

Hey Richard,

   Lucky for me, the MB-1 has a lot more to offer than most bass amps on the market even today, so there's a lot I can do to supplement my bass sound.

   I used to groove on the stylings of James Jamerson growing up, he would always make your feet want to move, but when I heard Gary Thain's bass on Demons and Wizards album, it was like the gong went off in my head. He wasn't trying to be a guitar player by any stretch of the imagination, he was just playing the bass like no one else could. That lack of top end is something he was after his whole career. He wanted that "true bass" tone as he called it. That's why he never used a pick, and always used flat wound strings.

  Rotosounds are a very popular brand, but they mostly became that way because of round wound strings, even though they do offer flats too.

  I'm not crazy about the string gauge selections Thomastik-Infeld offers, and they are all round wound.

  One set that has caught my eye right now is Dogal JC106E, Flat Carbon Steel bass strings 50-115. Check those out. If they live up to the hype, you might even like them.

[Peter H. Boer]

If you do not like piano like sound AND don't like flatwounds, then the brand of roundwounds does not matter.

Use nickel wounds (not steelwound) and play them for a couple of months for the 'new' sound to disappear, only then will you get rid of piano ring on the strings.
Now you can enjoy years of good bass sound :D
(I change strings every 10-15 years)

Peter

[Harley Hexxe]

If you do not like piano like sound AND don't like flatwounds, then the brand of roundwounds does not matter.

Use nickel wounds (not steelwound) and play them for a couple of months for the 'new' sound to disappear, only then will you get rid of piano ring on the strings.
Now you can enjoy years of good bass sound :D
(I change strings every 10-15 years)

Peter

Hey Peter,

Thanks for that insight, it didn't occur to me that bass strings would lose that crispness that comes with most new strings. For some reason, I was thinking that extra mass would negate that from happening.

  Actually, I do like the sounds that come from flat wound strings. That's Richard who doesn't like them. In a sense, I can relate to how dull flats can sound, but I think that has a lot to do with how the player uses his gear. Just like a guitar player can coax different sounds from his guitar by adjusting his attack, and/or fretting, I think a bass can also respond in the same way. Looking at Tony Levin's technique on the Chapman stick, makes me wonder if I can coax similar sounds on an electric bass. Much of that is tapping and sliding.

   I think at this point I may experiment with a few different sets of bass strings and see which ones might actually prove to be the most versatile.

[Peter H. Boer]

Looking at Tony Levin's technique on the Chapman stick, makes me wonder if I can coax similar sounds on an electric bass.

Thin string gauges (you want tapping down to be as effortless as possible) and lots of compression will get you close to stick sounds, also add chorus to taste.

[Harley Hexxe]

Looking at Tony Levin's technique on the Chapman stick, makes me wonder if I can coax similar sounds on an electric bass.

Thin string gauges (you want tapping down to be as effortless as possible) and lots of compression will get you close to stick sounds, also add chorus to taste.

Yeah, he does have that 10-string model of the Stick, and I notice how thin most of his top strings are.

[Peter H. Boer]

On a 10-string Stick the left (for the player) 5 are guitar type strings, the right five are bass type string.
Most tune the treble side in fourths:  low to high - middle to outwards
and the bass side in fifths low to high - middle to outwards

This is my homebuild 'De Stok' (dutch for the stick)

[Harley Hexxe]

On a 10-string Stick the left (for the player) 5 are guitar type strings, the right five are bass type string.
Most tune the treble side in fourths:  low to high - middle to outwards
and the bass side in fifths low to high - middle to outwards

This is my homebuild 'De Stok' (dutch for the stick)

Whoa! YOU built that?!? That's great!

It looks like the strings to the left are thicker, I thought those are the bass strings.

Did you also build the box that houses the electronics? It looks like you have some rail pickups in there.

[Peter H. Boer]

Yes strings to the left are the bass strings they need to be thicker to go to a low A

Yes I also build the electronics box, just folded a plate of aluminium.
2 OBL L-250 pickups in there that I had laying about.   

[Harley Hexxe]

Well, that's really slick Peter,

  I know it's a lot better than me trying to build one. I don't have a clue how to play it let alone build one.

  It's cool that you know how to use them.