What Strings, yes, a STRINGS thread!

droneshotfpv

droneshotfpv

Active member
So with mild success on the Plectrums thread yesterday I posted, I want to pose the same question for your favorite "strangs"....
There are no right or wrong answers, just your preferences, and a little bit about WHY you choose to play with those strings, and what brought you to them, and what kept you?

For me, it started out like a lot of people I am sure... Ernie Ball slinky's are the beginning for me, because it was HEAVILY advertised, the package was colorful, and my favorite musicians at the time used them (Slash)... I did have a lot of issues with Slinky's thought, mainly how quickly they went dead for me... this could have been my area (humidity times 1 million) or just how hard and aggressive I was at playing them, but I had problems for sure. Fresh and clean were good for about 2 days, then a steady decline.
This brought me to investigate new strings (I tried Snarling Dogs also, what a joke those were when they were brand new lol), and my newest favorite guitar player, Zakk Wylde was using GHS Boomers. I gave them a try, and had greater success for sure with them. I have used them since, but have swayed back and forth with using the standard BOOMERS, the Pure Nickel Rockers, and the Burnished Nickel variants. They are the string I stick with, and have never let me down. I recently discovered there is a "Sub Zero" variant, and a "Thin Core" which I have on the way... I am a sucker for packaging and word play, so of course I want to try them out. I am sure there isn't a HUGE difference, but I love trying new stuff out none the less.

Through the years I have tried D'Addario, and Clear tone as well as Gibson Brite Wires. Those were all good strings, but I just always came back to GHS.. the Value of what you get for the price is excellent "pre-pandemic", and even post pandemic if you look hard enough.
GHS has always lasted the longest for me, without being rough on my frets (yes, that's more to do with me and my touch, I know lol)

I did however try and live the M-Steel Slinky's, they seem pretty good, but regular / standard slinky's still just don't do it for me personally... Maybe I need to try Paradigm or something..

What are your thoughts? I LOVE to hear differing opinions!
 
I too as a youngster fell victim to the Erine Ball marketing machine....(I will never forgive them.) but after I went through a few different brands I ended up liking and staying with D’Addario right now I really like the NYXL series they seem to stay in tune and last forever!
 
I use TI Jazz Flats on my Precision. I go back and forth on flats. I used the same set of Chromes for about a decade and then a couple of years ago I wanted to change it up and went through a few different sets, ultimately settling on the TI's. The one thing I don't like about the TI Flats is that the A string feels so off tension compared to the other strings, but they really do sound great.

On my Jazz bass I am using Fodera Nickle rounds right now, and I really like them a lot but I have a lot less experience with rounds. Before those I was a Roto 66 kind of guy.
 
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peccary said:
I use TI Jazz Flats on my Precision. I go back and forth on flats. I used the same set of Chromes for about a decade and then a couple of years ago I wanted to change it up and went through a few different sets, ultimately settling on the TI's. The one thing I don't like about the TI Flats is that the A string feels so off tension compared to the other strings, but they really do sound great.

On my Jazz bass I am using Fodera rounds right now, and I really like them a lot but I have a lot less experience with rounds. Before those I was a Roto 66 kind of guy.
Click to expand...
I bet on BASS it's a different process, and maybe one that a "not as often" type situation as Guitar, am I right on that?
 
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Daddario NYXL. My hands are corrosive, so I need to give elixirs a try. Ever had corrosive hands while practicing for a few hours everyday? Well, the strings sound dead before they are even stretched. Plus I have a bigsby. I always have to deal with those 2 nightmares...
 
droneshotfpv said:
I bet on BASS it's a different process, and maybe one that a "not as often" type situation as Guitar, am I right on that?
Click to expand...
Roundwounds will need to be replaced much more often than flats. Rounds start out (generally) really bright and sharp and over time will dull out and lose a lot of the character they started with. When I was playing in college regularly and using rounds I'd replace them every couple of months.

Flats are a different story. There can be this idea among bass players that flats will wear in to you, kind of like leather or wood. When the characteristics of a brand new flatwound are lost (generally brightness and clarity) people will say that they've been broken in and are starting to actually (finally) sound the way they want.

Supposedly James Jamerson was so attached to his strings that when one broke he asked the people at La Bella if they could weld it back together for him because a new string wouldn't be *his* string.
 
Username123 said:
Daddario NYXL. My hands are corrosive, so I need to give elixirs a try. Ever had corrosive hands while practicing for a few hours everyday? Well, the strings sound dead before they are even stretched. Plus I have a bigsby. I always have to deal with those 2 nightmares...
Click to expand...
While I don't have overly corrosive hands / sweat, I do have naturally oily skin. Not the same as being corrosive, but definitely causes mine to wear out differently and quicker than normal. Crazy thing is, it comes and goes. Humans are so weird! lol As far as corrosive goes, that sucks, and would get seriously expensive I am sure! Coated strings may be the thing for you for sure. I would be interested to hear your results if you tried any coated strings.

peccary said:
Roundwounds will need to be replaced much more often than flats. Rounds start out (generally) really bright and sharp and over time will dull out and lose a lot of the character they started with. When I was playing in college regularly and using rounds I'd replace them every couple of months.

Flats are a different story. There can be this idea among bass players that flats will wear in to you, kind of like leather or wood. When the characteristics of a brand new flatwound are lost (generally brightness and clarity) people will say that they've been broken in and are starting to actually (finally) sound the way they want.

Supposedly James Jamerson was so attached to his strings that when one broke he asked the people at La Bella if they could weld it back together for him because a new string wouldn't be *his* string.
Click to expand...

That's insane about the asking to weld them back together! That's commitment for sure! ha!
 
Like I am with picks, I'm not too picky with strings... I mean they're going to be replaced again so it's no big commitment to get a different set.

Therefore I stick to what's cheap (or on sale). Usually EB or Daddario have been consistently good for the price, and can often be found on sale, so it's usually those. But an occasional Dunlop or Dean Markley or GHS, and it's all good.

I'm liking 9-46 or 9.5-44 sets, based on what's available.
 
I was a die hard elixir fan for years and years. I ended up getting some bad single strings maybe a year and a half ago so I decided to try out some other brands.
Ended up settling on EB’s, sound just as good to me, last a good long while and are a hell of a lot cheaper.

my least favourite set was a set of daddario NYXL’s which is weird since everyone else loves them. I thought they had a cool midrange character but the lowest string (on a 7 string set) just would not stay in tune, like it was inharmonic or something. Like single notes sounded out of tune with themselves and chords were even worse Swapped it for the exact same gauge in an EB, and no more problems.
 
I like D'Addario xl110s on my gibson and xl120s on my teles. I started using D'Addarios because they have a string recycling program and I stayed for the loyalty program.

Last summer I tried a set of pyramid round core strings on my tele that were .010, .013, .015, .026, .032, .038 cuz I heard that's what Cornell Dupree used. They were fine too but not different enough to stick with
 
I used to use Martin Electrics because they were cheap and I worked in a store which sold them. The Darcos - they used to be great and cheap. Then when I stopped working there I went to D'addario - 10-52 on my Gretsch and 10-46 on a Fender. I started using the 10-52 because I was playing rockabilly and you play a lot of boogie on the bass strings and the .046s were too floppy on the short scale Gretsch.

But then one summer I found the bass strings were only lasting the first set. So I tried EBs and they lasted a lot better for me. So it's EBs for me, 10-52 on the Gretsches and Gibsons. I don't have a Fender right now.
 
Lots of great and diverse responses so far! One thing I forgot to mention.. While I said "lights" and most of us know what that means, I thought I would clarify. My preference is .10 - .46 for most of my guitars, but my Floyd Rigs I use .09's, and my Drop tuned guitars (especially my LTD EX's) I use the "thin / thick" GHS set, .10 - .52. I only tune down to D Standard on those rigs, so didn't need too much thickness. haha
 
Even though Zoolander changed the meaning of Blue Steel forever, I'm still partial to Dean Markley's Blue Steel strings, 9-46
Bright but not too much, long lasting, cheapish.
 
Evah Pirazzi Solos tuned down to standard tuning. Good tone pizzing around, bowable, slappable.

On a wim, though, I saw a pack of LaBella Superil and because finding strings suitable for my style in shops is nearly impossible — I bought the Supernils. First gig with them I hated them. Nasal, honkey... hated them. My bandmate and trusted friends in the audience thought they sounded fine. Not great for bowing, they're roundwounds and tend to destroy bow-hair.

Five+ years later they're still on my ply-gigger.


For the at-home slab, I'd like to try Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats — been looking for them in shops since they came out, have yet to find a set in a shop.
 
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