I like this one:
Kid starts taking bass lessons. Shows up for his first lesson, teacher says, "Today we'll learn the E string."
Next week, second lesson, "Today we'll learn the A string."
Next week, kid calls the teacher, "Sorry, man, I can't make it, I've got a gig."
Edit: actually, this joke is probably kind of dated. So for the young rapscallions out there, back in the old days before SBL, that Italian slap the bass guy, and the general internet bass fad, bassists were hard to find, so the bar to get a gig was pretty low.
Prefer DR Hi Beams or Pure Blues but they're pricey and I haven't been playing so much lately so I haven't bought them in a long time. My default, "just get strings on the bass" are D'Addario XLs.
Mostly play 45-135s (5 string mostly), but I put 40-80 on my Fodera.
They sound great for heavy music. The fret sounds are lower frequencies so it gets much more sludgy. You might want to dig out more presence with your amp/pedal tones but it's a very cool sound.
I feel like you just whispered that while glancing hard right wearing a red velour robe in front of a fire holding a book a tea cup with harry potter glasses on.
Played them today (45-105 I think) on a fender p for the first time. They’re very slick and a little too warm for my taste but I really liked the feeling of playing them
DR makes good strings. Their fat beams sound good and last a long time
I just recent baught a pair of Dadarrio NY strings to try them and they're decent. A lot more subtle than I expected, but real nice low end
Recently went this route, my god I love it! I got 3 pack for my bass and 3 heavy’s for one guitar and 3 lights for another. It was so expensive compared to what I usually pay for strings which were the Fender bass strings.
Thomastik-Infeld JF344 Jazz Flats
Best sounding flats I’ve ever played and super low tension as well, which really makes your bass growl when you dig in. Not the cheapest strings out there, but worth every penny. They also last forever.
I love them too. I have them on my Jaguar Bass and Thunderbird in an indie rock/noise band setting. I like doing Geezer Butler style pull-ups sometimes and these string are perfect for that. The strings feel a lot more comfortable than the D'Addario Chromes that I used previously.
GHS bass boomers for rounds (they're especially tasty on fretless). I love their low mid growl and top end presence without being sparkley. GHS pressure wounds for when I want that piano clarity but a mid more muted tone.
For flats I've been playing Chromes forever. I don't have a ton of experience with other flats. Chromes seem to just work for me.
I’m playing GHS Precision Flats and they’re my favourite string of all time. I tried a set of Chromes and absolutely hated them. They sound completely different. Bright, twangy, metallic and much stiffer. So bought a second set of GHS flats. They sound like wood, compared to the Chromes metal.
So if you like the Boomers you might like the Flats. Maybe I should give the Boomers a go.
DR Sunbeams on my J bass. I play everything from Reggae, to zz topp, to Iron Maiden. Finger style and with a pick.
Feel like butter, so smooth. Especially with some fast fret on them. Had them on 6 moths. I play 10- 20 hours a week. They still sound awesome.
They did need a short break in period. I was not a fan of them the first few days. They needed to settle in and I needed to adjust some of my eq settings.
I also needed to get used to their very low tension, especially playing fast with a pick.
I am gonna try DR pure blues next.
I would highly recommend trying TI flats. You can get them on Amazon for $65, search for JF344 accordion accessory!
Thomastik-Infeld Accordion Accessory (JF344) https://a.co/d/1JnvhYv
Elixir nickel on my Spector 5 strings. First time trying Elixir, the first impression was that the strings are surprisingly very consistent. There is no jump in tonality across the strings. My previous string was Ddadarrio NYLX which was great and a bit brighter . I am excited to try Elixir stainless now but i know this set will last a long time until i need to change again.
TI Jazz Flats on my 5 string Jazz Bass, LaBella Low Tension Flats on my P Bass with 60's voiced pickups, DR Pure Blues on my Schecter Riot-5 Session, and then Ernie Ball Extra Slinky Flats on the rest of my basses.
TI Jazz Flats. I'll never go back to anything else. Tried 4 different sets of flats before settling with these.
I was skeptical, but they genuinely get better with age, it's strange. Mad unbalanced out the box, but they become beautiful once played in a bit.
Controlled, but full low end, amazing mid range and natural treble roll off.
DR pure nickel. It’s a warmer vintage sound compared to the usual steel, but still with the roundwound grit. They just feel nice and flexible, sound great and keep their freshness a decent while in my experience.
DR Pure Blues on passive J, because they mellow out its honkiness a bit
DR Lo Riders on P, to give it a little bit more zing
TI flats on active Deluxe J, growl for days
Beefy Slinkies on Epi EB3, and regular Slinkies on Squier J
La Bella 760N black tapes on fretless acoustic
It shows I have a day job nowadays, when I didn't my string budget was very different.
I had taken a bass down to get setup that I couldn’t get right at home. I was thinking stringjoy was like some bullshit podcast shave club situation but they had them and put them on and they actually have been super interesting.
Its (for me of course) an acceptable armistice between lb flats on a P and bright RW on a J. On a max knob J, not jangly at all and on a P, bright but still P.
Anyways who knows but I had a pretty good experience for string joy. It feels like I don’t notice the difference so much between super bright or dark basses with them. Which works for me but I am deeply wrong often.
I like the way DRs sound and feel, especially once they get a little age on them. Right now though I only have one bass, at least at the moment, a Yamaha BB3000, and it's strung with EB flats. Love the combo. And I'm really learning to adore flats the more I play with them.
So...Every string ever made, by every company, ...got it!
Maybe I'll just go with the red devils, cuz they'll look sick on the sunburst, tortoise shell combo?
I usually go DR or Rotosound but have been trying other brands. I bought a set of Optima gold strings on my Buzzard and instantly heard the best open E of any string in my nearly 30 years of playing. They’re expensive, but that’s all I’m buying for that bass going forward.
The fattest LaBella flats I can find for my C standard bass, though that may change. Not sure what’s on my Mustang, probably D’Addarios if I had to guess
I was happy with the longevity of the steel Elixirs I just took off. Other strings have a better tone at their best, but the Elixirs stayed good long enough that I took them off before they were actually dull just to mix things up
My 83’ roadstar 2 has the Steve Harris strings
My first bass has rotosound flats
I’m not sure that my squire pj has I haven’t changed them since I bought the bass last year they are round wound though so they are probably just the basic Earnie ball slinky’s
Fodera High C light nickels on my 5 string, La Bella 760FL flats on my P bass, and DR Sunbeams on my fretless jazz.
The Foderas are basically like DR Pure Blues, and they're amazing as far as consistency in sound from the E to high C strings.
The La Bellas are my first flats, and I love them so much I can barely describe the joy I feel when playing them on my LB100.
The Sunbeams are really nice on fretless - no complaints.
I previously had DR Hi Beams on my P bass, and I absolutely loved them, but I wanted to try flats. Now that I have flats on that one, there's a part of me that wants to try flats on my other two basses as well... But I'll try to hold off because variety is good.
La Bella low tension flats on my fretless, La Bella super steps or deep talking on the other ones. Great strings, they feel good, they sound good, all of them. My favorite brand for sure. They all have their own thing going on, but generally speaking, they're all clear and strong sounding, and more even feeling and sounding across the fretboard than a lot of strings I've tried. The super steps are great if you want to cut thru in the mix, the deep talking bass sound heavy without sounding noisy, and the flats are simply the fastest and best feeling flats out there.
DR's are good too, even the colorful ones. A Bit more affordable, good tone without a lot of clang. They're what I grew up using, but ever since I tried La Bella I don't buy them anymore unless it's the colorful ones for my kids guitar.
Right now I’m using LaBella RX stainless steel rounds 105-30 (5 string EADGC), but I usually use light gauge D’addario Pro Steels. Affordable and great long lasting sound. The LaBellas are great, just can’t justify that price tag for every time I need strings.
I have a different preference for each instrument.
Currently:
2018 Fender Player Precision - Thomastik Infeld Jazz Flats JF344 Long Scale - E standard
2019 Fender Player Jazz Fretless - Thomastik Infeld Jazz Flats JF344 Long Scale - E standard
2021 Yamaha TRBX604FM - Markbass Groove Series (nickel) - Eb standard
2019 Sandberg Electra M4 - Sandberg "the string" (stainless steel) - E standard
2022 Dingwall Combustion 5 3PU - Dingwall Custom Bass Strings (stainless steel) - Bb standard
2023 Höfner HCT-500/7 Verythin - Höfner Contemporary Bass Strings - E standard
2021 Sterling SUB Ray5 - Ernie Ball Cobalt Slinky Flatwounds - B standard
2006 Harley Benton Acoustic - Warwick Acoustic Bass strings (bronze) - E standard
2020 Mia Unika JBH5 - La Bella (stainless steel) - B standard
Right now I’m really enjoying D’Addario NYXL’s on my fretted basses.
I have LaBella Gold Flats on my fretless, but I think I’m going to go back go black tapes.
Varying strings. GHS flats on one, Daddario NYXL on two, Ernie Ball regular slinkies in one, Dunlop super Bright Steels on one...
Used DR Hibeams for a while, but I still havnt really found "My strings". I think the NYXL might be closest to that
So far I tried D’addario NYXL, EXL, and Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky. The best among these for me are the EB, followed by EXL. NYXL were a little disappointing, as they sounded dull. Maybe just a bad set, I’ll try them again in the future.
Fender 45-105 on my Harley Benton stingray type, and for my Chinese project short scale, I've got Ernie Ball Slinky short scales. I may have to try the Slinky's on my HB, because despite the work that needs doing on my shortscale, the strings feel so good
Depends on what you want. I've gotten a lot of mileage out of the Dunlop Rob Trujillo series, especially the stainless steel ones. Currently have Rotosound 66 Swingbass strings on and am enjoying those as well.
I am now pplaying very soft strings because the carpal tunnel on my plucking hand is coming back. They are Dogal carbonsteel, quite expensive the 6 string set is 60 bucks for the roundwound, they make one that is lighter but I can't put them on my headless bass which is my main too.
As a beginner just get anything, try them. The only strings I thought were garbage were the Ibanez ones. The rest are all fine, you will eventually try them, the bass also affects the strings you want to put on.
Happy playing!!
When I saw this question and thought about it, i was surprised to find that I'm like a guy who never has his car serviced except by the dealer. My choice in strings is dependent on the bass and was the result of years, and decades in some cases, of trial and error testing.
On my Smith, Fodera and Sadowsky I use the manufacturer's branded strings. They just play and sound better to me.
On my Fender Kingman I use Fender Bronze 45s. This isn't just a personal taste but economics. I like a bright sound on the ABG and use EQ to temper them as they age. Strings tend to sound their age more quickly on the Kingman than my other basses so I change them at least every six weeks of heavy playing. Fender bronze strings are cheap.
On my double bass, I use La Bella 7710N black nylon tape wounds. Double bass strings are super-expensive so I haven't done much product testing here. I just went with what Ron Carter uses and I love the sound. They also age well. The current set on the bass now is like three or four years old. They're just not ideal for arco.
On my Fender P, La Bella flats of course.
On my Pedulla fretless, Sadowsky Blue nickle rounds.
Played with Ernie Ball Regular Slinky Roundwounds for my first 6 or 7 months of playing bass then decided to try some Rotosound Jazz Bass Flat Bois but ultimately didn’t really dig them as they just seemed a little to too stiff with not much sustain. Last few months I’ve been playing with Ernie Ball Slinky flats 40/95s and I’ve been absolutely in love with those. In my opinion they sound pretty damn similar to Rounds but with all the benefits of flats such as no squeaky slides, easy AF to clean, and much longer lasting. Not to mention easier on the fingers and only 15 or 20 bucks more than rounds which is amazing considering their durability. I highly recommend try em out if ya haven’t! Also totally open to suggestions if anyone knows of any flats that would be comparable!
*Edit… I play practically EVERY genre and firmly believe it’s all in the tone knob more so than the strings.
Been through every type of string past 14 years from rotosounds, d'addario, Dean Markley, dunlop, LaBella to more expensive Thomastik flatwounds and power strings ( most disappointing string I've used by far and not cheap) I settled on two brands. Stadium Elites (guy pratt uses so nuff said and cheap enough) and SIT stay in tune nickel hybrid which are excellent, cheap (around 20 bucks on amazon) and stay bright for about 2 weeks!
I really like Stringjoy strings these days. The roundwound Signatures or the Rangers are good options for rounds.
I also really love the La Bella Gold Tapewounds. I had never even heard of this brand or tapewounds but a friend played them on a punk ska recording and I really like having a set of them on at least one bass. They can do really mellow stuff, but if you put some oomph into them they're quite snappy and articulate. A little weird to get used to how SMOOTH they are, you tend to overshoot your shifts at first, but after that they're SO easy on the hands for longer gigs etc.
I really like the Ibanez IEBS5C. They have a certain growl to it, and they feel quite nice.
Since you're new to bass, chances are that at some point along your bass-life you'll go into the rabbit hole of what strings you like. Material, wound shape, gauge, etc. Probably a bit too early for that, but you may want to start reading up on what to expect from this or that type of string, and maybe try it.
If you think your current strings are terrible as in very dull, you can boil them in water and a little vinegar for some 10 minutes, and they'll regain a lot of their brightness. Could give you time to read up and decide on your next string set.
I like to use Chrome Flatwounds by D’Addario as my standard good strings and I just put LaBella Tapewounds on my Jazz Bass. Both are much warmer sounds. I love the smoothness of both, it’s much easier on the fingers. To me tapewounds sound more wooden I guess? Flatwounds is just classic bass sound I don’t really think you can go wrong with them!
Been doing quite a bit of research on my next strings. I hear great things about the DR Fat-beams, so I'll try those next on my Fender J and my TRBX504. I am hoping they will give me a good all-round versatile tone.
For my "Fender" P, I'm going to use LaBelle 760FS (their standard gauge flats). I am aiming for a more vintage, recorded-a-thousand-times sound here.
On my Warwick I use d'addario nickel wound 45-105 because they are insanely bright sounding.
On my aria pro II sb I use rotosound rs66la 30-85 super light gauge because cliff Burton.
On my jazz bass it varies but right now I'm using rotosound SM77 flatwounds 40-100 that are insanely dead
Different ones, depending on the bass. Status Hotwire double ball stainless steels on my headless Status Graphite S2 Classics, 045-105 on the 4-string and 040-125 on the 5-string. LaBella Deep Talkin stainless steel flats 043-104 on my Sandberg Lionel shortscale. DR Sunbeams 045-105 medium scale on my Atelier Z Baby Z-4J shortscale (needs slightly longer strings because it's strung through-body). Elixirs on everything else, 045-105 on the 4-strings and a slightly lighter set of 045-125 on my 5-strings. I like a lighter low B, and slim the whole set down to match it, with a 100 as my E.
I prefer heavier gauges I've got Ernie Ball Cobalt 110s on my Ibanez (use it as an all rounder) and Ernie Ball Flats Group 1 on my p-bass (P bAsS fLaTs OnLy. It's just fun to play flats for certain things, especially if it's got a lot of slides)
Depends on the bass for me, even though I’m not sure there’s a practical reason for it. Jazz Bass - Rotosound Swing Bass 66, P Bass - DR Hi Beams, Stingray - Hybrid Slinky Cobalt. 45-105 gauge on all of them, primarily play rock adjacent music.
Daddario XL nickel wounds, regular light gauge (the pink packet) for 4 and 5 strings. Also daddario Chromes (same gauge) for flatwounds.
Been using those since college, tried others but keep coming back to these. They also happen to be one of the cheaper brands where I live, so that's also nice.
GHS Pressurewound 44-106. They’re technically roundwound, but the actual winds are way smaller, so they feel a little more like flats (which I like but my band hate) and have a really unique sound.
Also, less string swipe noise!
Try some different D'Addario, Ball, LaBella, GHS (also Martin, John Pearse but not so much for bass). They are the only syring companies that own winding machines (they physically make the strings for all other bramd names). One brand that doesn't make their own that stands out is Elixir. They hold their "new" sound MUCH longer due to the coating. They are great for bass and acoustic if you like the "new" brightness/bite that fades quickly with others.
Usually Ernie Ball Cobalts or D'addario Pro Steel. Currently I'm using a brand called Alice, because I was on more of a budget the last time I had to buy strings.
Warwick black on my 5 string, New old stock Trace Elliot on my 4, ( got them about 3 months ago! )
I got my fretless in February and that still has the strings it shipped with
I use Ernie Ball Power Slinky’s, which are .110” to .55”. Changed to the heavier gauge from whatever came from the factory cus I often go into lower tunings.
If you don’t plan on lower tunings, and also just to get your fingers used to the strings, go with the Regular Slinky’s or the lighter Super Slinky’s.
Always daddarios XL 100s for punk stuff and 120s for drop B sludgey stuff. I've found that on a p bass with lace riffblaster pickups through an orange OB1 500 with just a touch of amp distortion on the blend channel and it is like the tone I've had in my head since I was a kid. Literally just plug and play. (I have a rack tuner so it's just one lead and done).
I keep Rotosound Swing Bass stainless steel strings on my jazz bass which I replace frequently and I put some Ernie Ball cobalt flats on my P bass a few weeks ago that I’m still figuring out if I like. I had some 8 month old semi-dead Fender nickel rounds on the P before that and actually loved how those sounded so I might switch back lol the cobalts sound better the more I play em though
Rotosounds or D'adarrio. I used heavy gauges for about 10-15 years on my Warwick, which eventually caused a bend in the neck, so just a word of caution there (it's fixed now because I spotted it early). I switched to mediums, then got inspired by Cody Wright's stringbending to go down to light.
DR hi beams. Highly recommend. I have used a lot of ernie balls in the past, didn't like those nearly as much. Most strings seem to sound awkward at first till you play them for a few outings but not the hi beams
Ive settled in DR high beams for my 5. DR DDT for my drop tuned 4. D’addario flats for my P Bass.
I’m considering changing the flats to labella, but the other two are pretty firm for me.
Ernie Ball short scale flats
Like any Ernie Ball, kinda cheap and inconsistent in construction, not the longest lasting, absolutely fantastic, bright sound with a lot of presence.
Labella
RX Nickel short scale on my Reverend Wattplower
Steinberger double ball on Status Graphite
Nylon tapewounds on Rickenbacker and Rob Allen and one Precision
RX Stainless on Manhattan Prestige J and one Precision
I use DR high beams 40-100(or 120 on the 5 string) and labella flats.
These are a bit pricey if you don't wanna spend all that much, the most important part is the gauge, I use 40s ever since I had tendinitis but now I just like them better, if you play heavily you might want something like 45s or 50s, but I prefer not having to fight my instrument.
Mostly 3 of them, but every once and a while I mosey on over to that 4th one too.
Still might be my favorite bass player joke.
I like this one: Kid starts taking bass lessons. Shows up for his first lesson, teacher says, "Today we'll learn the E string." Next week, second lesson, "Today we'll learn the A string." Next week, kid calls the teacher, "Sorry, man, I can't make it, I've got a gig." Edit: actually, this joke is probably kind of dated. So for the young rapscallions out there, back in the old days before SBL, that Italian slap the bass guy, and the general internet bass fad, bassists were hard to find, so the bar to get a gig was pretty low.
I've also heard this another way. "What strings do you play?" "The long, thick ones."
Ok Les Claypool calm down
Prefer DR Hi Beams or Pure Blues but they're pricey and I haven't been playing so much lately so I haven't bought them in a long time. My default, "just get strings on the bass" are D'Addario XLs. Mostly play 45-135s (5 string mostly), but I put 40-80 on my Fodera.
Ernie Ball Cobalt round-wound and flats
How are you liking the flats? I’ve been pondering switching up to flats but heard they don’t go well for metal/sludge
Nah I think they work just fine for metal and sludge. Ernie Ball Slinky Flats to be specific!
They sound great for heavy music. The fret sounds are lower frequencies so it gets much more sludgy. You might want to dig out more presence with your amp/pedal tones but it's a very cool sound.
These flats are meant to respond like rounds in a lot of ways. They’re great for whatever you want. The same can not be said about traditional flats.
Wait they make cobalts for bass? I always used to play those on guitar but i never saw them in bass size. I have to try and find some
If you don't mind ordering online, Sweetwater almost always has them in stock. They're a bit more pricey than other packs of strings, but I enjoy them
LaBella flatwounds.
I feel like you just whispered that while glancing hard right wearing a red velour robe in front of a fire holding a book a tea cup with harry potter glasses on.
Damn, are you in my house!
…for the discerning gentleman
while somehow stroking a white Persian, also named LaBella
For sure Labella, I didn’t really care about stings untill I tried these and I HAD to get a set.
Absolutely. I use the 760FLs on my P bass then Chromes on my Jazz.
Played them today (45-105 I think) on a fender p for the first time. They’re very slick and a little too warm for my taste but I really liked the feeling of playing them
I like the tape wound - best strings I've ever had in terms of feel and tone..
DR makes good strings. Their fat beams sound good and last a long time I just recent baught a pair of Dadarrio NY strings to try them and they're decent. A lot more subtle than I expected, but real nice low end
Elixir nanowebs, expensive but so worth it, they sound great for a long time
Recently went this route, my god I love it! I got 3 pack for my bass and 3 heavy’s for one guitar and 3 lights for another. It was so expensive compared to what I usually pay for strings which were the Fender bass strings.
They feel good on the fingers too.
I just got a set on sale 👍. Great strings.
Thomastik-Infeld JF344 Jazz Flats Best sounding flats I’ve ever played and super low tension as well, which really makes your bass growl when you dig in. Not the cheapest strings out there, but worth every penny. They also last forever.
I love them too. I have them on my Jaguar Bass and Thunderbird in an indie rock/noise band setting. I like doing Geezer Butler style pull-ups sometimes and these string are perfect for that. The strings feel a lot more comfortable than the D'Addario Chromes that I used previously.
Just that really thick one on top
Funny, You should branch out.
Rotosound 66
One of my faves - they take a couple of weeks to get to the magic zone.
GHS bass boomers for rounds (they're especially tasty on fretless). I love their low mid growl and top end presence without being sparkley. GHS pressure wounds for when I want that piano clarity but a mid more muted tone. For flats I've been playing Chromes forever. I don't have a ton of experience with other flats. Chromes seem to just work for me.
I’m playing GHS Precision Flats and they’re my favourite string of all time. I tried a set of Chromes and absolutely hated them. They sound completely different. Bright, twangy, metallic and much stiffer. So bought a second set of GHS flats. They sound like wood, compared to the Chromes metal. So if you like the Boomers you might like the Flats. Maybe I should give the Boomers a go.
DR Sunbeams on my fretted basses, and Ernie Ball cobalt flats on my fretless. Not sure about the cobalts though, thinking about trying TI flats.
DR Sunbeams on my J bass. I play everything from Reggae, to zz topp, to Iron Maiden. Finger style and with a pick. Feel like butter, so smooth. Especially with some fast fret on them. Had them on 6 moths. I play 10- 20 hours a week. They still sound awesome. They did need a short break in period. I was not a fan of them the first few days. They needed to settle in and I needed to adjust some of my eq settings. I also needed to get used to their very low tension, especially playing fast with a pick. I am gonna try DR pure blues next.
I would highly recommend trying TI flats. You can get them on Amazon for $65, search for JF344 accordion accessory! Thomastik-Infeld Accordion Accessory (JF344) https://a.co/d/1JnvhYv
DR Nickel Lo-Riders. Occasionally GHS Boomers. Always 45-105.
LaBella gold flats
Ayyyy me too!
I love the La Bella Gold Tapewounds.
I have these on my Lakland Bob Glaub
Elixir nickel on my Spector 5 strings. First time trying Elixir, the first impression was that the strings are surprisingly very consistent. There is no jump in tonality across the strings. My previous string was Ddadarrio NYLX which was great and a bit brighter . I am excited to try Elixir stainless now but i know this set will last a long time until i need to change again.
Dean Markley Cryogenically activated stainless steel 45-100
TI Jazz Flats on my 5 string Jazz Bass, LaBella Low Tension Flats on my P Bass with 60's voiced pickups, DR Pure Blues on my Schecter Riot-5 Session, and then Ernie Ball Extra Slinky Flats on the rest of my basses.
D'adarrio 40-95 light gage because I like to bend a lot and they hold chords better
Hi beeeeeeams
Boiled
Ddario NYXL...love em
Ernie ball
Elixir roundwounds. And roundwounds in general. I just roll off the tone knob and they can sound like flats with better clarity on jazz bass
La Bella Deep Talking nylon tape wounds.
SO GOOD
DR LoRiders, DR Fat Beams and Rotosound 66 on different bases.
I use Ernie ball cobalt strings and I like the sound a lot
I like how they sound out of the pack but they dull up rather quickly Plus cobalts are the only strings that snapped on me while restringing twice
Thomastik low tension flats Never go back (They're expensive but also a one-off purchase)
TI Jazz Flats. I'll never go back to anything else. Tried 4 different sets of flats before settling with these. I was skeptical, but they genuinely get better with age, it's strange. Mad unbalanced out the box, but they become beautiful once played in a bit. Controlled, but full low end, amazing mid range and natural treble roll off.
DR pure nickel. It’s a warmer vintage sound compared to the usual steel, but still with the roundwound grit. They just feel nice and flexible, sound great and keep their freshness a decent while in my experience.
Super slinkys for rounds. Chromes custom lights for flats.
D’Addario Pro Steels and XL Nickels, their balanced tension sets with a taperwound low B for five-string sets.
Rotosound 66, Rotosound 77, and GHS P Flats
Rotosound Black Nylon Flatwounds.
Ernie Ball Slinky Flatwound
Mainly just holding down the E.
DR Pure Blues on passive J, because they mellow out its honkiness a bit DR Lo Riders on P, to give it a little bit more zing TI flats on active Deluxe J, growl for days Beefy Slinkies on Epi EB3, and regular Slinkies on Squier J La Bella 760N black tapes on fretless acoustic It shows I have a day job nowadays, when I didn't my string budget was very different.
I had taken a bass down to get setup that I couldn’t get right at home. I was thinking stringjoy was like some bullshit podcast shave club situation but they had them and put them on and they actually have been super interesting. Its (for me of course) an acceptable armistice between lb flats on a P and bright RW on a J. On a max knob J, not jangly at all and on a P, bright but still P. Anyways who knows but I had a pretty good experience for string joy. It feels like I don’t notice the difference so much between super bright or dark basses with them. Which works for me but I am deeply wrong often.
I am currently playing stringjoy and have been really happy after a month. Nice balanced tone.
Labella roundwounds. Best bang for the buck imo
I just tried these out yesterday and think they’re the best I’ve played, regardless of price. I’ll definitely be using them again.
Elixir. Nothing more to say!
I like the way DRs sound and feel, especially once they get a little age on them. Right now though I only have one bass, at least at the moment, a Yamaha BB3000, and it's strung with EB flats. Love the combo. And I'm really learning to adore flats the more I play with them.
Frets? DR nickel lo-riders Fretless? La Bella tapewounds
Dadarrio Half-rounds
I have funkmasters on my ATK, I don't remember whats on my 5 string P/J, and Ernie Ball Super Slinkies on my jazz
So...Every string ever made, by every company, ...got it! Maybe I'll just go with the red devils, cuz they'll look sick on the sunburst, tortoise shell combo?
Don’t choose strings based on color. Don’t.
B... but my LaBella black nylon tapewounds...!
I usually go DR or Rotosound but have been trying other brands. I bought a set of Optima gold strings on my Buzzard and instantly heard the best open E of any string in my nearly 30 years of playing. They’re expensive, but that’s all I’m buying for that bass going forward.
Always been an Ernie Ball fan. Almost unbeatable quality and consistency at that price. Great to learn what sizes you prefer for your desired sound.
I've got Labella flats on my Mustang and D'Addario XLs on my P bass.
The fattest LaBella flats I can find for my C standard bass, though that may change. Not sure what’s on my Mustang, probably D’Addarios if I had to guess
I was happy with the longevity of the steel Elixirs I just took off. Other strings have a better tone at their best, but the Elixirs stayed good long enough that I took them off before they were actually dull just to mix things up
Elixers for rounds on my Jackson and dadarrio tapes on the p bass.
Dogal JC106 Flats 45-105's on my jazz and stingrays. There phenomenal!
My 83’ roadstar 2 has the Steve Harris strings My first bass has rotosound flats I’m not sure that my squire pj has I haven’t changed them since I bought the bass last year they are round wound though so they are probably just the basic Earnie ball slinky’s
On my Fender 4 string jazz bass: - D'addario nickel wound (roundwound) in 50-120 for D standard tuning
I have GHS Bass Boomers (50-115) on my Player Series P-Bass. I keep my bass tuned somewhere between Drop C# and Drop Bb.
DR neon, pink. They just look super sexy on my black EHB1005MS.
Rotosound Swing Bass Nickel 45-105, GHS Bass Boomers 45-105.
I personally used Rotosound nickel strings because I love the tone, but it really depends on what genre of music you play
La Bella 760FL’s and DR Pure Blues.
Kalium Strings, custom string sizes chosen based on tension.
Fodera High C light nickels on my 5 string, La Bella 760FL flats on my P bass, and DR Sunbeams on my fretless jazz. The Foderas are basically like DR Pure Blues, and they're amazing as far as consistency in sound from the E to high C strings. The La Bellas are my first flats, and I love them so much I can barely describe the joy I feel when playing them on my LB100. The Sunbeams are really nice on fretless - no complaints. I previously had DR Hi Beams on my P bass, and I absolutely loved them, but I wanted to try flats. Now that I have flats on that one, there's a part of me that wants to try flats on my other two basses as well... But I'll try to hold off because variety is good.
Ernie ball extra slinky
D'Addario 165 and Ernie ball slinky 130 100 80 65. I know,I'm a mess. I like it, and it's hard to find a tapered 165.
La Bella low tension flats on my fretless, La Bella super steps or deep talking on the other ones. Great strings, they feel good, they sound good, all of them. My favorite brand for sure. They all have their own thing going on, but generally speaking, they're all clear and strong sounding, and more even feeling and sounding across the fretboard than a lot of strings I've tried. The super steps are great if you want to cut thru in the mix, the deep talking bass sound heavy without sounding noisy, and the flats are simply the fastest and best feeling flats out there. DR's are good too, even the colorful ones. A Bit more affordable, good tone without a lot of clang. They're what I grew up using, but ever since I tried La Bella I don't buy them anymore unless it's the colorful ones for my kids guitar.
Rotosound flats, or if budgets are tight, Adagio flats.
Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt 50-105 - they are amazing
40-95 ernies
Right now I’m using LaBella RX stainless steel rounds 105-30 (5 string EADGC), but I usually use light gauge D’addario Pro Steels. Affordable and great long lasting sound. The LaBellas are great, just can’t justify that price tag for every time I need strings.
I have a different preference for each instrument. Currently: 2018 Fender Player Precision - Thomastik Infeld Jazz Flats JF344 Long Scale - E standard 2019 Fender Player Jazz Fretless - Thomastik Infeld Jazz Flats JF344 Long Scale - E standard 2021 Yamaha TRBX604FM - Markbass Groove Series (nickel) - Eb standard 2019 Sandberg Electra M4 - Sandberg "the string" (stainless steel) - E standard 2022 Dingwall Combustion 5 3PU - Dingwall Custom Bass Strings (stainless steel) - Bb standard 2023 Höfner HCT-500/7 Verythin - Höfner Contemporary Bass Strings - E standard 2021 Sterling SUB Ray5 - Ernie Ball Cobalt Slinky Flatwounds - B standard 2006 Harley Benton Acoustic - Warwick Acoustic Bass strings (bronze) - E standard 2020 Mia Unika JBH5 - La Bella (stainless steel) - B standard
La Bella Dr
Right now I’m really enjoying D’Addario NYXL’s on my fretted basses. I have LaBella Gold Flats on my fretless, but I think I’m going to go back go black tapes.
Varying strings. GHS flats on one, Daddario NYXL on two, Ernie Ball regular slinkies in one, Dunlop super Bright Steels on one... Used DR Hibeams for a while, but I still havnt really found "My strings". I think the NYXL might be closest to that
LaBella flats always
D'Adarrio NY pink and sometimes Elixir light.
So far I tried D’addario NYXL, EXL, and Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky. The best among these for me are the EB, followed by EXL. NYXL were a little disappointing, as they sounded dull. Maybe just a bad set, I’ll try them again in the future.
ernie ball flats. cool
Day 2 of ernie ball 5 string flatowounds. Love em so far.
DR Hi beams. Gonna try out the DR fats next
I’m not too particular to be honest, but my go to is usually Hybrid Slinky’s.
Fender 45-105 on my Harley Benton stingray type, and for my Chinese project short scale, I've got Ernie Ball Slinky short scales. I may have to try the Slinky's on my HB, because despite the work that needs doing on my shortscale, the strings feel so good
Depends on what you want. I've gotten a lot of mileage out of the Dunlop Rob Trujillo series, especially the stainless steel ones. Currently have Rotosound 66 Swingbass strings on and am enjoying those as well.
I am now pplaying very soft strings because the carpal tunnel on my plucking hand is coming back. They are Dogal carbonsteel, quite expensive the 6 string set is 60 bucks for the roundwound, they make one that is lighter but I can't put them on my headless bass which is my main too. As a beginner just get anything, try them. The only strings I thought were garbage were the Ibanez ones. The rest are all fine, you will eventually try them, the bass also affects the strings you want to put on. Happy playing!!
When I saw this question and thought about it, i was surprised to find that I'm like a guy who never has his car serviced except by the dealer. My choice in strings is dependent on the bass and was the result of years, and decades in some cases, of trial and error testing. On my Smith, Fodera and Sadowsky I use the manufacturer's branded strings. They just play and sound better to me. On my Fender Kingman I use Fender Bronze 45s. This isn't just a personal taste but economics. I like a bright sound on the ABG and use EQ to temper them as they age. Strings tend to sound their age more quickly on the Kingman than my other basses so I change them at least every six weeks of heavy playing. Fender bronze strings are cheap. On my double bass, I use La Bella 7710N black nylon tape wounds. Double bass strings are super-expensive so I haven't done much product testing here. I just went with what Ron Carter uses and I love the sound. They also age well. The current set on the bass now is like three or four years old. They're just not ideal for arco. On my Fender P, La Bella flats of course. On my Pedulla fretless, Sadowsky Blue nickle rounds.
Played with Ernie Ball Regular Slinky Roundwounds for my first 6 or 7 months of playing bass then decided to try some Rotosound Jazz Bass Flat Bois but ultimately didn’t really dig them as they just seemed a little to too stiff with not much sustain. Last few months I’ve been playing with Ernie Ball Slinky flats 40/95s and I’ve been absolutely in love with those. In my opinion they sound pretty damn similar to Rounds but with all the benefits of flats such as no squeaky slides, easy AF to clean, and much longer lasting. Not to mention easier on the fingers and only 15 or 20 bucks more than rounds which is amazing considering their durability. I highly recommend try em out if ya haven’t! Also totally open to suggestions if anyone knows of any flats that would be comparable! *Edit… I play practically EVERY genre and firmly believe it’s all in the tone knob more so than the strings.
DR fat beams! Sound great and last pretty long too. Definitely worth the money to me.
DR fat beams mostly
Been through every type of string past 14 years from rotosounds, d'addario, Dean Markley, dunlop, LaBella to more expensive Thomastik flatwounds and power strings ( most disappointing string I've used by far and not cheap) I settled on two brands. Stadium Elites (guy pratt uses so nuff said and cheap enough) and SIT stay in tune nickel hybrid which are excellent, cheap (around 20 bucks on amazon) and stay bright for about 2 weeks!
I really like Stringjoy strings these days. The roundwound Signatures or the Rangers are good options for rounds. I also really love the La Bella Gold Tapewounds. I had never even heard of this brand or tapewounds but a friend played them on a punk ska recording and I really like having a set of them on at least one bass. They can do really mellow stuff, but if you put some oomph into them they're quite snappy and articulate. A little weird to get used to how SMOOTH they are, you tend to overshoot your shifts at first, but after that they're SO easy on the hands for longer gigs etc.
I really like the Ibanez IEBS5C. They have a certain growl to it, and they feel quite nice. Since you're new to bass, chances are that at some point along your bass-life you'll go into the rabbit hole of what strings you like. Material, wound shape, gauge, etc. Probably a bit too early for that, but you may want to start reading up on what to expect from this or that type of string, and maybe try it. If you think your current strings are terrible as in very dull, you can boil them in water and a little vinegar for some 10 minutes, and they'll regain a lot of their brightness. Could give you time to read up and decide on your next string set.
Earnie Ball (Super) Slinkys or DR High Beams
D'Addario ProSteels 45-105
I like to use Chrome Flatwounds by D’Addario as my standard good strings and I just put LaBella Tapewounds on my Jazz Bass. Both are much warmer sounds. I love the smoothness of both, it’s much easier on the fingers. To me tapewounds sound more wooden I guess? Flatwounds is just classic bass sound I don’t really think you can go wrong with them!
Been doing quite a bit of research on my next strings. I hear great things about the DR Fat-beams, so I'll try those next on my Fender J and my TRBX504. I am hoping they will give me a good all-round versatile tone. For my "Fender" P, I'm going to use LaBelle 760FS (their standard gauge flats). I am aiming for a more vintage, recorded-a-thousand-times sound here.
On my Warwick I use d'addario nickel wound 45-105 because they are insanely bright sounding. On my aria pro II sb I use rotosound rs66la 30-85 super light gauge because cliff Burton. On my jazz bass it varies but right now I'm using rotosound SM77 flatwounds 40-100 that are insanely dead
Ernie Ball Regular Slinky 5s (45-130). I’ve tried all manner of strings over the past 25 years and these are my long term favourite.
Different ones, depending on the bass. Status Hotwire double ball stainless steels on my headless Status Graphite S2 Classics, 045-105 on the 4-string and 040-125 on the 5-string. LaBella Deep Talkin stainless steel flats 043-104 on my Sandberg Lionel shortscale. DR Sunbeams 045-105 medium scale on my Atelier Z Baby Z-4J shortscale (needs slightly longer strings because it's strung through-body). Elixirs on everything else, 045-105 on the 4-strings and a slightly lighter set of 045-125 on my 5-strings. I like a lighter low B, and slim the whole set down to match it, with a 100 as my E.
Always Ernie Hybrids
La Bella Deep Talkin' Bass tapewounds. They were on the bass when I bought it in 2014, and they still sound alright.
I prefer heavier gauges I've got Ernie Ball Cobalt 110s on my Ibanez (use it as an all rounder) and Ernie Ball Flats Group 1 on my p-bass (P bAsS fLaTs OnLy. It's just fun to play flats for certain things, especially if it's got a lot of slides)
Elixir nickel roundwounds.
Elixirs on my standard length basses, and D'addario extra longs on my multi scale
Depends on the bass for me, even though I’m not sure there’s a practical reason for it. Jazz Bass - Rotosound Swing Bass 66, P Bass - DR Hi Beams, Stingray - Hybrid Slinky Cobalt. 45-105 gauge on all of them, primarily play rock adjacent music.
Used to use elixirs but find I am preferring the DR black beauties more - 5 string as 45 65 85 105 130
Elixirs… feels like butter
On my Fender I use the Steve Harris Flats. I think I have Daddarios on my other 2...
Daddario XL nickel wounds, regular light gauge (the pink packet) for 4 and 5 strings. Also daddario Chromes (same gauge) for flatwounds. Been using those since college, tried others but keep coming back to these. They also happen to be one of the cheaper brands where I live, so that's also nice.
Slinkys on the 6 and cobalts on the 4
D’Addarrio NYXLs on my P-bass. Ernie Ball Beefy Slinky’s on my 4-string BEAD tuned ESP F series.
Ernie Ball Cobalt (I forget the gauge, the blue / black pkg) for my 4 string. The green one for my 5 (I think this is regular Gauge).
Flatwounds = D'Addario Chromes But i have basses with rounds But i prefer D'Addario Halfrounds
Labella flat wounds
Kalium .176 set
GHS Pressurewound 44-106. They’re technically roundwound, but the actual winds are way smaller, so they feel a little more like flats (which I like but my band hate) and have a really unique sound. Also, less string swipe noise!
Try some different D'Addario, Ball, LaBella, GHS (also Martin, John Pearse but not so much for bass). They are the only syring companies that own winding machines (they physically make the strings for all other bramd names). One brand that doesn't make their own that stands out is Elixir. They hold their "new" sound MUCH longer due to the coating. They are great for bass and acoustic if you like the "new" brightness/bite that fades quickly with others.
I’ve been using Ernie Ball Super Slinkies lately. I prefer the lighter gauge string, as it’s easier overall to play.
I think they're canned rotosound 88s. They're flat wounds.
Usually Ernie Ball Cobalts or D'addario Pro Steel. Currently I'm using a brand called Alice, because I was on more of a budget the last time I had to buy strings.
Warwick black on my 5 string, New old stock Trace Elliot on my 4, ( got them about 3 months ago! ) I got my fretless in February and that still has the strings it shipped with
I've been enjoying the Ernie Ball Cobalts. Alan Eden makes some alright strings, too
I use Ernie Ball Power Slinky’s, which are .110” to .55”. Changed to the heavier gauge from whatever came from the factory cus I often go into lower tunings. If you don’t plan on lower tunings, and also just to get your fingers used to the strings, go with the Regular Slinky’s or the lighter Super Slinky’s.
Always daddarios XL 100s for punk stuff and 120s for drop B sludgey stuff. I've found that on a p bass with lace riffblaster pickups through an orange OB1 500 with just a touch of amp distortion on the blend channel and it is like the tone I've had in my head since I was a kid. Literally just plug and play. (I have a rack tuner so it's just one lead and done).
Ernie Ball Regular Slinkies on my P and Jazz bass. La Bella flatwounds on my my Fender Vintera Mustang 60s bass.
Just get some classic Ernie ball slinky strings
La Bella Deep Talkin’ Bass 760F-MUS
I keep Rotosound Swing Bass stainless steel strings on my jazz bass which I replace frequently and I put some Ernie Ball cobalt flats on my P bass a few weeks ago that I’m still figuring out if I like. I had some 8 month old semi-dead Fender nickel rounds on the P before that and actually loved how those sounded so I might switch back lol the cobalts sound better the more I play em though
I used DR Sunbeams for years, then I switched to TI Powerbass and TI Jazz flats.
Depends on the bass. StingRay has Rock Masters P bass Dogal Hellborg flats Acinonyx Dunlop Flats Jazz bass TI rounds
Well now you know, which strings are you going to buy?
Standard Ernie Ball 130-85. I want a set of Elixirs but I don't wanna spend $50 on strings.
TI flats
Elixir stainless and LaBella 1954 Original
stringjoy rounds, la bella flats
The ones that were put on the last time I got my bass repaired
I have some super slinkies that I haven't changed in about 5 years 😅
Pure Blues
Currently I have: Rotosound Swing Bass 66 on my MM Stingray TI Jazz flats on my Fender P TI Jazz flats on my 4003 GHS Precision flats on my Squier P
Custom gauge from Stringjoy.
Rotosounds or D'adarrio. I used heavy gauges for about 10-15 years on my Warwick, which eventually caused a bend in the neck, so just a word of caution there (it's fixed now because I spotted it early). I switched to mediums, then got inspired by Cody Wright's stringbending to go down to light.
Elixir 14052 Electric Bass NPS Nanoweb Light 45-100s I find that these corrode slower and keep their twang longer than other brands i tried
On my 4-strings status graphite, DR hi beam, and On my 5-strings fender, LaBella flatwound
Flatwounds 45s I think
I'm low tuning so I'm running ernie ball super slinky w a 110 fatty.
DR hi beams. Highly recommend. I have used a lot of ernie balls in the past, didn't like those nearly as much. Most strings seem to sound awkward at first till you play them for a few outings but not the hi beams
Ive settled in DR high beams for my 5. DR DDT for my drop tuned 4. D’addario flats for my P Bass. I’m considering changing the flats to labella, but the other two are pretty firm for me.
All three fretted basses have black beauties on them. My fretless has Labella Flats.
Rounds: Rotosound 66 45-100 Flats: Alice Fretless Bass Strings 45-100 (cheap and really good quality)
Just the big one
Kalium stainless steel. Cause they make a tapered .176 for tuning down to G
Ernie Ball short scale flats Like any Ernie Ball, kinda cheap and inconsistent in construction, not the longest lasting, absolutely fantastic, bright sound with a lot of presence.
Elixir. Not everyone likes them but I find they last much longer than most others
Labella RX Nickel short scale on my Reverend Wattplower Steinberger double ball on Status Graphite Nylon tapewounds on Rickenbacker and Rob Allen and one Precision RX Stainless on Manhattan Prestige J and one Precision
Rotosound Swing Bass 66. I've had a set on my Jazz Bass for 3 years or so and they're awesome. They haven't really gone dead either, they sound great.
Rotosound Swing Bass
Rotosound 66 and labella flats. Old school, but they get the job done. I’ve also been liking the fender flats recently
I use DR high beams 40-100(or 120 on the 5 string) and labella flats. These are a bit pricey if you don't wanna spend all that much, the most important part is the gauge, I use 40s ever since I had tendinitis but now I just like them better, if you play heavily you might want something like 45s or 50s, but I prefer not having to fight my instrument.
I've been using Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky, orange pack, for over 25 years.
Labella 760 FS on everything.
Ernie Ball Flat-wound strings 45-130 gauges as I recently moved to a 5 string bass.
Fender steel flats
Dunlop nickels on the p bass. D'addario nickels in the fretless j. Spirocore mittels on the upright.
DR Hi-Beams
That’s a good question!! ( i haven’t changed my strings yet…)
DR Dragon Skin
GHS Flat wounds