Just wonderin what all ya use for strings. Right now i have GHS bass boomers, and IMO, they suck. I prefer fender strings so far.

What are the best strings in your opinion?

I like Fender mediums (.45-.105) myself, as they provide a nice heavy bottom, and a nice trebly high. I've also used the same guages in D'Addarrio (spelling, anyone?) and Dean Markley flats (as I play fretless, but learned that the late great Jaco played rounds (I forget which kind and guage, though) so I switched back to rounds after I heavily reinforced the fingerboard. Anywho, there are many a great string makers out there, so you just gotta try different makes and models (yeah, kinda like cars, I guess) to see what you like.

DR Highbeams 45-105.

Better than anything else I have used in 35 years.

I use Dean Markley Blue Steels. I ahve found these strings to be very very long lasting. The tone and sustain is incredible, they feel good and they just play forever. Have tried a ton of other strings over the years and I have none that beat these, especially if you play a lot.

My two faves are D'Addario Prisms and DR High-Beams.Both of them sound great and they last.

DR lowriders or good ol' Rotosounds.

Rotos, Dads, or Boomers, in order of preference.

Currently Boomers, which sound just great with the EMG-HZ pickups in my Spector.

I think it's more a case of the best strings for the bass. On my 1987 Warwick Streamer I've found that LaBella Deep S/S Rounds 44-110 sound great, especially now that they're old (2 years and counting) but on my Hohner Jack fretless I prefer fresh 45-105 S/S Elite Rounds with tapered cores.

I've noticed double bass players commenting that they use either strings that are considered very bright because their bass sounds dark or vice versa, and for me that approach works very well for electric bass.

So, modern sounding strings on the cheap passive bass and old sounding strings (but not flats) on the very midrangey/trebly Warwick.

(btw Thomastik and Labella are really onto something with the whole balanced tension concept, having an E that's as tight as the G-string gives you a much more even sound as well as improved playability).

Alex

DR Hi Beam 45's.

Been diggin' D'Addario 1/2-rounds on my fretless 5. Smith Rock Masters on my fretted 4 (fine, but I'm open to experimenting w/ others).

DR Marcus Miller "Fat Beams" fo sure

If you like Hi-Beams, check these puppies out!
-Mike

Rotos Swing Bass (45-105) are #1 with me, but I'm experimenting with some Dean Markleys right now. I can't stand to keep my strings more than 6 months though. I like a certain, piano-like brightness in my sound most of the time. Nowadays I tend to use more mids in my tone, which the Swing Bass strings do well.

Yeah I use Rotosound have done since I saw Jaco play with weather report back in...77/'78? in Sydney,Aust-- don't know if you guys saw him live --he was definitely the Hendrix of Bass ---the story goes he used new sets constantly in the studio, sometimes every take. Great Harmonics! J Entwhistle used them too but he got them before they were polished ...mm Now thats a bright idea.

slinkies. highbeams can be amazing, but i find them inconsistent.

I've settled on, and love, D'Addario Prism 45-130, and DR Hi Beam 45-125 for my 5 string basses. Haven't switched for years.

DEAN MARKLEY BLUE STEELS. IMHO end of discussion.
But, can't get the set I want in the UK (5 string set). The distributer doesn't even import them into the UK.

Thomastik-Infeld PowerBass set

Great strings, last a long time and stay bright

Before that D'Addario the Will Lee set, BIG strings

And not to steer anyone from their local music store, but if you can't find what you want locally, juststrings.com has got everything!

LaBella Hard Rockin' Steel. Best "B" string I've played. In fact I'm changing my basses back to 34" scale, I don't need the extra inch with these. They last a long time and feel great.

DR Hi-Beam 45's,for the past 10 years.

I am curious about the Thomasic, and also considering changing to flats on one of my basses...so I may be experimenting soon.

I'm a Thomastik-Infeld player, so of course I'd recommend them. They sound great & have excellent string-to-string balance. I use teh Powerbass (rounds) on my fretted Fenders and Jazz Flats on the fretless & 70's Univox. All are fantastic strings, so you ought to look into them, Dave, especially those flats. After TI, I like D'Addario XL nickel-wounds... those aren't too bad, but still remind me of a suspension bridge cable compared to the Thomastiks... the TIs seem more flexable & a bit more musical to me, but it's all subjective anyways.

all this talk of thomastik-infeld got me thinking. i checked out juststrings.com. my hybrid slinky 5 string set was $24. thomastik infeld 5 string set has a heavier b string. nice there. but what's this? SWEET WEEPING MOTHER OF CHRIST! $54.00?? holy crap! they better be some baaaaaad aaasssss strings. considering how quickly most of go through 'em, id be spending as much on strings as i do on rehearsal space. yikes!

just my luck i'd buy a pair to try and love 'em. first cigarettes jump to $7.50 a pack, next i'm spending $60 for a set of strings. the plague of locust can't be far behind.

The idea behind buying TI's strings is that they last so long that the cost per time used is not any worse than their competitors' strings. I'm thinking about getting a set of their 5-string "Jazz bass" round wounds, but I also have some qualms with the TI's high price. I'm basically a cheap bastard who now has the "Webstrings Detroit" 5 string lights (about $11.50/set) on one of my regular basses. They actually work well for me. I have a set of TI Acousticore strings on my FAAS equipped fretless Essex P-bass copy. These strings are very high quality and they sound better now than they did in May when I installed them. This bass is addictive to play!! If the rest of TI's electric bass strings are as good, I think they may well be worth the extra bread. Besides, they are cheaper than 8 packs of NYC cigarettes!!!

TIs do last forever. They age very nicely, without losing their tone or bite. I doubt you'd feel the need to change them as often as you do with other strings, thus saving you money in the long run! Go for a set of the Powerbass on your 5-string, I bet you won't be disappointed. You'll see the light!

D'Addario Slowounds are on all of my basses.

DR Highbeams 40-100. DR Sunbeams 40-100 for fretless.Highbeams 40-125 for 5 string.

I haven't experimented much, but that's because once I started using Ken Smith stainless steel roundwounds I just didn't want to switch! Great sound, extremely bright, very long-lasting.

Recently I tried a set of Ernie Ball nickel Hybrids. Nice strings, & I like nickel, but they seem to create sustain issues...My Ric soon developed dead spots after putting them on. It had NO audible dead spots with the Smiths.