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Question Try Stainless Steel Bass Strings?

nashman

nashman

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 30, 2005
Messages
441
Location
Toronto, Canada
Looking for opinions please ... should I buy/try a set of stainless steel roundwound strings on my 2006 HH Ray - or fuggetaboutit? I'm not sure how "useful" they are. I understand a much higher % of players use nickels. I play classic rock mostly - are they "niche" strings - better meant for certain songs/music types/basses? I understand they can be harder on the fingers/frets - and produce more finger noise - but with a "biting", bright tone that really cuts through. Thanks in advance!
 
Doesn't hurt to try them. You may be suprised.

Stainless is what I've mostly been using for 20yrs. Never wore out any frets. To me they have a more powerful and authoritive sound to the bottom end from more low-mid growl, and more punch for slapping. I also average 10-12 months per set of ss, whereas nickels only last me a mere few weeks at best.
 
I replaced the nickel strings on all my basses (EBMM or not) with stainless steel strings. But I have no maple fretboards ...

If you are concerned about finger noise you can always try some "pressure wound" finish, that's generates slight less noise.
 
nashman said:
Looking for opinions please ... should I buy/try a set of stainless steel roundwound strings on my 2006 HH Ray - or fuggetaboutit? I'm not sure how "useful" they are. I understand a much higher % of players use nickels. I play classic rock mostly - are they "niche" strings - better meant for certain songs/music types/basses? I understand they can be harder on the fingers/frets - and produce more finger noise - but with a "biting", bright tone that really cuts through. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
hi, i use fender ,7250 stainless on my jazz , theyr"e unreal, outstanding brilliance and superb tone , I like 110 ,85,70,50, heavy"s , they give high mileage , all tones , ive used a lot of brands now ,
these are as good as the best, usa quality, is the best whatever brand .
ernie ball should know,
althou i do have a soft spot for rotosound [rs 66 le] agin 110,85,70,50.
these are hand made,in england and stainless , fret wear not worse ,depends on set up , and how hard you hit it .and i rekon there softer on the fingers ,
due to less effort needed due to there tone,
hope it helps ya , cheers mate. [24.]
 
Nashman, what have you been using since? And what differences are you looking for? Are you playing mostly finger stye or with a pick? Does classic rock include hard & heavy (i.e. more aggressive lines and fills)?

Your HH can be as biting as anything with almost any kind of string, right hand position and finger/pick technique add greatly to that.

I've been through almost a dozen different string sets in the past 18 months and my observation with stainless vs nickel is that the stainless age (or settle) differently, i.e. they keep a little more "bite" especially when played hard or with a pick and closer to the bridge. Moving the right hand towards the neck and/or playing with a light touch evens that difference out - they can be as round and mellow as well broken in nickels.

Another notable difference depends on your fretting hand: The rougher surface can produce noise close to pull-offs if your fretting/damping is a bit sluggish (great educational help for me) and lastly, slides up and down the neck gain a nice, snarly quality. That last point is (for me) the most constant difference to broken in nickels, everything else is still in your hands.

So, yeah, give them a try, keep them on for a couple of weeks as they will change and if they are not for you after all, go back to nickels. :)

Cheers
 
Sorry for the delay Stephen - and thanks. I currently use Hybrid Slinkys. I play both finger and pick depending on the song. I normally play closer to the neck than the bridge. I don't usually dig TOO hard! I think what I will do is see if Santa can find a set for my stocking and give them a try in the New Year - it's not much of a gamble!
 
Steel Strings Forever!!

Stainless steel all the way! I think nickels are horrible in comparison!! And if the steels do wear the frets (they don't/haven't yet), I'll pony up the $$ for a fret job! Just gimme the tone, baby - I don't care!!

My favorite strings are D'Addario Pro Steels. I string my Sterling 4 with .45-.105. My Stingray 5 HH gets .45-.135. Both have rosewood boards.

I have a 2 band Stingray with a maple neck that I keep tuned DGCF which I string with DR Drop Tune .55-.115. This bass sounds ridiculous.

I also own a '73 Jazz Bass (not all original) with an Audere JZ3 preamp that I string up with good old fashioned Rotosound RS66 .45-.105, with a .85 A. This is a special set - normally, .45 Roto sets have a .80 A, but they have a set that they use .85 instead. This bass sounds insane.

Hate to be talking about other brands of strings, but as much as I love EBMM basses, I'm not so into the Slinky strings.
 
Nashman, thanks for the feedback!

In that case I would try to get some stainless steels with finer windings as average and a rather smooth finish ... if you want something close to your nickels, i.e. fairly familiar. Then again, you could be adventurous and go for something wild that feels more like barbed wire - it's all out there! :D
 
I personally love the more raw sound I get from steel strings. Mind you, the average listener won't ever hear the string sounds in a mix, but the brightness and string noise is something I personally like.
 
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