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Old 02-10-2015, 02:49 PM
Kip Carter Kip Carter is offline
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Default BASS: Another string discussion

Okay I'm not going to toss out the time honored "What's the best" question here I just want a little direction to avoid the stupid pitfalls.

I've made the plung and ordered a nice entry level electric bass (full size) that was on sale. Got cables, gig bag, and pedal tuner to go with it. Was thinking about ordering a set of strings that might be better than than what came on it and it dawned on me I am not a bass player and I have no freekin clue what is good better or best in bass strings. So the bass is a Yamaha RBX170Y with 34" scale. It has a passive pickup system so i'm curious what you knowledgeable people would recommend as a step up from the strings that come on it.

Should be here this weekend or Monday at the worst.

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Old 02-10-2015, 05:57 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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If you're a newbie to bass I'd recommend a set of light-gauge (45-100 or something similar) flatwounds for several reasons:
  • Easier on both right- and left-hand fingers
  • Action can be set lower than with roundwounds
  • Less edgy/twangy, more traditional bass tone, makes an entry-level bass sound more expensive than it really is
  • Advances in string-making technology have for the greater part eliminated the "thuddiness" formerly associated with flatwounds (Pyramid/Hofner strings being the notable exception)
  • Neck/bridge should need little or no adjustment for action/relief (plan on tweaking the intonation, though)
FWIW I'm also a converted guitarist who has spent much of the last 35 years as a bass player in a variety of genres, so I'm speaking from personal experience here (YMMV). I'm also quite familiar with your instrument as it's the one our school band uses, and if you were going to pick a 34" instrument for your first bass (I would've gone with a short-scale myself) IMO it's one of the better choices out there: lightweight, slim neck, simple control layout, reasonably consistent factory QC, two-octave neck (I use it, you might not for a while yet), and capable of a variety of tones - use it well...

BTW, what are you thinking in terms of an amp...?
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Old 02-10-2015, 08:18 PM
Kip Carter Kip Carter is offline
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I was wanting to go with the 30" Squire but no one seemed to want to put the red one on sale... LOL so in moment of weakness I pulled the trigger on the Yamaha.

I am going to use it for two things; 1) recording which will be though my digital interface and my 60 watt pa for monitors and 2) At church where it will be routed though the sound system for the house. I may buy a bass amp later so if you have suggestions I'm not likely to gig with this rig I'm an acoustic guitarist so this is supplemental activity but I want to do as well as I can regardless.

Oh, and the longer scale my thinking was that I will not be playing it most of the time at Church... that will be an experienced bassist, who due to circumstances has no bass.
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Old 02-10-2015, 11:13 PM
The Growler The Growler is offline
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Hi Kip -

I'd suggest the D'Addario EXL 165 set. .045 - .105s

I use these on several different 34" scales basses and they work well, sound good and last.

Hope this helps.
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Old 02-11-2015, 03:20 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kip Carter View Post
...I am going to use it...at church where it will be routed though the sound system for the house. I may buy a bass amp later, so if you have suggestions I'm not likely to gig with this rig. I'm an acoustic guitarist so this is supplemental activity, but I want to do as well as I can regardless...
You need one of these:

http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/AG300

I've got the single-channel MB12 bass version, which I used for two years as a hired gun with a rebuilding P&W team, and I'll attest to the build and tone quality; the AG300 utilizes the same cabinet and speaker complement, and the factory manual says that it can be used for bass as well as acoustic instruments. FWIW I used mine as a monitor/EQ/compressor, with an XLR going to the house mix, with excellent results - and the fact that it scales in at ~30 pounds is just icing on the cake; then again, with the extension speaker jack you could always add an 18" subwoofer just because...
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Old 02-11-2015, 04:20 PM
royd royd is offline
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as with everything bass... it seems bass players are less conservative than guitar players so there are way more options. In strings there are flatwound, tapewound, pressure wound, ground would, and round would with tapers, round core, and hex cores. Then there are different materials and the composition impacts both sound and feel in ways that are more significant than with guitar strings. Prices are all over from $10 for some choices up to $78 for the Thomastic Jazz strings. Do be aware that unless you want a very clangy sound, bass strings last much longer than guitar strings. I know folk who've had one set of the TI Jazz strings on their bass for a decade.

The main divisions - roundwound (which are likely on your bass now), flatwound, and tape wound do sound very different as do nickel vs. stainless steel. So first, do you prefer the old school thumpy sound? Get flatwound. More of an upright sound? Get tapewound. A more modern sound? Roundwound. Really bright? Be sure you get stainless steel.

In the reasonable price range, D'addario is good as are DR. Most of the companies make round or flat wound and both nickel and stainless steel. For tapewound - LaBella. I've been using Kalium strings on my bass (round wound, taper core, nickel coated)... I'm not sure yet whether that is what I'll stay with but I like their balanced tension. New, they are a bit bright for me but we'll see once they settle in some.

Bass Strings Online is a good vendor if you don't have another string vendor you prefer. And they'll give good advice to find the strings that meet your hopes for what they'll sound and play like.
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Old 02-16-2015, 10:57 PM
jaybones jaybones is offline
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I like DR strings. Use the Tite Fit Lite N Heavy guitar strings, and also use the bass strings- can't say exactly which ones but as I've played before (can't say I'm experienced) and they are on the heavier end of the scale.

Also I'm a fan of flat wound strings.

First bass I ever gigged with extensively was a Yamaha Motion B with active EMG's. It was a short scale and easier to play switching from guitar.
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Old 03-01-2015, 12:48 PM
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largeal largeal is offline
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Default string choices

I've been playing bass for decades and I'd recommend you use the strings that come with it for quite sometime so that you can formulate some opinions about what you either do or do not like about them, then based on that, you can begin to make an intelligent and informed decision about what you might want to change. The factory strings might be great.
In reality, what I or any body else likes is irrelevant as it is a personal choice based on MANy factors. There are MANY good choices and you will need to do your own testing and experiments, it might take some time or years, but the factory strings are likely going to serve you fine until you gain some experience.
Don't be afraid to try any EQ settings to modify what you are hearing too and you can always go out and try other basses / strings in local stores too.
Good luck and enjoy it while you are learning.
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Old 03-01-2015, 04:42 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by largeal View Post
I've been playing bass for decades and I'd recommend you use the strings that come with it for quite some time so that you can formulate some opinions about what you either do or do not like about them; then, based on that, you can begin to make an intelligent and informed decision about what you might want to change. The factory strings might be great...it might take some time or years, but the factory strings are likely going to serve you fine until you gain some experience...
If this were a $1K+ Fender American Standard/Vintage, Rickenbacker, Warwick, Lakland, (German) Hofner, or the like, I'd be 100% in your corner...

This is a $179 Pac-Rim plank - $150 on sale at your friendly local big-box...

I set them up for our school band conductor when he got a batch in a couple years back, and the kids come to me for tech work when they need it, so I have extensive/recent hands-on experience with this exact bass...

The strings are total POS and, given the cost of the instrument itself, the weak link in the tone chain; actually, the pickups are quite good for an entry-level bass, and the QC is of the usual high Yamaha standard...

Bottom line: spend $25-30, change the strings - then work from there...
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Old 03-01-2015, 05:58 PM
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largeal largeal is offline
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Default strings

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa View Post
The strings are total POS and, given the cost of the instrument itself, the weak link in the tone chain; actually, the pickups are quite good for an entry-level bass, and the QC is of the usual high Yamaha standard...
I am not trying to argue here, but simply calling the strings a POS isn't exactly a helpful or informative review of them in my opinion.
You are entitled to your feelings and opinions, but how bad can a round wire wrapped around a core really be? What issues did you encounter? What about the tone wasn't up to your criteria?
How do you know what amplifier or such he might be using? So many factors to be considered that create TONE, and let's not forget that a good player can make almost ANYTHING sound good or work.

The "point" of my post was to illustrate that anyone, especially a novice can learn something from the strings that come on the instrument and might want to TEST it before making any changes.
Since it's his first experience with bass strings, as he stated, I feel that he can gain some knowledge from playing the factory strings first. If he changes them immediately before trying them or spending time learning his new instrument,
then how will he know if the strings were good, bad or otherwise?
I feel that he can learn more on his own if he simply plays and tests what he has and demo's others too.
I have many Original 60's basses of many brands with Factory Original strings still on them, they don't intonate well, they are dead sounding, they are uneven in volume, but I LIKE them for certain kinds of playing and a vibes.
If I just removed them all because they were Old or Factory installed when I bought these basses, I would never have gotten to the point where I had an appreciation for them. That is all i was saying.
The OP might be better served if he gained his Own experience and was able to form his own opinions based on what he learned from all strings he is going to encounter during his journey.
I have probably tried 200 kinds of strings but i am not going to tell him what he should play.
The Bottom line (no pun intended), the Factory strings can be changed at any time, but since they are on the instrument, why not give em a spin for a while?
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Old 03-01-2015, 06:20 PM
Kip Carter Kip Carter is offline
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After many years of experience with other string instruments and being the op i'm going to have to side with Steve on this one i'm afraid. If the strings are an obvious weak link in the tonal / play-ability chain then it would behoove me to make a move on them sooner rather than later to avoid frustration.

My early years on six string guitar were fraught with bad strings on a poorly configured instrument. If it were not for me being bull headed and stubborn I would have thrown in the towel.

So in this case, I'll spend a few bucks and toss a com fee set of strings on and have a go.. can't hurt.
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Old 03-01-2015, 06:32 PM
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largeal largeal is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kip Carter View Post
After many years of experience with other string instruments and being the op i'm going to have to side with Steve on this one i'm afraid. If the strings are an obvious weak link in the tonal / play-ability chain then it would behoove me to make a move on them sooner rather than later to avoid frustration.

My early years on six string guitar were fraught with bad strings on a poorly configured instrument. If it were not for me being bull headed and stubborn I would have thrown in the towel.

So in this case, I'll spend a few bucks and toss a com fee set of strings on and have a go.. can't hurt.
There's no sides here. So what about them don't YOU like? It's really not fair to call the strings an OBVIOUS weak link without quantifying something intelligent about them.
Do they really NOT play right or sound right? I now feel You guys are just missing the point.
...a forum best serves everyone when intelligent, usable information is provided, not just biased opinions. MY POINT was to open your mind to TRYING the strings before making any decisions, so YOU can actually learn something from the experimentation ...very simple concept here.

So, now I'd like to know why a string that comes on an expensive instrument is not as good as an aftermarket string you can buy for much more?
What is so different about them?
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Old 03-01-2015, 06:37 PM
Kip Carter Kip Carter is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa View Post
If you're a newbie to bass I'd recommend a set of light-gauge (45-100 or something similar) flatwounds for several reasons:
  • Easier on both right- and left-hand fingers
  • Action can be set lower than with roundwounds
  • Less edgy/twangy, more traditional bass tone, makes an entry-level bass sound more expensive than it really is
  • Advances in string-making technology have for the greater part eliminated the "thuddiness" formerly associated with flatwounds (Pyramid/Hofner strings being the notable exception)
  • Neck/bridge should need little or no adjustment for action/relief (plan on tweaking the intonation, though)
FWIW I'm also a converted guitarist who has spent much of the last 35 years as a bass player in a variety of genres, so I'm speaking from personal experience here (YMMV). I'm also quite familiar with your instrument as it's the one our school band uses, and if you were going to pick a 34" instrument for your first bass (I would've gone with a short-scale myself) IMO it's one of the better choices out there: lightweight, slim neck, simple control layout, reasonably consistent factory QC, two-octave neck (I use it, you might not for a while yet), and capable of a variety of tones - use it well...

BTW, what are you thinking in terms of an amp...?
Quoting Steve's original reply...not my reason's because I have no experience to go by but his.
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  #14  
Old 03-01-2015, 06:59 PM
s2y s2y is offline
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I typically use .105-.045 strings. I've used many nickel round wound strings and I can't say I've noticed huge differences among brands. The low B string tends to involve a few more logistics that don't apply here. I have used Ernie Ball, SIT, D'Addario, Curt Mangan, and DR for nickel round wounds. They all seem fine.
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Old 03-01-2015, 09:10 PM
EoE EoE is offline
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I use smith slap masters ultra light.. but I do not know two bass players that use the same gauge. you are going to figure out this road yourself. I do a lot of funk and solos that is why I use lights.. and I hate the sound of flat wound.. round wound is all I like to listen to. just remember you need to have it set up if you change string size.
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