strings

[Jayshen]

Yoz... just migrated from guitar to bass... so can say i newbie

anyway i jus wondering how you all think of strings... although i seen a few topics on strings... but non say like the details a bit more.. like how to decide which kind of string to buy? like which is good strings for bluezing or which is good for nice rock n roll..or something like tt

 

[rottenramone]

..

bass strings are usually divided into 2 main types, flatwounds and roundwounds. of course, there are some types in between which are halfronds and the sort.

flats use flat metal windings to wind round the core. Think of the windings as the flat "kway teow" noodles going around the core string. its usually v dead and thumpy sounding and most old school 50s and 60s use flats.

rounds use round metal wires to wind around...(think of the normal round noodles). it gives a very bright and metallic sound, and its by far the most popular of all bass strings. However, the more u play, the more finger dirt and grime will go into the grooves of the strings, making it sound dead.

more on the internet. i just had noodles for lunch. heh

 

[visa]

interesting way of describing =P

 

[squidospyder]

Hi Jayshen, there's a lot of stuff out on the world wide web that can answer your qns, just run a search on any search engine (Yahoo, Google etc)... But yeah the info can end up confusing you too.

Here's one link that may be of help:
http://www.geocities.com/stringreviews/lessons.html

Although that link lumps in classical & electric guitar strings info as well, you still can sift through for some niblets of useful knowledge.

Keep making music!

 

[squidospyder]

Oh my. I didn't read your post closely enough... You mentioned having come across articles that 'don't really go into details' on recommendations etc.

Hmmm if you want to do like how I did it last time, try all of them out there and decide which one you like. And probably spend like $250 and suffer lots of frustration, but its because you want to know what's best for yourself. Recommendations are great, but can only be applied 'that' much to you, yourself as in your own bass, your own playing style etc. As you play more and more, your preference may change as well.

Uhm oh here's another link, just for the fun of it, if you want something that gives you some recommendations http://bgra.net/features/strings.html
And here's another rather long write-up on flatwounds if you're interested
ttp://bgra.net/features/flats.html

Hmmm if you can get hold of Dec 2004's Bass Player magazine, they actually tried out... dig this...142 sets of bass strings in that issue and posted comparisons in terms of tone balance, string gauges available, construction and average pricing (just for rough side by side comparison). But then again it can either help you or confuse you 8O