hey @terb, being new to Rotosounds roundwound, can you reco what to put on a TRBX 5 string, will be a mostly rock, etc focused bass. They have way too many choices!
2 Likes
I only use DâAddario nickel roundwound strings on either my guitars and basses, those are the best strings I ever tried in my opinion. it works well for rock, I can garantee 
(but the flatwound thing has not to be directly compared, itâs another thing really)
4 Likes
Agree, DâAddario nickel rounds all the way.
4 Likes
This weirded me out at first but I got used to it, and now I really like that grippy feel for providing an extra thump when you pluck. Also they seem to get less grippy over time.
2 Likes
For rounds I really like the DR Sunbeam nickel rounds. My second choice would be Dâaddario nickels.
1 Like
Iâve mentioned it before, that stickiness is what bugs me about the âfeelâ of flats. They feel grippy on my fretting hand too.
They arent bad, and to each their own; they just arenât my thing.
6 Likes
True. For me, I have them on my P-bass and I love them. Iâm going to play (well, practice on, play is such a big word) the Ray4 with rounds for now, though Iâm sorely tempted to put flats on it at one point.
3 Likes
Just relooking at the Yamaha site, that is what they put on the bass to begin with, so I guess I am set. I havenât messed with the 5 string enough yet, time so sort that too!
2 Likes
Are you talking about a fresh set of EB Slinkyâs for a Re-String, or are you referring to a set of EB. slinkyâs on a bass in a music store, / Pawn Shop, or at a new out of box purchase?
in my out of the box purchases, I have not been disappointed, but also, I did get OUT of the box basses, not ones that have been hanging in the showroom that god knows whoâs hands have touched. Kids with melty ice cream, and grosser as I would go, so I wonât.
I also really love my Slinkyâs when I put a new set on. but I have been fortunate to like the strings on my Ray4 and Ray4HH (even tho I donâtâ really like that bass, the strings are fine, and feel great) feeling just as fresh as if I put them on.
Also, my GHS Boomers (I beleive) came on my LTD B-4E, and I still play those strings, they are awesome as well.
I have seen alot of Lobsters "Opening - First Look) and in these as he describes the general feel,
of the bass and first impressions,
Then says âI know what you guys want to know, How does she soundâ
And in time laps you can see him tune it up, right out of the box, with the neck tag still twirling abound and pay if thru the number of tunes he plsys for just riffs and for slapping.
Sometimes, he says OH, these strings are awful, I will put on a set of (the strings he is sponsored by, some SteelWorks something) for the review.
Or, if the strings are good enought for a review, he will leave them on for the review.
I believe he has left on all the Rayâs. 4,4HH,5HH,24, 34 on the first looks and reviews of the basses. For the project basses, I think he switched to his sponsored brand, but he only does that when the strings are horrible and he canât do a review on them, basically acting like a consumer that would change them if needed, or use them if good or good enough
I am also impresses with him trying to play every review with sort of the same riff, and it makes it easy to hear the difference in the review, but also, if you watch it compared to an older bass he tested, he uses the same sort of verses that he always has. Sure, they vary from video to video a little, but for the most part, they are damn close.
I really appreciate that.
Anyway, I my point is mostly, that fresh strings, its hard to compare to a bass bought off the wall. First, it could be way better broken in and feel better immediately, OR, it can feel dirty and grungy and grimy is the wrong hands have oggled on the strings, if not drooled on them. There is a geater rand of possibilities to just say, yeah, the strings on this bass suck or donât.
Likewise, if you get a box pulled from the back, or shipped to you, and the strings are not working for you, they may hae been on too long, and maybe there was enough airflow thru the box to allow for dirt an grime to build up, or maybe they have just sort of gotten a dead feel to them for sitting for so long. Less likely, but possible.
also, you can get a new bass, and you do the first tuning, and then think, hey it was strung, must have been set up, etc⌠WRONG, it is doubtful, in mass produced bass that anybody stretched the strings around and you may need to bend the heck out of them and stretch and re-tune adn stretch and re-tune to break them in enough. It could be that stiff, always wandering out of tune that happens with new strings that are causing you to dislike the strings.
OR
You put a set of strings on, stretch the heck out of them, tune, stretch more, tune, play a bit, tune, check inntonnation, and stretch and tune again, and then play and you LOVE them.
OR
YOU EXPECTED WAY MORE FROM THIS BRAND THAT HAS BEEN HYPED TO ME, NO, I THINK THEY SUCK
or
you can be in the middle, Hmmm⌠not what I expected, but has potential, will give it a shot.
Leading to you either liking and buying more as back ups, or still disliking and searching for another string.
Strings are personal, and some wiill be on a hunt til they find the right one.
Some, like me, have always liked Ernie Ball (even guitar strings) and am comfortable with them, and when push comes to shove, and I need to pick a set and I have about 15 min before Amazon Prime delivers tomorrow, turns into Amazon Prime Delivers on Monday, and the clock is ticking,]
I will pick my Go Toâs. EB Hybrid Slinkys, or regular âpinkâ slinkys if those are not available.
Does not mean that some day I may not checkj out a pair of Rotosound, or GHS Boomers again, or even Dunlop I have a set that came with something free, and it is the same gage as the Hybrid Slinkyâs, so thats probably what I actually try nextâŚ
But still the real point of this post was to ask @howard if he was talking about basses out of a box, off the wall, or newly strung by himself?
I do believe there is a difference, and your first encounter with a string in the wrong circumstance should play a role in your future outlining look about the string and or brand.
1 Like
ahh thatâs a good question, I have only played them pre-existing on basses.
2 Likes
I am not suggesting you go out and get a set, especially if you have your go to strings, but that may very well change your impression of them if you did.
I could easily see them stringing the Ray4 or Ray24 with kind of the 2nd or OLD strings that have been sitting around, based on the fact that most people probably slap a new set of strings on the bass when they first get it.?
1 Like
Yeah, a fresh set OF EB (I use super slinky but have used others) is a super crispy, bright and punchy tone.
McCartney, John Christ and John Myung are some Ernie Ball users, with Myung being a GK guy too, he likes that tone.
2 Likes
@T_dub
Thank you for the write up, thatâs very informative.
My bass is a Sterling Ray4, and I bought it off of Scamazon (twice as expensive and three times as late). It was the 2nd last one in the whoreh⌠sorry, warehouse. So itâs likely that they may well be the B-team strings.
Iâm going to give them a chance for a few months. I always have the Rotosounds if they and I canât come to good termsâŚ
3 Likes
Hereâs a question. Why are roundwounds on 90% of basses in the wild, but 90% of BassBuzzers want flatwounds?
7 Likes
It is probably much closer to 60/40 either way, but us flat-sters just love our Thump
4 Likes
citation needed 
do not want
9 Likes
Nah, pretty certain this community is in favor of flatwoundsâŚ
Maybe not 90% thoughâŚ
5 Likes
gonna go with affinity bias on this one until thereâs a poll to prove it
11 Likes
Bass strings started off as ALL Flats, because that is what they are on classical Basses, aka Double basses, or Upright basses.
Somewhere along the line (I donât claim to know too much the history), that they invented a round wound for electric bass, giving is a stronger more bright sound that some players of the day must have been looking for.
But to answer your question, and I could be totally wrong, and or biased, but I think Bass Buzz is a great breeding ground for up and coming bass players, and when starting out, many people complain about the strings hurting their fingers, AND the scratchy noise.
First, the scratchy noise can be dealt with by learning better technique, and you can eq it out of your amp sound while learning.
But the pain to play on round wound string, there is nothing you can do, but play thru the pain, until the pain is gone.
I would think a HIGH percent of players here, when first joining and talking about strings to anybody that has big opinion on strings, will follow the advice and give flat wound a try. Being new, and loving the feel of the flatwounds, and how they can slide with ease, and they lose alot of the noise and scratches caused by rounds, they just learn to love it an stick to it.
I am opposite, I loved making my fingers bleed before they calloused up (exaggerating a bit) and I loved the scratchy that gave me a very measurable tool to see when I was getting better, along with I just flat out much prefer the feel of round strings under my fingertips.
I feel flats are so slippery, I feel like they will pop out from under my fingers at times when playing quickly over them, and it has happened where I just get the note, but it slips up cuz it was not grabby enough for my finger to catch.
Now, that too could be pointed back at me, saying if I practiced technique for more accurate fingering, then I wouldnât have that problem with flat wounds. I agree, adn I have a flat wound bass, but I still am reluctant to play it becaus of the flats, and I just do not like how they feel under my fingers.
As far as sound goes, many claim the love for a deep sounding flat, and others profess love for the bride tone of a round.
Maybe my ears are just shitty, but I donât often notice HOW dull orHOW brite something is when playing, I focus on playing the notes correctly, for the right length of time per the score of music.
I may not be the best to weigh in on this topic, as I am biased to the Put up or shut up attigude to, just get callouded hands and it wonât matter what strings you play, plus, I do, eventho I donât always pay attention to it, I do prefer the brite sound of the rounds for sure.
My trade off on a couple basses, much for looks, but I have come to really like the sound and feel is Coated Strings by DR. Like the neon Orange set I havev on my EBMM Stingray BFR SLO Special, and my LTD Slayer Bass, Tom Araya Signature series.
I have one flats on a bass that I had Plekâd and I wish I used rounds, buecuase I am not sure how much I was able to judge the PLEK as opposed to just feeling weird flats on that bass, that wat the one I as going to give it a try on.
And yes, that bass is up for sale, so IDK, maybe I put rounds back on it and keep it, IDK
4 Likes
Yeah, I would be much surprised if it was anywhere above 70%.
I do beleive there are more flat users, and I also think that new people coming in, and turned onto flats right away, and they see it as EASIER to play on their fingers and prevents the need for big callouses like I have.
I mean, I have callouses that are such, that I use my plucking hand to unlock my iPhone with finger prints.
And am DAMN proud of it
5 Likes