I know there’s a ton of string topics on here but I’m curious if most have a preferred string type/brand regardless of musical style?
I see a lot of posts where players say they put “x” brand on their basses no matter what.
Just curious to see what people tend to go with.
*I definitely have a preferred musical style right now and have flats on my P bass. As I’m not in a band, I’m curious if this is something that will need to be addressed down the line if the tone doesn’t mix.
Strings are highly subjective. I don’t think there is one go to. I have my preferences for sure, but I do not use one string.
As with many things with bass, it depends.
As the saying goes though, no one will complain if you bring a p bass.
You are bound to get a lot of (different) replies. The question is whether this is going to help you in any way!?!
My own experience is that, over the years, I needed to buy a number of different types of strings and find out for myself which ones I liked best. And “tone” is just one criterion here; “feel” is super important for me, as well as something even less well defined called “playability”. But, yes, it’s all super subjective and you probably need to experiment yourself a bit to find your “go-to” strings.
FWIW, my go-to strings are Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Rounds.
It’s ONE of the reasons I went with a P lol.
I sort of just kept looking at what my favourite players/bands used and it seemed to always come back with a P so it made the decision easier.
I have this weird thought in my head that, as I look for people to jam with, I’ll be saying things like “Yeah I play bass. It’s a P with flats”.
It’s such a specific sound that I wonder if I have to mention it up front 
Well you know, if you want to, Thomastik-Infeld make fantastic strings, if you get a set of their flats it will run you about $85, or about the same for their rounds. Both will give you more high tones which will stand out in a mix better, and they are comfortable strings to play, just very expensive. But flats you can leave on for ages.
That’s definitely something in consideration - the time strings are left on/last.
I think my thoughts (doubts?) on the matter stem from the fact that most flatwound players tend to settle on a string set they prefer and then never change them.
And with strings being such a rabbit hole, and marketing being so good at what it does, I sort of look through the window and wonder.
Don’t 
Just play the damn thing 
It is a rabbit hole and there’s all sorts of nuances, like is it round or flat, and if it’s flat does it have a round core or hex core, because a string with a hex core will be stiffer and and lose some of the mids and high tones, where a round core flat string will be more flexible and have more pronounced mids and highs. The hex core sounds more classic though. TIs are round core by the way.
So yes, rabbit hole with a lot of little bunnies.
Oof my wallet!..
They don’t change often.
But for round core flats at a more reasonable price try Ernie Ball Cobalt flats or LaBella low tension flats
I play mostly punk, pop punk, post punk, and pop. I use Ernie Ball regular Slinky’s.
In my experience, the guitar players and other musicians will have no idea what you talking about anyway.
In a previous life, playing guitar, I always used EB. Just seemed to be everywhere, always available etc.
Now that I’ve followed my soul and play bass, it kind of surprises me to hear EB rarely mentioned.
me:
Bass: D’Addario NYXL.
Guitar: Either that or Elixir Nanowebs.
Musical genre doesn’t matter at all, these are the strings. I’ll fix genre discrepancies when mixing.
I need to figure out which strings are on the BB I just got. I know thy’re flat wounds but that’s it. These things are the cat’s pajamas and I should pick up another set now in case I need them sometime in the next decade.
Both my Squier J and my Fender P wear Fender 9050L flats. Nothing better for my money. On my Dean Rhapsody Q4, I’m running D’Addario nickel strings.
I usually get my TI Jazz flats or rounds for 60-something bucks. Never paid more than that.
Here’s an example, but sales go for a good bit cheaper.
I do want to try their rounds sometime.
I like these too. They have regular light top regular bottom sets to help that b string/down tuning as well.
