Not a bass player, guitar player getting into bass, and I play everything from drop tuned metal to funk / r&b and I gotta say the Rotosound strings definitely sounded the most versatile and ready to go
When I started playing bass in 1981. I used Rotos round wound for years. But they wear down your frets faster than any other string. They sound the best. I don’t want to have to refret every 2 years. Then I went to GHS Boomers. And played them for 20 years. I’ve tried others. But I like the DR’s
Good review. Thanks. I got turned onto the LaBella flatwounds in the late 90s. I play blues to motown sound,and these are so warm. The tone is deep and rich. My favorite.
In my country (Indonesia) where humidity here is mostly around 60-95% which is very damp, Ernie Ball strings never lasted more than a month for me, with note I am not a wet palm guy. It sounds very great but very short lived because of the air here from seas around builds up rust and corrosion way way faster, for any nickel or steel strings. In my experience Elixir lasted the longest (hard on fingers tho), followed by Labella and Roto (this one was also hard), then NYXL, DR, D'Addario XL, and Ernie Ball is the shortest.
There is one missing: ELIXIR NIKEL COATED, in my opinion the best strings right now, very well balanced and with this warm tone that is great for pizzicato (jaco sound) as well as nice and elegant slap. Really difficult to find nowadays here in Spain. From all the strings in your video, those ernie ball got you the best sound. That slap line with this strings had some Marcus similar tone.
elixir strings are always good, acoustic, bass, electric doesn't matter. they just feel so good. they're the most expensive set of strings for a reason I guess. that's probably why most people don't prefer it as well but for me they're always worth it. some also say they hurt the neck because of its toughness against the wood
Great vid, brutha! I personally lean toward the DR Hi Beams and the XL’s. I actually make my choices between those depending on which bass I play. I switch between 5 strings Jazz and vintage 4 string Jazz basses. While I do agree that certain strings may perform better in certain situations, I personally lean into my EQ’ing to go between genres. Again, great vid and as always, great content! ✊🏾
Thank you for mentioning the FAT beams! Started using those with my Marcus Miller fender years ago and now I use marcus’ sire basses with the DR and it’s perfection man. God bless!
I love the Rotosound Swing Bass 66s. They are loud, strong and cut through everything. They are my "go-to" choice even though they cost more. On a 6-string, I love the Rotosound UltraMags.
Thank you so much for doing the comparison. Have played 4-string for the past 30 years, and my first 5-string arrives tomorrow so I can expand my catalog for a cover band. Great to hear the classic string sets on 5 instead of just 4. Awesome video.
Love the way this video is done, easy to navigate through every section, well done! What I've learn is that I made a good choice to stick with the DR 10 years ago, still the best for me after all this time. Highly recommend! (DR guitar strings are also crazy good)
In my opinion, DR strings are the best. I've previously tried D'Addario, Ernie Ball, Fender, etc, and I found DR the best in terms of tone, playability, and durability, hands down. In 2006 I strung my Ibanez ATK with DR Fat Beam, didn't change the strings for 13 years until I restrung it with stiffer stainless steel Lo Rider in 2019. The tone deterioration were slow, and maintained usable tone much longer than other brands. I'm considering in getting either Pure Blues or Neon White for my next purchase 😃
D'addrio for life, I ply a lot of Japanese hard rock/math rock and acid jazz and I like that bright powerful tone cause teh bass in the most important instrument for those genres!
Been a while since I used Rotosounds, but my recollection is that they are really bright new but lose their vibrancy quickly. New they are like nothing else. I've liked the consistency of the tone of Dean Markley Blue Steel strings.
I used to use Roto Sound Swing Bass Round Wounds.(still my favorite)They tended to chew-up the frets though. Switched to Ernie Ball Super Slinkies 30-35yrs ago. Not quite the sound, but my frets don't have to get dressed, or replaced so often.😊
I have the same Elixirs, on my BassMods NPS Aguilar OBP3 Delano fat poles, for about 3years now.Incredible🔥They don't have the zing of brand new,yet they still,sound better than,most.Hard to explain. THANKS FOR this demo.I just bought EB slinkeys for another bass .Thanks👌🏾
You need a DR endorsement!! You deserve it, and I'm sure they would make more than enough money to cover giving you as many free strings as you need from you playing them at this point. You work hard, you're a great player, and you play out and record more than enough to help them sells strings. Have you ever asked them for an endorsement? I use DR strings mostly myself. However, as you know, most of our tone comes from our fingers foremost!
Rotosound are probably the best sounding string out there but have the shortest life and go off suddenly , After 20 years I settled on D addario nickles sound great last a long time and go off slowly and good value for money.
I’m learning the bass and came across this video. I didn’t know strings can do that much change of the sound quality. I liked the rotosound. I think I will buy one. The strings I have right now looks dark and tired.
I've been using the Power Slinky Ernie Ball strings since I was like 15 years old. I don't tend to stick with a single brand for anything, but Ernie Ball has been very consistent and proven.
Rotosound are what I use mainly. Try the flat wound rotosounds. They are the best flat wounds I think. Thanks for the content. Glad I found ya. God bless
I'm a D'Addario guy, been using NYXLs for years for all my basses except a couple I have Chromes flats on. Playing all kinds of styles, but I guess mostly rock and more of the CCM side of church music than the gospel side.
I like how you not only use the same playing sample for each style of playing (finger or slap), but the same for each brand, as well (unlike so many others). Thank you.
I use Rotosound round wound R66LD regular gauge for all my basses except my Warwick, and I use Warwick Black Label regular gauge stainless steel round wounds for that one. I used to occasionally use nickel strings, but found they wear out quickly. Stainless steel is hard on the frets and fingers, but it gives a good sound for quite a while. All my current basses are 5-string; I use 45-65-80-105-130.
I’m a huge fan of LaBellas! Have them on all my bass guitars, and haven’t had much issue with stiffness, but I’m a double bassist, so bass guitars feel lighter to me anyway…
Wow! What an EXCELLENTLY produced comparison video! Seriously you should get some kind of award for making a major comparison video where we can instantly compare apples to apples with both your setups and your time stamp markers. Far TOO FEW comparison videos provide that. It’s like… a waste of our time. I was super impressed by the Slinky strings. (Too bright for me personally, but overall better than I expected.) You helped me to make the change from D’Addarios to the Rotosounds, and I’m super happy with the move. Thanks mate! 👍 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Travis, you are a beast man and I appreciate you taking the time to explain these...since watching this video, I purchase some DR Hi Beams...love them man...appreciate the love man
Going to buy a bass tomorrow after a long break. It has been awhile since I played but when I did I preferred the DR Low Riders. Thanks for the video this was a great comparison video.
Great video. I went from stock Fender round wounds to La Bella flat wounds on my Mustang short scale bass. I didn't have an issue with my hands, but I've never had strings that kept stretching for so long! I had to keep stretching them until they settled. Once they did, I absolutely love the sound and like you mentioned, they kind of last forever because they are already mellow and age gracefully...
Thanks for the great reviews!! Surprised you didn't like the feel of flatwounds. I got a used fretless bass with LaBellas, and OMG, they feel so smooth. I'm not sure how much playing was done one them before I got it though.
After years of playing through different stings, Elixir Nano-webbed strings are the best. They are super comfortable on the fingers, versatile and long lasting. Even after constant use, they still sound like a fresh set. Highly recommend them over every other strings mentioned here.
The DRs snarl on that bass. Probably help you get old school Marcus Miller tones in the bridge with the tone down. The Japanese slap is all about those D’Addario XL though
This is just right video I want. Really really appreciate for your effort. Especially I want to compare sounds of Roto, DR and Dadario. Again, really appreciate for this.
I really liked those labellas. I wasn’t watching the video, but just listening, and when I heard them, I was like like, “oh yeah, those sound good!”. Maybe it’s cause I play fretless 90% of the time, and the one fretted J bass I own, has flat wounds on it too, (I have 5 fretless basses), so maybe my ear just likes the flat wound sound? I wasn’t even listening too hard, so I missed the name of the strings, or the fact that they were flat wounds, so I watched the video again to see what the “good strings” were, before the Ernie Balls. I can remember experiencing the weird new flat wound feel and how the increased surface friction makes your fingers not slide well. That was 25 years ago, and I’d forgotten until now. Great video man.
Awesome vid with awesome playing. I'd planned to watch this before, but I put it off. Earlier today, I got Ernie Ball Cobalt Slinky Regular, so I think I'll be alright!!
Great video...thanks. The Ernie Ball strings really are bright and the slap tones just make you want to groove... I also use the DR Neon strings on my 4 string bass...they look great and the sound is unique ....
I play a 6 string bass tuned E A D G C F because I don't like the low B string. What I usually do is buy a set of Dean Markley SR2000 7 string set, and toss out the low B.
Used to be a round wound guy, was a huge fan of the DR Bootzillas. Tried the La Bella Deep Talkin' Bass flats on a whim, and have never looked back. Love the fat, darker tone from them.
This is very complicated, different basses need different strings for different music styles... Did you notice how many times I said the word different? Great video my friend!!!
The real money tone with LaBella Flats is on a P bass. Warm and pillowy but still cuts through the mix. I use those for country and old school funk / Motown but I don't love them for slap. Another set of flats worth checking out is D'Adario Chromes. Twice as bright as the LaBella's and great for slap with the dded bonus is no string so slides are super clean. I can also get a LaBellaish sound if I roll the tone off a bit. I've been playing a P/J bass lately and have been trying to home in on the right strings for it. Have a set of of Rotosounds on the way to try along with some DR Black Beauties.
Love the curt mangans as well...he was ernie ball string designer for 15 yrs... especially for six string bass.. go to string out of the box... ernie balls... rotosounds tend to be hard on frets...but sound great... at least for me...on my 6 string warrior...
Really enjoyed the video! I've been watching some of your videos for a year or so now. I recently bought a Fender Player P-Bass. I'm not a fan of the factory strings. Too bright and they ring constantly. I'm leaning heavily towards the La Bellas Flatwounds and the DR's Fat are in the running. I have Rotosound Jazz 77 on my 5 string. What strings will give a warm tone, not too bright, but still retain most of the P-bass growl? Thanks.
I wish I had watched this video a few years ago! I have been using DR high beams for the past 10 years or so but this year I tried the fat beams for the first time - definitely give a more solid low/mid end. I really like them!
Outstanding video, thank you for posting this...I can hardly wait to try the DR Fat Beams. Years ago, I bought a set of Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats and put them on my '65 Precision. They honestly made that old Fender sing and the older they get -- the better they sound. Which is a good thing nowadays because they've become very pricely. $96 for a 4-string. Whew!!
Rotosound have been around for a long time. I would say they are my favourite brand string and great value for money. Nearly all bass strings will last a year easily.
Hi. I am from Brazil. Without a doubt DR Strings has the best sound. However, Ernie Ball has a killer tone as well. I use Ernie Ball strings these days. Congratulations on the video.
My dude🤘🤘. Fat Beams are all I use for the same exact reason. I like the way they wear in. A fresh set though...good gracious I love that sparkle, twinkle and glisten. That is why I keep my basses strung with fresh Fat Beams.
I think Dean Markley strings deserve some space here as well. Blue Steels are nowhere inferior to EB, certainly superior to D'Addarios and I'd choose them over the pricey DRs as well. Cheers!
