There are a number of reasons you might buy a specific bass: you may fall in love with the shape of the instrument, your favorite bassist may play that model, or you may simply think that the color matches your favorite stage wear. But there are really only a couple of reasons you would want to keep — and play — a bass: the way it feels and the way it sounds. A large part of the feel and the sound of an instrument comes from the strings you choose to put on it.
Almost all electric bass strings have an inner core made of steel wire covered by one or more outer wraps. (There are exceptions, such as the rubbery strings used on Kala U-Basses.) While we sell all sorts of bass strings at Sweetwater, they generally fall into one of four major categories: roundwound, flatwound, half round, and tapewound.
Roundwound Strings
Roundwound bass strings are the strings that most of us know and use. Almost every new bass comes from the factory with roundwound strings, and, with a few exceptions, they’re the least-expensive bass strings. The outer wraps of roundwound strings are, as the name implies, made of round wire. You can feel the ridges of the individual wraps under your fingers as you slide your hand up and down the neck. Roundwounds tend to have a brighter sound with more harmonic overtones and longer sustain than flatwound strings.
Flatwound Strings
Flatwound strings are made using a flat ribbon of steel wrapped around the inner core of each string rather than round wire. This makes the strings smoother, stiffer, and darker sounding than roundwound strings. They’ll typically also have less sustain, which is largely a result of the stiffness of the strings.
Half Round Strings
Half rounds are an interesting hybrid; they’re made as roundwound strings and then precision ground, so, while not quite a smooth surface (like flatwound strings), they’re smoother than roundwounds. Half rounds have most of the tone and tension characteristics of roundwound strings, including longer sustain and more harmonic information than flatwound strings, while having a smoother feel that’s closer to a flatwound set.
Tapewound Strings
Tapewound strings are made in much the same way as flatwound strings, but they are made with a length of nylon tape wrapped around the outer wrap rather than a ribbon of steel wrapped around the inner core. Folks who prefer tapewound strings often say that they’re the closest electric bass strings to the sound and feel of an upright bass.
Gauges
Beyond the construction of the outer core, the thickness of the strings will make a great difference in the feel. Once you’ve found a string with a texture that feels right to you, it’s worth spending time experimenting with the different string gauges available in the style you prefer. Depending on the brand, G strings can range in size from about 0.040 inch (on a light-gauge set) to 0.065 inch (for a tapewound G), and E strings can run from about 0.095 inch all the way up to 0.115 inch.
Materials
The material used to make the strings will make a difference, as well. Strings can be made of steel, stainless steel, nickel-plated steel, an iron/cobalt blend, or any number of proprietary super alloys. For that matter, even the inner core can be a round wire or a hexagonal wire — everything matters.
Personal Preference
In the final analysis, none of the details matter. The important thing is that you like the way the strings on your bass sound and the way they feel under your fingers. I play a number of different basses regularly, and I tend to experiment with one bass at a time. For example, for the last few years, I’ve been using D’Addario EXL160 strings on my Fender Precision Bass. When I purchased a Fender Jazz Bass some months ago, I put the same EXL160 strings on it. But I found that I play the Jazz differently than I do the Precision, and, after trying a few different brands (including Rotosound, Ernie Ball, and DR), what works best for me on the Jazz is a slightly lighter-gauge set of D’Addarios — the EXL170. I keep a second Precision Bass strung with flatwound strings, and the La Bella Deep Talkin’ Bass set sounds great on that bass.
For my Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay 5-string, D’Addario’s NYXL45130 set works great. And there’s another 5-string bass back here in the studio — a Fodera Emperor— strung with Fodera’s own light-gauge strings, the 45125 Nickel.
I’ve gone through the experimentation process with all of my instruments, and I expect to continue doing so in the future. Why? Because while I’m pretty happy with the sound of all of these instruments, I’m sure that I could be even happier.
