Battle of the Bass Strings: Nickel vs Stainless Steel Roundwound
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- Опубликовано: 16 авг 2023
- How do Nickel Roundwound bass strings compare with Stainless Roundwound bass strings? We put them both to the test to find out.
Nickel and Stainless Steel are the two most popular types of roundwound bass strings on the planet. Countless players favor nickel roundwound strings for their versatility, but no shortage of players prefer stainless steel for its piano-like presence.
In the latest episode of The Stringjoy Show, new video contributor and all-around bass master Philip Conrad put these two popular string styles to the test to see how they compare under the microscope.
Philip Conrad is an Atlanta-based bassist and video contributor at Stringjoy. Check out his channel at @philipconradmusic
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Love your videos. Always informative. Thanks for posting such great content.
I have used both sets of these strings on my fretless bass(6 string, tuned BEADGC). That sound of "zingyness" associated with the stainless steel strings lasts quite a while for me. Both sets of strings typically stay in tune for at least 3-4 months, and sometimes longer when the weather is cooler, which is a HUGE deal for me, as I am really concerned about playing in tune. These are my favorite bass strings, period. I was a DR Strings guy for years...and I still like them, but there's something about the sound and feel of both the nickel and steel Stringjoy strings that I prefer now. Thanks to you and Stringjoy for your thoughtful review!
ETA I haven't had any problems with fretboard(ebony) wear with either set of strings, btw.
Best video I have found about this topic, thank you so much!
Great video and comparison, Mr. Conrad!! I often go between nickel and steel on my basses, experiment with how they sound and feel, and then let the bass tell me which it prefers.
Very helpful, thank you. I have used both, and I agree 100% with your comments about the differences.
Good advice! Thank you for the video.
I've been using the Signatures on my electric guitars and basses for a while now, and really like them. I've also got a set of Orbiters on one guitar and am enjoying those. I do have a set of Rangers ready to go on my new bass. I'm not worried about fret wear since my basses have stainless steel frets. Foxwoods are on my acoustics, too 😁
Very well made video, thx !
Прекрасный тест и прекрасные выводы! Спасибо, Philip & Stringjoy!
"Bright, but not brittle...warm, but not tubby." is the exact phrase that inspired me to order my first set of nickle strings, and i'm sooooo glad I did.
lol same here. First Nickel sets for me too. I’m going to try it on a 5 string StingRay and a 4 string p bass.
You are a thinker sir, which is a rare thing! As a teacher of philosophy, I am impressed by your existential thought process, in so much as that as a reviewer, content producer, influencer, and educator, you are actually being advised by 'your' experience rather than someone else's 'prior' experience, and instead of allowing either your method or your understanding or expectation to preclude you having a personal experience! You pursued the authority of reasoned or defined invocation which can be generalized to others (rather than lazily settling on an artistic or ineffable personal evocation that has no generalizable use to anyone else except those in search of an adoptive ideology). That is educationally additive (rather than just corroborative) and therefore it has value.
In philosophy a things existentialism, its raw 'existence', precedes any attempt to define, refine, or distill it down to an 'essence'. This is called 'essentialism', and it only subordinately proceeds from its prior existence, to 'possibly' become that which we only later assign as...'obligated' attributes. A things existence therefore must be given priority over its essence, and dealt with independent of it. Your recognition that equipment invites, suggest, or encourage a change in play, above and beyond any sonic attributes (if only to those with comparable instrumental facility and musical sophistication), and must therefore be...allowed, is...next level.
Great job, agree w yr take. I'm nickel all the way, mainly play fretless now and pop, classic rock, blues, jazz. Played steel roundwounds for decades, went flat nickel and it's sweet for how and what I play. I "smoosh" my notes around a lot, FAT featherbed groove is my goal. Rock on!
Have you tried stainless steel flatwounds on freltess? I just changed over to stainless steel and the sound is jaw dropping.
I use steels and put Fast Fret on them. Joyous!
For me the steel is louder and brighter but they’re hard on my fingers, I’m going to try the Nickel coated strings, I’m not a hard or dig in type player anyway, I’m kinda light handed. So thank you for the advice.
Great Video
Good video! My current hypothesis is "dead" stainless strings are the sound I'm looking for. I'm about a year into some DR Hi-Beams on my main bass and they're JUST starting to really break in. I've heard old stainless can be easier on the frets than new stainless, as the part of the string contacting the fret gets "polished up" from playing and becomes a less effective fret-eater...
I have a sponge for use under the strings at the bridge for a really cool-sounding short decay. I just pop it in or out as needed (DR High Beams).
I have Stringjoy on my other basses, and they are incredible strings. I’d call them Premium strings.
Try this. Nickel for jazz bass and steel for precision. I find that steel strings evens out the low mids of the precision and gives it punchy lows and bright highs. Whereas jazz bass already sound kind of scooped so you need more mids so it can sing. And you dont need more highs for jazz bass since its already bright as parallel pick ups.
Precision + roto swing66 is the sound for me. Yes it hurt the first time i gigged with steels but sound wise I cant go back.
I tend to use flats on all my p basses. Rounds of my J basses some with stainless others with nickel. I use nickel for the older type tones and stainless when I need a more modern aggressive tone, I like stainless when I’m using a lot of effects ,
In my case, I have used both types of strings for a long time, but I personally feel that the Stainless Steel ones are brighter and last longer with shine. In particular, I have used Dunlop (longer lasting) and Ernie Ball (shorter lasting) strings on my P-Bass and my Thunderbird, and they seem noisier with steel, which yes, they are less soft and more opaque, but I prefer a sharper sound... Greetings from Mexico!!
I've put 2 stainless on the bass strings, and 3 nickel on the treble strings. I love the combination.
I just need Stringjoy to make Ranger singles available before you lose me to D'Addario or GHS :P
so. i like a more "vingate" and warm sound. i play very softly, like, timid. i want the flat steel strings because i want them to last long before a change. if you told to me that the bright and punchy sound of the steel will be gone, im digging it. i might get the dunlop. ahh still cant decide.
Nickel sounds great for a single performance...however when they go dead, they sound awful. Steel strings sound great new AND broken in! IMO
Personal preference, I guess - I actually like how nickel wounds sound when broken in.
Wow that p-bass sounds amazing 🙂
I have to imagine the difference is similar to guitar where the nickel strings retain a sort of worn in sound throughout their life and the steel strings are bright of the bat and stay that way for a defined period then quickly drop off.
...and I did not hear the most important question - which strings are softer and require less strength to press??
SS has less tension than N
Very interesting however I'd have loved to see the addition of nylon strings in the comparison. I think that would be a bit more interesting but since Stringjoy doesn't make nylon strings . . . . . . . .
Like... compare an electric bass with nickel strings with a classical guitar with nylon strings?
@@Stringjoy No, like doing a more in depth comparison
There are a number of nylon bass strings out there and it would have been more complete with the addition of the nylon strings in terms of texture etc., but since Stringjoy doesn't (yet) make them, they aren't included.
I have never seen a nylon core electric bass string in my life. Are you talking about Tapewounds? If so, that's a whole 'nother video. In no way did we say we're comparing every type of bass strings in this video, it's just a comparison of the two most popular types of roundwound strings
@@Stringjoy Pretty sure they are talking about tapewound strings, but I'm happy to be corrected if Jules says otherwise. I'm still waiting for the flatwound bass strings from Stringjoy! 😂
Liked the commentary but wanted to hear more of the strings.
yes too much talking in this video
Totally disappointed there was no comment on BBQ sauce.😂 But seriously, Stringjoy should just sell a branded hand sanitizer to rub on strings and call it BBQ sauce for insta string deadening.
It's a bit weird why people call them both "nickel" and "steel." Both strings are made of steel and both are nickel plated as well. Steel doesn't have enough lubricity to be used bare like that and would slice through your fingers. Stainless strings may give you the impression that the string is tackier because it's harder.
Also the thing on fret wear is not a chance. You will wear your frets faster with stainless. Stainless is harder than regular steel and guess what happens when you rub a harder metal against a softer one? If you have stainless frets then you'd experience the same amount of wear of using nickel plated frets with nickel plated strings.
Agreed on your point, but I do want to note that stainless steel strings are *not* nickel plated. At the end of the day, people are just referring to what you're actually touching. On "nickel" strings you're touching nickel, on "steel" strings you're touching steel. Both are steel underneath, albeit different types of steel, the steel in Stainless 430 wrap wire is different than what's used in Nickel-Plated Steel, as well as what's used in Music Wire. Steel is kind of a broad term in our business.
Round wound stainless stell all the way I tried nickel once thought they sounded like shit.
DR Sunbeams (Nickel) ---- Just because..........! 😄
Never really understand when people call stainless steel strings "steel" when both strings are steel, with one having a nickel plating on the outer wrap, and the other string having a stainless steel outer wrap. Why not just call them "nickel" and "stainless"?
If strings feel rough to your fingers they’ll wear your frets faster regardless of the material but it’ll be worse with stainless steel.
Anyone ever tell you you look like a young Kurt Russel (complimentary)?
I love stainless strings they last longer for sure
I like stainless steel round wounds. They are hard on the frets and fingers, but in my experience I've found they keep their sound longer then nickel.
That grabby/ tacky feel on steel strings makes me want to jump out a window, but I was surprised how much I liked their sound on this video. Maybe my brain was messing with me when I played stainless strings, but I thought they sounded terrible at the time.
Just curious what brand of stainless strings you tried? The exterior of the strings probably varies by manufacturer.
@@rodshop5897 It was some time ago, but I believe they were DR.
@@BwanaTube Ah, I've not played DR stainless strings. Nor have I played Stringjoy stainless either. The only gummy feeling strings I've tried were the GHS half-wounds (I think they call them Brite Flats now?). After a few weeks, the gummy feeling wore off and they have been great strings on my fretless.
@@rodshop5897 I've tried to learn to give strings a longer break-in period before I decide to remove them.
I have a set of 5 year old Elixir Stainless Steels on one of my basses. Still sounds slappable, just looks ew.
Stainless sound brighter,...but or not as smooth on the surface of the strings,.....it's like playing with chicken wire.
Some people are allergic to nickel which causes your hands to peel and flake.
You can't really do a comparison between nickel and steel strings without popping slapping and plucking. That is where you really hear the big difference........
Haha Did I just hear DeeLite, Groove is in the Heart?
Herbie Hancock “Bring Down The Birds”, which is where DeeLite sampled the bassline from.
Is the comment about different string life between nickel and steel is this opinion, or is there scientific data to back this up? Opinion is ok, but call it out.
I can speak to that! It's an interesting one. Peak brightness dies off quicker on stainless steel, and since a lot of people buy them for their bright tonality, people find that they "die" quicker. The tone they "die" to is still fairly bright IMHO so I think it's mostly that they string up so bright that the tonal dropoff makes them feel dead by comparison once that string zing fades. Strings don't really "die" in a scientific way, different players just like different points in the curve of string tone and consider something "dead" when it gets darker than that.
I think " string life" is rather subjective. Joe Osborn never changed strings.
@@Stringjoy This reads like a Scott answer. If so, hi Scott!
And the answer seems accurate based on my experience with stainless strings (from other brands). I find my Stringjoy nickel wound strings to be really nice and consistent in how long they last and keep their smooth and justified tone.
Ha! Yes, that was indeed a Scott answer, hello back!
Stainless steel or nothing. Nickel is garbage no matter what brand.
You can find good nickel strings defo.
Example: Pure Blues
From my experience stainless steel has a brighter sound, while nickel wound strings get a more warm tone.
Stainless steel sounds better on slap-pop techniques. But the nickel wound strings are soft on the hand, which makes them feel better on slides, harmonics, hammer-ons, etc.