Questions about Rotosound strings

[Marco Brancalion]

It could sound strange, but in 21 years i've been playing electric bass i've
never tried Rotosound strings.......
I have no clue to find them locally, so i have to order them by mail ......

Some questions, to fellows who have enough patience .... ;) :

- are Rotosound strings considered ok, from a point of view of factory quality
control?..... or are we in the same case as the LaBellas? ......

- i always heard that they don't last long as far as "zingy-ness" in
sound...... I am quit a "clean" bass player.... always wash my hands, wipe
strings after playing, and have no acid sweating ... Will i have to expect
that they last less than other strings ? (for comparison, i.e. DR strings? )

- is there a real difference in sound and feel between the RS66LD and RS66LF ?
(they differ in the width of the A string ..... ) .... or do they have some
other differences ? .....

Thanks...... greetings.

--
Marco Brancalion
mailto: marcobr...@gmail.com

[David Fung]

I'm a Rotosound fan - they're my favorite 4-string sets, although I never
liked them much for 5-string basses.

For as long as I've used 'em, I've heard people complain about quality
control and dead strings out of the package. I've never had the problem
with a dead string, but have noticed over time that the new-string
brightness has changed.

When you first put them on, they're more "zingy" and piano-like than any
other string (get your Entwistle licks ready). The full zing will disappear
in just a few days, but they sort of plateau at a lower level that I really
like and they stay there for a long time. The surface feels a little
smoother to me than most of the others.

The traditional Swing Bass strings are stainless roundwound, but they sound
more like everybody else's nickels than most full stainless. I like the
mids and lows better than the really bright stainless like DRs, Dean Markley
Blue Steels, or GHS Super Steels.

For the last 10 years, Rotosounds have been commonly available in the US at
Guitar Centers, Musicians' Friend and the like at low prices (under $20,
occasionally under $16), so they're worth trying to see if you like them.

David Fung

[Edwin Hurwitz]

On Feb 1, 2010, at 10:34 AM, Marco Brancalion wrote:

> It could sound strange, but in 21 years i've been playing electric bass i've
> never tried Rotosound strings.......
> I have no clue to find them locally, so i have to order them by mail ......
>
> Some questions, to fellows who have enough patience .... ;) :
>
> - are Rotosound strings considered ok, from a point of view of factory quality
> control?..... or are we in the same case as the LaBellas? ......
>
> - i always heard that they don't last long as far as "zingy-ness" in
> sound...... I am quit a "clean" bass player.... always wash my hands, wipe
> strings after playing, and have no acid sweating ... Will i have to expect
> that they last less than other strings ? (for comparison, i.e. DR strings? )

I haven't played Rotosounds since the 80s, but from what I recall, they sounded amazing for a day or so, felt kind of lumpy, broke fairly easily and didn't last nearly as long as what I get out of a set of DR Sunbeams today or D'Addarios or whatever else I used back then. Of course, things were different in the 80s, probably especially what I put my strings through. Still, they felt uncomfortable, so I tried them a few times and moved on. They were also quite expensive back then.

Edwin

[Christopher Fedak]

I've always been a fan of Chris Squire's Close To The Edge era sound - I
know the argument that
"sound is in the hands", and agree to an extent, but the old Rotosound
Swing Bass set got me
closer to that sound than anything else I'd tried. Having said that, I
*was* one of those who'd
experienced the frustration of dead strings right out of the package. It
happened more than once,
unfortunately, and given that, at least at that time, Rotos were pretty
darn expensive, I just couldn't
stick with them. I wanted to, but it just didn't make financial sense.

If their pricing has come down to earth a bit, and if it seems they've
satisfactorily addressed the QC
issue, I'd happily give them another try.

Christopher

[Dwight Mabe]

I was a confirmed Rotosound user for 25 years or so. But about 10 years ago,
their quality began to slip. When I was traveling on the road in the 80s, I
changed strings every other gig. The "zing" was gone after one gig. I
switched to DRs - Lo-Rider nickels and have been a confirmed DR user since
then. They last me about 6 months with consistent "zing" before they start
to go. Also, their tension is well-balanced - something else that Rotosound
strings began to lose in quality control years ago. In the change over to
DRs, I tried nearly every bass string made before settling on DRs.

I've always used the LD Rotosound gauge. Just seemed to balance better to
me. The DRs also offer both. But they are more expensive per set. In the
long run, they cost me less because of changing much less often.

My two cents worth.

Dwight Mabe

-----Original Message-----
From: the-bot...@googlegroups.com
[mailto:the-bot...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Marco Brancalion
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 12:34 PM
To: the-bot...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [TBL] Questions about Rotosound strings

Thanks...... greetings.

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[Michael Cuffaro]

I've tried Rotosound rounds and flats (once each). I don't have much good or bad to say about the rounds. As for the flats, their tension was so high they started to pull the tuning pegs through the headstock of my MIM fender P. The headstock still has a scar to this day. I removed the strings and replaced them as soon as I noticed it. I suppose that is a bad experience.

-Mike

Blues is joy.

[megi...@att.net]

Rotosounds stainless formulation does seem to cut through frets like a hack saw.

--
Gerry G.

[Denver Ken]

I've used Rotos off and on since the 70s and now I use Roto Nickl 66
exclusively on all my basses.I love the tone and feel, I suppose. I
have not noticed any dead string issues, and I am not a super clean
sound seeker so if they get less zingy in a few days, so much the
better.

I have also used and enjoyed D'Addarios and LaBella and I have to say
that both companies' customer service was top-notch. I had a problem
with a string at one time with each company and they very quikcly sent
me a replacement free of charge.

Other strings I feel pretty good about (in no particular order) -

Ken Smith Rockmasters
Elrick
Elixir
Sadowsky flats
D'Addairo Chromes
DR Sunbeams

Strings I never much liked -

Fender
Ernie Ball
GSH

Please remember that this is my experience and opinion. It's what has
"worked" for me.

Denver Ken

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