All Bass Strings Explained | feat. Julia Hofer | Guitar Tech Tips | Ep. 78 | Thomann

Which strings should I get? How does stainless steel and nickel plated steel compare?
Do pure nickels sound super warm, or can I use them for every style?
What's up with flat wounds and coated strings?
Get all your answers and let Julia show you how all bass string types sound in this episode of Guitar Tech Tips!
Enjoy!

Thanks Julia for the awesome playing examples! Check out her videos:

Here's the full Guitar Tech Tips playlist:

Interesting bits and pieces:
0:00 Introduction
0:46 1st | Nickel plated steel strings
1:09 Playing | Nickel plated steel
1:52 2nd | Coated strings
2:20 Playing | Coated strings
3:01 3rd | Hardened strings
3:27 Playing | Hardened strings
4:09 4th | Cobalt strings
4:41 Playing | Cobalt strings
5:21 5th | Stainless steel strings
5:45 Playing | Stainless steel strings
6:20 6th | Pure nickel strings
7:05 Playing | Pure nickel strings
7:54 7th | Flat wound strings
8:07 Playing | Flat wound strings
8:48 8th | Half round strings
9:09 Playing | Half round strings
9:48 9th | Gold strings
10:06 Playing | Gold strings
10:46 String gauges
11:50 Outtakes

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[paolotaranta]

Ok thanks, but what's Julia's opinion? And her comments? 🤔

[jimmygardner]

Good format, but what about Tapewounds?

[darpope]

I have discovered, and LOVE La Bella black nylon tape wound bass strings.
Oh my goodness! The sensual feel of upright bass strings, with a rich, warm sound that can make church pews vibrate. After the first couple of songs, you aren't so much playing the bass, as you become one with it. The sound Motown wishes they could have had, if only sub-sonic sound reproduction had been up to it in the 1960s. Play McCartney's bass riff from the Beatles' song, "Come Together" and hear a whole new dimension to a song you thought you knew. The strings make it fun to play in the deep end of the swimming pool!
Maybe not the best choice for metal bands.

[MarceloNegreiros]

As a layman on the subject, I really liked the sound of Cobalt strings. I can imagine the work it took to make the video. Julia and you had a lot of patience. Congratulations from Brazil!

[PeteCarlton]

Julia’s playing is just sick. Something special for you 6-stringers!

[Mrox]

Didn't expect a such drastic difference - wow! I love Stainless Steel on most of my basses, it's just a feel thing. (nylon tape wounds would have completed the collection)

[bassonthemark]

I started watching this and realized nope, absolutely need headphones and will start it over later. What I saw so far, very interesting and informative. Thank you, as I can only imagine this took a while to produce with all the string changes and playing examples for each string type. Julia as always is a super solid player!

[rafbass]

I really like how the gold strings matched the color pretty well with that bass paint

[michaelanthony]

I love that you acknowledged the “sticky” quality of stainless strings. I tried them and noticed that, and then comments on line did not reflect my opinion. Thank you for letting me know it wasn’t my imagination !

[L.Scott_Music]

Already that bass has had more string changes than most basses in the world!

[andrewyhan]

Thanks for the great format of pros and cons and top observations + playing the same licks for each set of strings. Really helps delineate the differences!

[niteshades_promise]

My 5 string is tunned up to drop C/D standard. Feels/sounds so much better than de-tuning my shorter scale 4 string. Which needs new strings. This video really helped.🍻

[cappucciobass]

I use a small trolley as my gig bag to drag around. I play double bass going from pizz to arco, electric bass, acoustic bass with pickups so I always use an Ernie Ball volume pedal. I always use an LR Baggs preamp to sculpt my sound. I carry a 9 led light and an extra smaller one if a band mate needs one. I have a small baggie of extra batteries for all my equipment. Cloth pins as wind clips as even air conditioning can disturb music charts. I have nail clippers, finger nail files, bandages, and baby powder for clammy hands. Pencils and scotch tape are a necessity to share for marking up music, taking notes, and taping music. I like the older Kong tuners.
I love and have learned a lot from your Utubes Julia.

[musicalal]

I appreciate the tedium involved with all the string changes, and thank you Julia, for playing the same phrases over and over, you were pretty rock-steady and nearly identical each time. Perhaps in another episode you could do a comparison of tonality for fretless bass with various types and brands. Thanks for this comparison, it was very useful. Best regards.

[ArashFallah]

I liked the Optima quite a lot, even though I'm not allergic or looking for something exotic! Other than that, the regular flatwound is pretty nice.

[GregoryHill]

DR 's ... my favorite... round core ... you can play anything with these .. in my 40+ years of playing guitar and bass, round core is Key 🔑

[LeeJoRo]

Elixir for me (for guitar and bass). They're more expensive but they last a really long time

[PANICBLADE]

I'm glad you mentioned that steel wound strings are actually lower output. I have come to the same conclusion in my experience, but many other outlets, forums, and brands claim otherwise.

[jambarreturns]

The Queen of Bass is there, Top notch. 👏👏👏👏🇬🇧

[minerer]

OMG !!! what a beautiful Jazz Bass !!! Danka Shern Julia