Dunlop Stainless SB's to the rescue!

ric4682

ric4682

Supporting Member
Jul 2, 2008
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#1
I've been using various nickel rounds on my 4003 for a long time. When I first got the bass I put some Roto 66's like Sqiure and Geddy and loved the tone, but didn't like the feeling. I (foolishly) assumed that all stainless strings feel like that. I haven't been 100% satisfied with my tone since. And I'm very particular about my tone.

Last week I was ordering some strings from the awesome people at BassStringsOnline.com and though, what the heck, so I threw a set of 45-105 Stainless Steel Super Brights in the cart. I just installed them and resetup the bass.

Yeah, baby! That's the tone I've been searching for this whole time! Piano-like sustain and rich upper harmonics. Thick, juicy mids. Fat, punchy lows. Treble grind and clarity that's never harsh. And they're easy on the hands!
I think I finally found the perfect strings for this bass. I've never heard the low E ring out with such authority, clarity, and seemingly endless sustain.
Long story short, I like 'em!
 
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#3
mmbongo said:
I run the nickel flavor Super Brights but either way they are phenomenal strings and are like no other! Which reminds me it's about time to hit up Bass Strings Online for another batch :)
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For sure! I run nickels on my P and J basses. I was using nickels on the Ric and it always sounding good, but the stainless just take it over the top. It's definitely my best sounding bass.
 
#5
I just tried these after using the Nickels for about 6 months. All I can say is WOW. A 29 year Roto user...I have officially switched to Superbright SS. And as mmbongo says, the ONLY place you should be getting them from is BassStringsOnline.
 
#6
HarveySpaceBass said:
I just tried these after using the Nickels for about 6 months. All I can say is WOW. A 29 year Roto user...I have officially switched to Superbright SS. And as mmbongo says, the ONLY place you should be getting them from is BassStringsOnline.
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For sure! They have this meaty grunt in the mids that other strings lack. I haven't played Roto's in a while, but I remember them also having that nice grunt. These are much easier to play though!

eriky4003 said:
ric4682,
For my Rick, I made the mistake(?) of trying the Marcus Miller Dunlop Super Brights, then went to the regular Super Brights and could not wait to get back to the MM Dunlop Super Brights which to my ears had more heft in the tone. YMMV
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I wonder if there's any tonal difference between the MM's and the standard steels.
 
#7
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#9
[/QUOTE] I wonder if there's any tonal difference between the MM's and the standard steels.[/QUOTE]

I'll attest to Mystic Michael tonal assessment on his posting. Definitely more booty on these strings, and my supplier has brought the price down so there isn't as much difference between the regular Super Brights and the MM Super Brights.
 
#10
Toptube said:
The SB steels have a nice low mid presence. I think a lot of people who attribute a "scooped" tone to steels, may be surprised.
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Definitely. They have a very pleasing 'grunt' that I love.

eriky4003 said:
I'll attest to Mystic Michael tonal assessment on his posting. Definitely more booty on these strings, and my supplier has brought the price down so there isn't as much difference between the regular Super Brights and the MM Super Brights.
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This may be a silly question, but they're still super bright though, right?
 
#11
What I read was Dunlop used their Super Brights as the (no pun intended) base to build Marcus Miller's strings. The price is a few bucks more than the regular Dunlop Super Brights and Marcus's signature is in the top left hand corner of the package.
 
#13
I purchased 6 sets of the SS Superbrights from BSO when they were on sale a while back. They sounded so good for the 1st week or two, but like all SS rounds - they just don't hold that beautiful shimmer for long. The only thing I don't care for is that they feel higher in tension than my usual D'Add Prosteels ... so I use the Superbrights on the 4-strings, and the Prosteels on the 5-string mostly because of the lack of choices in B strings from Dunlop.
 
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#14
Solarmist said:
I purchased 6 sets of the SS Superbrights from BSO when they were on sale a while back. They sounded so good for the 1st week or two, but like all SS rounds - they just don't hold that beautiful shimmer for long. The only thing I don't care for is that they feel higher in tension than my usual D'Add Prosteels ... so I use the Superbrights on the 4-strings, and the Prosteels on the 5-string mostly because of the lack of choices in B strings from Dunlop.
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BSO offers the .130 B string single, as a standard product.

You could probably custom order the .120 or .125 if you wanted them in a mixed set, different from their standard sets.
 
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