Dunlop Super Bright Frustration.

[knight of ni]

Pure Blues are nickel. SBs come in Nickel and SS. I also use Fat Beams for SS strings, very nice but different from the SBs SS ones.

 

[MoeTown1986]

I love the tone and pretty balanced feel of superbrights. But, I became frustrated with the quality control. Nearly every pack bought had 1 or more strings with micro kinks in them.
Also, SB's can be a little too floppy sometimes.

I tried DR Pure Blues and have not looked back. Zero quality issues. Even better balance to the feel from string to string. More positive feel, while still being flexible. The .130 is available in a standard pack and is the best B I have ever used.
Tone is big and edgy when new. Reminds me of the discontinued Helix strings from Dean Markley. Big lows.
Tone stays good as they age.
SB's do that, too. The point is, Pure Blues also sound notably great, while showing many benefits for me, over superbrights.

I’m happy to hear this. I’ve actually thought about buying them a few times!

 

[patrickj]

.120 SBNs are all we need

 

[mmbongo]

30/130 6 string sets in stock for now at BSO!

Dunlop Super Bright Nickel Plated Steel Round Wound Electric Bass Strings Long Scale Set - 6-String 30-130 DBSBN30130

 

[Dp1363]

Same for me I moved off Superbrights to Pure Blues. Much better Tone and no crazy intonation adjustments like with SB's.

 

[HangryBassMan]

So are you saying the .130 aren’t floppy? I have never, ever got on with tapered B strings.

Ive just put on my first set of super brights. They have a nice piano quality to them. But that .125 Is just too floppy. Shame really.
Very soft touch is required to prevent it rattling away. Oh well. What alternatives are worth trying?

 

[Vinny_G]

What alternatives are worth trying?

The DR Hi-Beams are very close, in my opinion, in terms of feel and sound. The LMR5-130 set comes with a 130 B, and a 135 B is also available as a single string: https://www.drstrings.com/bass-hi-beam

 

[HangryBassMan]

The DR Hi-Beams are very close, in my opinion, in terms of feel and sound. The LMR5-130 set comes with a 130 B, and a 135 B is also available as a single string: https://www.drstrings.com/bass-hi-beam

Is the .130 in the Hi Beams not floppy like the super brights?

 

[Vinny_G]

Is the .130 in the Hi Beams not floppy like the super brights?

What I mean is that if you find the .125 of the Super Brights too flexible, it is possible that the .130 of the Hi-Beams will give you satisfaction. The best way to find out if this is right for you is to try.

 

[michael_t]

So are you saying the .130 aren’t floppy? I have never, ever got on with tapered B strings.

Ive just put on my first set of super brights. They have a nice piano quality to them. But that .125 Is just too floppy. Shame really.
Very soft touch is required to prevent it rattling away. Oh well. What alternatives are worth trying?

Instead of simply increasing the size to avoid floppiness, you can always try a B string of different stiffness. Based on my own experience, when it comes to the low B string, mix and matching is a viable option for achieving balance both in tone and feel.

For example...
I've been trying out the DR SS Lo-Riders 40-60-80-100-125 on my son's Ibanez and finding the 125B (non-tapered) a lot more solid in feel compared to the Super Bright SS 125B that was on this same bass before. This is due to the thicker core wire of the LR making it less floppy despite the same gauge.

If I were you, I would get a single SS Lo-Rider 125B to try with the Super Bright 45-105 and see how they would match up.

EDIT: I also have a GHS Super Steel 126B I haven't had a chance to try yet. Any hex-core low 125B would be less floppy than the Super Bright 125B.

 

[HangryBassMan]

Instead of simply increasing the size to avoid floppiness, you can always try a B string of different stiffness. Based on my own experience, when it comes to the low B string, mix and matching is a viable option for achieving balance both in tone and feel.

For example...
I've been trying out the DR SS Lo-Riders 40-60-80-100-125 on my son's Ibanez and finding the 125B (non-tapered) a lot more solid in feel compared to the Super Bright SS 125B that was on this same bass before. This is due to the thicker core wire of the LR making it less floppy despite the same gauge.

If I were you, I would get a single SS Lo-Rider 125B to try with the Super Bright 45-105 and see how they would match up.

EDIT: I also have a GHS Super Steel 126B I haven't had a chance to try yet. Any hex-core low 125B would be less floppy than the Super Bright 125B.

Thanks. This is certainly useful info. Glad to know I’m not the only one that mix and matches a low B string with other sets of strings. So many sets I’ve liked but often the low B is sub bar to the rest of the set. Some sets you can deffo get away with it. Others, not so much

 

[michael_t]

Glad to know I’m not the only one that mix and matches a low B string with other sets of strings.

When I acquired my very first 5-string bass a little over 2 yrs ago, I noticed the low B in a typical factory set often sounded different from the other four. I also noticed the low B felt a bit looser than the rest. That's when I started experimenting with the mix-and-matching idea. As I understand it, this is a very common practice among orchestral musicians, so why not for electric bass?

 

[knight of ni]

But that .125 Is just too floppy. Shame really.

Superbrights are veeeeery flexible, so I'm not surprised. I have a SBSS 30/130 set on my 35" scale Yamaha TRB6II, and I absolutely *love* them. the 130 is not floppy and I use it like any other string, it does not sound as a 4+1 (in fact +2) set of strings.

 

[HangryBassMan]

Not sure if I can source a single .125 SS lo-rider. I’m tempted to try a set of low beams in my v7 jazz instead.

To me the A string on the SS superbrights lack a fullness in the kids too