Stainless steel strings feel like scratching a sand paper

Sparkl

Sparkl

Apr 23, 2011
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#1
Well the title says it all. I prefer stainless sound on my Jazz bass elite5 and I currently use rotos swing bass 5string.

The sound is really nice, I especially love the feel of the 5th string, but see the title problem.

Is there a way to overcome this? Fast fret doesn't help (well it does for a tune or two, then same story), elixir stainless also don't work because the 5th string sounds pretty bad compared to rotos.

I tried other strings (stainless dean markleys, drs, daddario etc) and it's pretty much the same story. I could say that rotos are the harshest to my fingers of them all (they all feel like scraping the concrete floor). Ironically I like the sound they give. Even after cca 60hrs of playing them they still feel like sand paper.

Is there a way around it or should I accept the fact that stainless are too harsh for my hand and return back to nickels?

Thanks for any input guys (and girls), I appreciate it.

Edit: I could easily overcome the strings harshness. The problem is that my fingers get stuck while playing it which annoys the crap out of me. Really hard to play those smooth funky lines when you get stuck on a 16th note groove.
 
#2
My experience, too, with SS roundwounds. The only SS strings I can tolerate are D'Addario Chromes and Half Rounds . And, not only flesh, imagine what they do to your frets, and fingerboard (if you are the type that presses down really hard on your strings).
 
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#3
Sparkl said:
Well the title says it all. I prefer stainless sound on my Jazz bass elite5 and I currently use rotos swing bass 5string.

The sound is really nice, I especially love the feel of the 5th string, but see the title problem.

Is there a way to overcome this? Fast fret doesn't help (well it does for a tune or two, then same story), elixir stainless also don't work because the 5th string sounds pretty bad compared to rotos.

I tried other strings (stainless dean markleys, drs, daddario etc) and it's pretty much the same story. I could say that rotos are the harshest to my fingers of them all (they all feel like scraping the concrete floor). Ironically I like the sound they give. Even after cca 60hrs of playing them they still feel like sand paper.

Is there a way around it or should I accept the fact that stainless are too harsh for my hand and return back to nickels?

Thanks for any input guys (and girls), I appreciate it.

Edit: I could easily overcome the strings harshness. The problem is that my fingers get stuck while playing it which annoys the crap out of me. Really hard to play those smooth funky lines when you get stuck on a 16th note groove.
Click to expand...

I use Dunlops and DRs, I don't find them to be anywhere near as rough as Rotos. But, I would never sacrifice a sound I like for feeling.
 
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#5
Rotos are the worst for this There are SS strings that feel softer on the fingers. Ernie Ball comes to mind.
It is one of the reasons I prefer nickel. With modern EQ and amps you don't need clickety strings anymore to get a good bright tone.
 
#6
I would try GHS Progressives, or maybe GHS Super Steels. Neither sound exactly like Rotosounds, but, in my experience, get into the same sonic area without feeling as rough. I've heard people recommend DR Lo Riders as a Rotosound alternative, but I thought the Lo Riders, while a good string, sounded too mellow in comparison.
 
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#7
Sparkl said:
Well the title says it all. I prefer stainless sound on my Jazz bass elite5 and I currently use rotos swing bass 5string.

The sound is really nice, I especially love the feel of the 5th string, but see the title problem.

Is there a way to overcome this? Fast fret doesn't help (well it does for a tune or two, then same story), elixir stainless also don't work because the 5th string sounds pretty bad compared to rotos.
Click to expand...
This 5th string, you were referring the low B string?

So the rest 4 strings of the Elixir Stainless are okay in terms of harshness to your fingers? Have you tried Elixir Stainless .135 gauge?
 
#8
I played them for years. At first they hurt, but after building callouses they were fine. I use the SS Prosteels by DiAddario, and they are fine for me. Maybe spend more time developing your callouses? not trying to be a smartie, just offering advise. I dont think you are going to find SS roundwound strings a lot smoother, maybe a little but not much. Practice a little bit every day and slowly build up those callouses.
 
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#9
Jazz Ad said:
With modern EQ and amps you don't need clickety strings anymore to get a good bright tone.
Click to expand...

Some people prefer certain tones. for certain soundscapes a SS roundwound with a close action where the strings are hitting the frets is the only way to get that sound. Its about the only way Ive found to get the Geddy tone, or others in that vein.
 
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#10
JGbassman said:
I played them for years. At first they hurt, but after building callouses they were fine. I use the SS Prosteels by DiAddario, and they are fine for me. Maybe spend more time developing your callouses? not trying to be a smartie, just offering advise. I dont think you are going to find SS roundwound strings a lot smoother, maybe a little but not much. Practice a little bit every day and slowly build up those callouses.
Click to expand...

I am a professional bass player and practice bass in general for 5+ hours a day. It is not about the hand hurting (it doesn't hurt), the problem is that I fet stuck in the string when I play, which is soo annoying. Especially when you dig in.
 
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#11
Aidil said:
This 5th string, you were referring the low B string?

So the rest 4 strings of the Elixir Stainless are okay in terms of harshness to your fingers? Have you tried Elixir Stainless .135 gauge?
Click to expand...

The elixirs were great, nanoweb really worked great, I had no harsh feeling whatsoever. It's just that the low b string was lacking in sustain A LOT (and this is my general experience with low b elixirs and I've been using them for years) compared to other brands. Also, elixir low b feels thicker than the rest (roto for ex.) and also sounds pretty much louder than the rest so it's hard to balance the output unless you fiddle with pup height.
 
#12
Sparkl said:
The elixirs were great, nanoweb really worked great, I had no harsh feeling whatsoever. It's just that the low b string was lacking in sustain A LOT (and this is my general experience with low b elixirs and I've been using them for years) compared to other brands. Also, elixir low b feels thicker than the rest (roto for ex.) and also sounds pretty much louder than the rest so it's hard to balance the output unless you fiddle with pup height.
Click to expand...
so which gauge did you use for the low B? Elixir makes stainless steel low B in .125, .130, and .135. You could down the gauge if you felt too thick.
 
#13
Sparkl said:
.........The problem is that my fingers get stuck while playing it which annoys the crap out of me. Really hard to play those smooth funky lines when you get stuck on a 16th note groove.
Click to expand...

I experience the same thing from stainless steel roundwounds, they feel rough, sticky, and I switched to nickel plated roundwounds as a result many years ago. Unfortunately, their tone is generally warmer than stainless steel IMO, and some players who want a bright tone find the best way for them to get it is with stainless steel rounds.


I'm sure as this thread continues, you'll get some good suggestions for different brands of stainless steel roundwounds that don't have as much of a grippy feel.
 
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#14
I've used a couple of different brands of stainless over the years and have found the problem seems to be worst when they are fresh and gradually gets a little better after your fingertips burnish the surface a bit. But, I also always took a little piece of 1000 and 2000 grit sandpaper (used dry) and wrapped it around the strings and went up and down for a couple of minutes to burnish the outer windings :thumbsup:.
 
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#19
Jazz Ad said:
Rotos are the worst for this There are SS strings that feel softer on the fingers. Ernie Ball comes to mind.
It is one of the reasons I prefer nickel. With modern EQ and amps you don't need clickety strings anymore to get a good bright tone.
Click to expand...

Emphasis mine. For the "glass half full" set, Rotos are a great aid to building finger calluses.
 
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