Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

So which company makes the finest bass roundwounds these days?
D'A, Roto, LaBella, Ernie, another?
By finest I mean seems generally agreed upon that they sound really good and last longest.
Not necessarily your personal favorite, but the company that makes them. Thanks for the info.

I know there are wide ranging tonal diffs among flats but was wondering if a round is a round is a round.

Kalium. Balanced Hybrid. Fabulosity squared,the Best!


And i also like DR Pure Blues a lot.

Ernie Ball actually makes great roundwounds. D.A's sound really twangy to me and skimpy but that's what I think. Rotosound makes good ones too but look at their Solo Bass set. Sounds like rounds but feel like flats! The choices are yours to settle for.

IHMO DR. I love Hi Beams.

TI Jazz Rounds. Because they feel great, and sound Magnificity cubed, the Best!

I keep going back to D'Addario XL170's. I've been using them since the early eighties, and have never had a bad string. Very economical, long lasting and great sounding. IMHO.

I've tried a few brands.
I've had surprisingly good results with JustStings bulk nickel strings. No issues intonating, last long (before sounding dull), good sounding string, excellent price.

The other ones I really like are DR Sunbeams.

I'm also sticking with the Ric specs 45-55-75-105. This is my first Ric and hesitant to use standard gauge due to the nut slotting . Probably my own paranoia...

Kalium Balanced.
Sound great and last a long time.

jps wrote:TI Jazz Rounds. Because they feel great, and sound Magnificity cubed, the Best!

I see what you did there.

So I guess what I also need to know is will these strings sound better/ last longer than the stock Ric strings?

After some thought, I am looking for a string with a lot of fundamental (not a lot of harmonics, chorus sound) but still growls like the Ric rounds.

lumgimfong wrote:So I guess what I also need to know is will these strings sound better/ last longer than the stock Ric strings?

After some thought, I am looking for a string with a lot of fundamental (not a lot of harmonics, chorus sound) but still growls like the Ric rounds.

I've had a set of Kalium strings on one of my basses for 5-6 years now....not quite as brilliant as new,but they still sound great to me. I've never used RIC stock strings,so i wouldn't know how to compare them.

The last time I changed strings on my old March '73 4001 was in the summer of 2008, they are still on the bass and sounding great if not as bright as they once were, probably just what you are looking for.

I've been using Ernie Ball SuperSlinkys on my non Rick basses. I love them. I used to use D'Addario XL's but they go dead to quick for my taste. I find EB strings to get better as they break in.