What I do

This Blog discusses my journey as a local bassist. I talk about all things bass, gigs, writing and recording, gear, and the perpetual search for that "tone."


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Sunday, January 27, 2019

Bass Strings

Like many of us I am on an unending journey of the search for the perfect set of bass strings.  I have tried more strings than I can remember.  Mostly round wounds, usually as bright as I can find, stainless, chromes, heavy gauge, medium gauge, and everything in between. Recently I have found exactly what I have been searching for and it was literally right under my nose.

I recently purchased another bass, an ESP-LTD B5E.  I already had one and needed a second one for another project I had in a different tuning.  I wrote about that here.  I couldn't help but notice how excellent it sounded compared to the first bass and did a little investigating to find out what strings were on it.  They turned out to be Cleartone strings and man do they sound amazing.  So far I have them on for three months with at least an hour of playing every single day and most days closer to two hours of aggressive playing . . .  and they still sound great.  In fact they sound as good as they did the day I plugged in the bass and played it the day it arrived here.

Not only do they sound great and last way longer than any other string I have ever tried but they play great because of the coating on them.  I do a fair amount of slides, glissandos, and trills and being able to do so without leaving skin all over the fret board is pleasant. One of the things that come with the territory of being a bassist is the high cost of strings compared to what a set of strings cost a guitarist.  Cleartone strings are no exception - in fact they are about two to three times the cost of an average set of bass strings.  The fact that they have lasted as long as they have so far, coupled with how well the sound and play, makes it a little easier to accept.

During my initial search for replacement strings I found a four string set but not a five string set. I was able to put together a five string set using the four string set and a special order B string.  After a little more searching I was able to find an actual five string set here:

https://www.cleartonestrings.com/product-page/nickel-plated-bass-strings