EXL160 Nickel Wound Bass Guitar Strings - .050-.105 Medium Long Scale Review

My new favorites!

I've been using DR Hi-Beams and Lo-Riders almost exclusively for a good while. I got curious and tried these out, and I can say that these are by far the best sounding bass strings I've put on any instrument! Something about these strings really bring out the growl of the midrange, and they're incredibly comfy on the fingers. P.S. these things absolutely kill with some overdrive!

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Consistent and long lasting at a great price point

I play 250-300 gigs a year, mostly in hot, humid, sweaty Florida these days - the string killer state. D'Addarios always sound killer right out of the pack... And that's not even the best part. They stay great longer than all of the other strings - including very high end strings - I've tried. (And I've tried 'em all!) Like DRs. Yeah, if I was playing a big $$$ studio session,… read more I might throw 'em on, cuz they sound AMAZING for that first week or two. 100/100. But after that... they're toast. D'Addarios may start at an 80/100 instead of a 100/100... but a month, 6 weeks later, they're still rocking that 80/100 mark, despite the FL humid outdoor gigs, ridiculous amounts of sweat, and the occasional gator. Or maybe even Florida Man REALLY screwing with your strings. (You never know.) And the DRs are down to a wobbly, inconsistent 40/100 at best. All gators and Florida men aside, these D'Addarios start great and stay great way better than any other strings... an they're priced right. I've been using them for over 20 years, and every time I try something else someone wants to hip me to, I'm disappointed.

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D'Addario EXL 160 Nickel Wound Long Scale Medium Bass Strings

The Sweetwater technicians set up my new 5-string Fender Jazz Bass with these strings. They sound wonderful! Sweetwater is my go-to shop for all things musical!!

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Not my cup of tea.

Solid fundamentals; absolutely. The dreaded Bb and C on the E string are dead on and full. They are consistent. You pluck-em and they sound that tone. For me, they lack responsiveness to my fingers. Vibrato? Forget it. Better bend that string. Pluck it, roll it, feather it, no difference. Sweet, singing overtones on the G string.... Nope. Easy on the fingers? Not… read more in my case. I find myself working harder to get expressive tones out of my fingers. Good strings, or bad strings? Depends on what you are looking for. The sustain is fine. The tones are solid. The stop fine and they ghost well. Slap is fine, but get that thumb off the string fast. Would I recommend them? No opinion. I've got them on a Warwick Thumb bolt. Brass everything including nut. That may make a difference, I have no idea.

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