Nickel Plated Vs Stainless Steel Bass Strings

I always wipe the strings down after playing either with a clean cloth or preferably a blitz cloth.

Nickel plated vs stainless steel bass strings. If i do a stainless set can last a month of 2 3 gigs wk. Steel strings are made from a highly magnetic alloy and usually produce a brighter sound and a rougher feel under the fingers. Pure nickel is what guitarists used in the 50s so if you like that early rock and roll sound you might like pure nickel. In nickel wound nickel plated steel strings the wrap wire is steel plated with nickel typically about 8 of the finished wrap wire is nickel and 92 is steel.

They are round wound and are available in 4 or 5 string sets. Stainless steel tonally speaking the opposite of nickel strings stainless steel is clear and bright with clarity throughout the frequency range great for modern sounds. Nickel strings and stainless steel strings. An all round option for the bassist who plays a bit.

As far as material is concerned we can divide strings into two main categories. How is the core wire different. Spector nickel plated steel strings use a tapered string design on the e also the b strings for 5 string set to deliver the maximum tone possible and have an even response across the neck of your electric bass. The confusion arises from the fact that some manufacturers don t include the word plated on the labels for their nickel strings.

This is getting complicated. Also nickel strings are softer and are easier on your frets. Both terms are referring to the wrap wire of the wound strings in the set. The majority of so called nickel strings are actually made of steel and coated with an 8 nickel wash that acts as protection and softens the touch.

Oh and then there is pure nickel vs nickel plated. As others have mentioned stainless steel is harder than nickel steel and often has burrs from the manufacturing wrapping process. Plenty of products advertised as nickel strings however aren t entirely golden era formulations using steel wraps plated with nickel rather than wraps made entirely of nickel. Nickel plated steel no surprises nickel plated steel offers a compromise between pure nickel or stainless steel.