Nickel Plated Vs Stainless Steel Bass Strings

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 vs stainless steel bass strings.

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. Country and rock players might choose nickel plated. Nickel plated steel no surprises nickel plated steel offers a compromise between pure nickel or stainless steel. The confusion arises from the fact that some manufacturers don t include the word plated on the labels for their nickel strings.

As others have mentioned stainless steel is harder than nickel steel and often has burrs from the manufacturing wrapping process. Oh and then there is pure nickel vs nickel plated. An all round option for the bassist who plays a bit. 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.

How is the core wire different. I always wipe the strings down after playing either with a clean cloth or preferably a blitz cloth. They are round wound and are available in 4 or 5 string sets. Nickel strings and stainless steel strings.

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 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. In pure nickel guitar strings the wrap wire is well pure nickel. Pure nickel is what guitarists used in the 50s so if you like that early rock and roll sound you might like pure nickel.

Both terms are referring to the wrap wire of the wound strings in the set. This is getting complicated. If i do a stainless set can last a month of 2 3 gigs wk. Chrome and steel strings.