D'Addario XL Chromes Flat Wound Bass Guitar Strings - ECB81M - Medium Scale - Regular Light, 45-100

For me, Chromes are the best flatwounds out there. And I’ve been through them all many, many times. Chromes have the smoothest surface with zero friction, and set up very low without ever having any buzz. They play very fast and work well on P or J. The quality control is extremely consistent and once broken in they sound absolutely amazing. Be sure to give them about a month before you judge them. Soon they become extremely thumpy and warm. I like LaBella too, but have stopped supporting that company because of so many bad D and G strings. The company does not acknowledge a problem yet it’s reported heavily throughout Internet forums for over ten years. The issue is that the strings will buzz no matter the action height.

I have a through-body Mustang bass. Since I bought it, I always used LaBella Mustang Flats because of the perfect fit... I'm surprised more strings don't market specifically "for Mustang". But these strings, in the medium-scale set, are PERFECT for a through-body Mustang. Also, the sound is excellent. The E string has (at least on a brand-new set) just about the liveliest sound I've ever heard on an E string. Ya know how sometimes playing a note on the A string vs the E strings, even on a brand-new set, sounds way, way different in tonal quality? That problem is really minimized with these strings -- again, at least on a brand-new set. I'll be keeping any eye out for how the E string deadens with time, but as I get a better ear with time, I find that I need to replace my strings about every 3 months anyway, otherwise everything starts sounding dead to me. Too bad Thomastik-Infeld doesn't make their Jazz Flats in a scale for through-body Mustangs, those suckers sound good forever! (hint hint, T.I.!) Anyway, these strings seem to have noticeably better sound than the LaBellas, especially on the E. I really like the gauge too, they just feel right. May have to become a lifelong d'Addario fan! ADDENDUM AFTER GOING THROUGH SEVERAL SETS: Still loving them! I usually get 3 to 4 months on a set, and then the dullness starts to kick in too much. Although even after 4 months, you might really like the sound, they still sound good, they still play well, and they still stay in tune -- they just don't have that lively bright quality like a newer set. They also age very, very nicely, in that each string ages equally, even the E string, which is really surprising since I've found that the E string (with other brands) tends to go duller faster than other strings, and gets to be way-too-dead very quickly. Not these babies!!! The E string, even after four months, sounds comparable in tonal quality to the other strings and still has good sustain... again, just losing that brightness to age at the same rate as the other strings. UPDATE: after many, many sets of these strings, they are still my favorite for a Mustang Bass instrument with through-body strings. They sound good for a long time, getting "deader" very gracefully, including even-balanced aging and tone on the low E. They sound so good aged, that it shocks me when I throw on a new set and hear how bright they are!! I'm like, whoa, sure, they weren't bright after all that time, but man they still sounded sweet!

Been playing bass in a cover band that plays a wide range of mostly danceable music: Pop, Top40, R&B, Funk, anything groovy. I play two Fender Jazz Basses. One is a standard MIM and the other is a Japanese Aerodyne with P/J pickups. I have been playing Rotosound Swing Bass Roundwounds on both. But.... I have been noticing that with this kind of music I was always turning down the tone and bridge pickups to get a deeper sound like on most of these original tunes. Also found myself playing the Aerodyne almost all the time because of the P Bass pickup and it's tone. Went online and researched various options for getting that genuine tone from the 60's and 70's and learned that Flat Wounds are where it's at. Caught some great videos on YouTube about these strings and decided to give them a try. I'm glad I did! They are a huge step in the direction I was trying to go. Put them on the Aerodyne, gonna keep that one as my groovy axe and the MIM Jazz will keep the roundwounds for when I need to rock out and want that great lively tone they produce. The flatwounds feel smooth slick and amazing to play. They are a bit stiffer with more thud than rounds and also have less ring. Which is good for certain kinds of music. I noticed with them I don't have to mute open strings as much and they naturally produce more of a deeper thumpier sound. They have great sustain, so they're not deader, just have less of the higher overtones of rounds. I also noticed that my tone knob is way more responsive with these strings than with rounds. Using the tone knob and blending in the bridge single coil pickup give me a much wider range of tones now than I ever had before. Go figure. I can also crank up the tone and the bridge pickup and get very close to a roundwound sound for certain tunes and not have to change basses. Overall, I am very pleased with these strings and the way they have added more options to my sound. I would recommend them to anyone looking to broaden their pallet of sound or discover for themselves the deep soulful funky tones these strings produce and why they are such a big part of some of the greatest music ever recorded. MORE BASS!!

Why did you pick this product vs others?: For you bass guitar players that want deep rich bass and a comfortable feel without all the scratchy finger noise, these are the strings to get! They are solid performers that play well and stay in tune. Well worth the money. Before you order make sure you know the scale of your guitar because these strings come in different sizes.

These strings are just awesome. I find the tension to be not that stiff while still providing that dark flat wound tone. These also deliver in the upper midrange frequencies (P bass with tone all the way open, dunno if that's actually considered "upper midragne") and it just sounds so beautiful... About their CS! These were my first after market bass strings and I cut the A string a little bit to short, so I had it buzzing at the nut. Totally my bad, but that didn't stop D'Addario from sending me a replacement string! Such a class act, I wouldn't expect that kind of service on every single f*** up a customer make, but it's nice to know they have your back.

I am a professional as well as a praise and worship player. I have tried the other popular brand flatwounds and have always come back to D'Addarios. I really like the fuller sound of D'Addario strings. Even when the bass is adjusted for a bright sound, it is a fuller, fatter bright and not so tinny. I have them on hollow-body electrics, acoustic/electrics, and high-end professional 4 and 5 string basses. SCALE/GUITAR: I purchase the SUPER LONG scale for through-the-body set-ups and long scale for standard setups of 34" scale basses on my 4 string basses. The D'Addario long scale came up slightly short and the full windings didn't even make the nut on the through-the-body set-ups. Additionally, it feels like the longer scale actually alleviated some of the excessive neck tension on 4 strings. *On some five strings I stick with the Long scale strings WITH a TTB set-up to keep the B string from feeling floppy. I had to trim some of the sring winding at the nut but this is easily done and the bass really resonds well. COMFORT: The Flat-wound Chromes are incredibly comfortable strings. If you like to slide all over the place, these strings are for you and produce zero slide noise. SOUND: I love the full, mellow sound they produce. I have played R&B, Jazz, Rock, and Country, and I also play on a worship team, and these strings can solo on the most reverent of songs, or turn it up on a good Rock riff. With the right tone adjustments on your bass, you can get a very full and balanced sound that is 'there' without being 'on top' or distracting, as well as a bright but still smooth and full lead for great jazz, country or rock. Just don't expect a great deal of growl if you're trying to slap. CONS: The only con I have is through-the-body Stringing - I wish D'Addario would design a set labeled specifically for TTB set-ups. Although I have had ZERO problems with these strings and have NEVER replaced a set (I'm of the gunk-is-funk camp), it would be nice to not have to figure out what set will work without doing a bunch of silly measuring, or, worse yet, having to buy another set because you guessed or measured wrong; especially since bass strings can get pricey! Conclusion: It's really simple; if you like a WARM-sounding, foundation bass, get these strings. If you like something a little more ON-TOP of the sound, go with round-wounds.

These are the best strings. They last forever, and are very quiet, they are gentle on your fingers.

I have been on a search for the perfect bass guitar string. I have these on several of my basses. The tone is good they feel great. They do take awhile to break in. The are “sticky” at first and it takes a bit for that to go away. Not sticky like wet or gummy but my finger does not easily glide across them and release when new. Better as the age.