Warwick Brand strings

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Hey guys! I've found a couple interesting threads about everyones' favorite strings for their Warwicks. It seams like the Warwick Blacks and DRs are the most popular. I have a question about Warwick strings specifically, though.

What is the difference in the colors? There seem to be five different sets for us electric bass players. There are the Black Stainless Steel, the coated EMPs, the Yellow NPS, the Red Stainless Steel, and the Red NPS. I have A-B'd the Black SS and the Red SS. I can hardly tell a difference, but the Blacks do sound a little better to my ears but cost more money. I have yet to try the Yellow NPS and the Red NPS. Are the Reds just cheaper versions of the Blacks and Yellows? What's the point? Do you guys every use the Reds for either NPS or SS? Thanks for everyones input.
 

Florin

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Hey man,

Black, EMP, and Yellow are US Made, handmade. They are premium strings.
Black and EMP are stainless steel. The sound and feel exactly the same, but EMP last a LOT longer.
Yellow are nickel.
Red labels are made in China. Not bad at all for their price. Actually I am using one nickel set now...
 
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Thanks for the reply. I'll stick to the Black SSs. I want to try the Yellows on my Fender.
 
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I'm a fully converted EMP man, sound gorgeous (see my clip thread) and so far they've been on 4 months and not even a sign that they're losing life.

Another great thing is you don't have that "settling in" phase in the first week where they're over-bright. They're just a consistent level all through for months and months and months!

If you can find them cheap somewhere, give it a thought :)
 
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Thanks for the reply. I'll stick to the Black SSs. I want to try the Yellows on my Fender.

The investment of EMP's is totally worth it. They last at least 6 months and had a set last up to 8 months. And I usually changed my black label every month, it was getting very costly.
 
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I just tried the Nickel Yellows on my Fender (leave me alone, I live in Nashville!). They sound amazing. I am now officially switching to the Blacks on my Thumb and the Yellows on my Fender (Nashville, remember!).
I went to a lecture a few months ago with 3 of the leading Guitar Gurus here in Nashville recently. They talked about strings for a long time. Although each had his or her own opinion about what makes for a good string, all 3 agreed about coated strings: If you play everyday, coated is not the way to go. They spoke about how a string ages in 3 major ways: 1> contamination from oxidation or corrosion (coated really helps here) 2> physical wear at the nut, saddles, and frets (coated in no way helps here) 3> physical breakdown of the string from being stretched out and vibrated over time (coated doesn't help here either). Since I play everyday, I haven't noticed much difference in longevity with coated strings. I have noticed certain brands seem to last longer and Stainless Steel seems to last longer, also. My wife's guitar gets coated strings since it is more of a room decoration than a played instrument. What are your guys opinions on coated strings?
 

schlobodan

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Hey man,

Black, EMP, and Yellow are US Made, handmade. They are premium strings.
Black and EMP are stainless steel. The sound and feel exactly the same, but EMP last a LOT longer.
Yellow are nickel.
Red labels are made in China. Not bad at all for their price. Actually I am using one nickel set now...

what about the framus bass strings like these


same as the red labels but nickel?

cheers
 
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General Specific: Me and flipper_gv both gave first hand testimonials on them, try them :p

Coated strings used to be a grey area, the first ones on the market weren't very impressive, the Warwick EMPs definitely are. Feel the same, sound the same, last forever. I play everyday for 2-3 hours and love them.
 
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I just put a set of DR Black Beauty coated strings on my Thumb. I think they sound teriffic and look really nice on the bass, too. The black strings with the black hardware is nice. Agree with above, coated strings are not as annoyingly zingy right out of the box. A little less string noise, as well.
 
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Don't get me wrong, I WILL buy and try every string available in 45-65-85-105. I even have a set of EMPs that are sitting in the closet behind some Warwick Red Box NPSs and some Dean Markley SR2000s. I'll get to them. (I record each string set and compare later when I can't remember what the set sounded like anymore). So far, I've tried every DR, Ernie Ball, D'addario, and GHS set. The Warwick Black Box set is my favorite, thus far. Coated strings usually have nothing to offer me since I am wearing them out before they get a chance to even think of oxidizing. Thanks for the feedback.

projectapollo> I had those Black Beauties on my Thumb with black hardware, also. Very sexy!
 
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Tip: Try the Thomastik Power Bass strings, as well. Thomastik are expensive, but very well made. I bought a Bongo that had a set on it and they were thick yet flexible. I really liked them.
 
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i've been using warwick strings for quite a while now - even before i got a warwick bass.

i started off on red labels, which are great, but the black label strings, tho a bit more expensive, are just amazing. lots of definition and sustain.
 

Florin

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Try EMP then man. Same thing really... But they last a lot longer

Genral, I was playing every single day for my last 10 years... For me coated strings last much longer. "regular strings like Black Labels to be honest last really good for 3 days. After this is more or less a compromise.

I like the coated strings because they keep me a CONSTANT sound for a long time. If you ask me how much black labels last, I would say one month, but this is not true. Because after 3 days they are not the same anymore... Coated strings give to me at least one month of clean, good, sound, and after this the quality decreases really slow, and I replace them after 3 months.
 
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I think I might like strings too much. Maybe I have a string fetish? I like to imagine scooping up armfuls of strings and hugging them tightly. I frequently open new packages of strings and put the container up to my nose and smell them quickly before that fresh string air escapes! I am just kidding! (Mostly...I think...)
 
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and I always thought the only one that some people actually like to smell is a G-string ;)
 
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I use the reds. They sound great. When I first got the Infinity I put blacks on it, but to be honest I couldn't tell the difference between the black and reds, so decided to save the money.

At the price I can afford to restring every month :)
 
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