Strings

[aquaman]

For the Spoiler models in particular, which strings would you recommend for punchiest rock sound?  I like the sound of Boomers (light), but don't have a whole heck of a lot of experience in choosing.

[eligilam]

You'll find lots of DR and TI fans on this posting site, but in my opinion, nothing beats good ole Rotosounds for twang and punch-through-the-guitars rockery.
 
Cheers,
Will d.

[oujeebass]

I agree... Ive tried all of them,and a fresh set of Rotosounds are my favorites.

[olieoliver]

This subject has come up several times here.  
 
I've tried all the favorites here too (for bass); DR, TI's, Rotosound, Alembic...and they are all good strings. But my favorite hands down are John Pearse. They are have a bright clean sound with a superb feel.  
 
The only negative thing I can think of is that they are not the easiest to find.  
 
(For guitar I stick with Boomers, because they sound good and I can afford to change them weekly)

[crobbins]

I've only used the Alembic strings....

[FC Bass]

R.Cocco, great strings!

[terryc]

D'Arddio(spelling maybe wrong!!) heavy guage E at 105 if your bridge/nut will allow.
Rotosound(same guage) - get that lovely Entwhistle sound with loads of treble
Elites S/steel but can be a bit unkind to frets, very trebly.

[bumhucker]

la bella deeptalkin bass roundwounds. they last a long time and sound big.  plus they are balanced tension-wise.  use the long scale-i use medium scale on my short scale excel so the long scale should fit a spoiler.

[hieronymous]

Another DR fan here. When I had my Spoiler/Exploiter tuned standard, I used Hi-Beams. I like Lo-Riders on my Rickenbacker 4001.
 
Oh, and definitely long-scale for a 32 Spoiler.

[muller1007]

After years of trying all kinds of brands, I've always come back to Rotosound Swing Bass strings. A great balance between clean, bright and full bodied sound, great feel, long life and of course great value for money.  
 
Duncan

[bigredbass]

I've 'converted' to Markley's NPS Roundcores, the strings they developed with FRPrestia.  I prefer roundcores and nickel composition.  They're a bit looser than Rotos, Boomers, etc., yet a bit tighter than DR's or Cocos.  Stainless are just too clavinet-ish for me.  
 
J o e y

[pauldo]

I was on a quest for the 'perfect ' string for many years and it seems that GHS Boomers stay brighter longer than any other strings I've tried.
 
I now am looking for a different sound and have a set of strings that have been on for almost 2 years - when one of them breaks I do believe I will get some flatwounds on it (84 Distillate) and see where it will take me :-)

[adriaan]

I remember when the time came to put a new set on my Epic because the original set of Alembic strings had grown dull. With a limited budget, I came back to what I had been using on the Yamaha - Boomers.
 
And they sounded absolutely terrible! Bright, yes - but not in a nice way. And they lacked focus. It might have been just a single set that was bad ... anyway, I moved on to DR High Beams, later LoRiders (mellower). When the Epic was defretted, I switched to TI Jazz Flats.
 
Then I got a fretted Spoiler, and I put on a d'Addario XL set, again mostly for budget reasons. Much better than (what I remember from) Boomers. Mind you, I don't play rock, but there is plenty of punch in XLs on a medium scale.

[ajdover]

I used to use Rotosound RS66LC's, light gauge.  Then I got turned on to DR High Beams, .40-.100.  I've not looked back since.  If you like a brighter tone, DR Hi Beams are the way to go over the Rotos.  Rotos are great strings, are equally bright, but don't last as long for some reason.  This is why I switched to the DRs.
 
My two cents,
 
Alan

[jet_powers]

I'm in the Rotosound camp. Standard gauge. I haven't experienced the issues others have mentioned and always go back to them after trying something different. Although I must say I like the DR piano wound (exposed core) strings on my Rogue 5.
 
JP