Daddario ECB81-5 Reviews

Great flatwounds

Great sound, great feel.

One problem, the B string had such a high guage and they added a protective layer at the start and end of the string, which meant that it was very hard to fit through the hole in the bridge of my fender player V.

Great strings but loose the tone fast

They are suposed to last but after a month of heavy use they get more quieter that rounds

Makes your fretless sound like a fretless

I got a pack of these to put on my new fretless. They're more expensive than roundwounds, but they seemingly last for years and more importantly, make it sound like a fretless bass! They give you that 'mwha' which you won't get with roundwounds and they will save your fretboard.

Great Sounding Flats

I bought these to use for more traditional styles. Strings sound great, a lot more life in them than other types of flatwounds, you can even get good harmonics and they have a good dry fundamental but still have brightness to the sound (these would be great for recording - no string noise).

I did have to make truss rod adjustments and reset the intonation as i had previously used D'addario EXL170 roundowounds on the instrument which are lower tension (D'addario always give the tension of the set on the back of the pack so you can see the tension difference in sets for yourself).

My only issue with this set of strings is the winding at the ball end on the low B was slightly messy (normal to see on most strings to be honest) and it was a little bit of a struggle to get the string sitting properly in the bridge, however knowing that most pros leave flatwounds on for months/years means i wont be changing these so often, so all in all not too much of an issue for me.

Fine for the price

If you like D'addario, you will like these.

Great flats

If you are new to flats try these out, they are not as thumpy as the classic flats like rotosounds or labellas they still provide some clarity. Very easy to play.

Smooth

These are my first set of flatwound strings and I love them. The sound is warm and mellow but is still surprisingly bright. They feel so smooth that my fingers seem to glide over them and I actually do find myself playing my bass slightly differently which is great. I've put this set on a US 5 string Jazz and I'm very happy, especially on the neck pickup when muting the strings. Total old school sound. Now I just need to buy a precision bass and go for it properly!

My favourite flats

I don't play roundwounds but I also dislike the stiffness of most flatwound strings, even in light gauges. D'addario Chromes offer me the best of both worlds - low tension flatwounds. They sound a lot brighter than any other make of flatwounds I've tried so far, and will last years if you keep them clean and look after them. Only thing, they tend to be a little less smooth than higher tension makes, especially the E and low B: that probably helps lower the tension and make the sound brighter, and is not a problem while playing.

Tough as old boots

These were purchased to replace the skin-shredding, finger-burning, serrated-edged standard strings that came with a brand new five string fretless bass, and they certainly help the comfort of playing live ceilidh music at speed. The sound, too, is a more rounded and satisfying one.

Smooth feeling, classic sound!

I use these strings on my Warwick AS Steve Bailey 6 string fretless bass.

The string set comes packed in a airsealed plastic bag, so that the strings are as fresh as the day they where made in the factory.

The strings are silky smooth to the touch, slides both up and down the fretboard are easy on your fingers and most important, easy on the fretboard.

They are a pleasure to play on, they suit any kind of style in my opinion.

Both slapping and fingerstyle are no problem.

The sound is quite thumpy and well defined. They are clear in their voicing, mellow tone. They are not as warm as a round wound string (round wound strings have more "Mawwww" to them.

One word of warning with these strings, they are quite thick and they are not taperwound. Remeber to check your basses manual to see if they can fit in to the basses bridge. The "B" string fit my basses bridge with some preasure.

Remeber to intonate your bass if you change gauges and brands.

My bass didn't need any truss rod adjustments when I changed from the stock strings to the Daddario ECB81-5 Chromes. The intonation changed so I had to intonate the bass, easy setup.

Quite good, but....

....for me this strings are too close to fresh rounwounds. They are quite brilliant what's the opposite I would expect from flatwounds. I like LaBella Deep Talkin' flatwounds more than this ones.

Don't get me wrong, the ECB81s are not bad. They feel great, the sound is also good, but for me they are like I said before way to brilliant.

Flats for Motown Sound

For my Warwick Star Bass I was looking for strings which provide a typical Motown sound. The Daddarios are pleasantly smooth and play fast. Unlike many other Flats these strings are higher tension, so that the B string right here sounds good and crisp.

D'addario Flats

I use these strings all the time, great warm /mellow sound from them for soulful playing. They are a little more expensive than some other flatwound strings but they last for ages and are well worth it.

Good strings

Good strings with good intonation. Consistent quality. Sound is alright too.