D'Addario EXL165 Nickel Wound Bass Guitar Strings, Custom Light, 45-105, Long Scale

The D'Addario EXL165 XL Nickel Wound Bass Strings are a cracking replacement for players who want a familiar feel up top with a little more authority down below.

The EXL165 set combines .045 and .065 G and D strings with heavier .085 and .105 A and E strings. D'Addario currently describes this combination as Regular Light Top / Medium Bottom – essentially giving you comfortable, responsive upper strings while adding a tighter, more substantial feel to the low end. It's a particularly useful hybrid if standard .045–.100 sets feel just a touch too light on the bottom.

Construction is classic XL Nickel: nickel-plated steel roundwound around D'Addario's high-carbon steel hex core. It's a recipe that's been used on an enormous number of basses for good reason, producing a bright, clear fundamental with tight lows and plenty of definition without pushing the sound into excessively aggressive territory.

That makes the EXL165 an excellent all-rounder. Fingerstyle bassists get clarity and note definition, pick players get plenty of attack, and slap players have enough brightness available for those pops to actually pop. They're equally happy covering rock, funk, pop, blues and general session work where you need your bass to sound like a bass rather than make some enormous stylistic declaration.

These are uncoated strings, so you're getting the direct feel and familiar response associated with D'Addario's traditional XL range. They're also precision wound and built around the company's Hex-Core construction to promote consistent feel, dependable intonation and durability from set to set.

The Long Scale construction is intended for standard long-scale bass applications, with 34" being the most common long-scale format. As always with bass strings, it's worth checking your instrument's scale length and bridge arrangement before ordering – especially if you're dealing with through-body stringing or an unusually long instrument.

At Musicmaker, EXLs are exactly the sort of strings we'd reach for when somebody says, “I just want a good set of bass strings.” No exotic coatings or strange materials here – just bright nickel tone, dependable construction and a very useful 45–105 hybrid gauge. String up, tune up and remind the guitarist who actually controls the low end.

Features

• Hybrid gauge that combines EXL170 and EXL160 for ideal combination of tone of distinctive bright and powerful low end

• Round wound with nickelplated steel for a distinctive bright tone with clear fundamentals

• Fits long scale basses with a string scale length of up to 36 1/4 inches

• Made in the U.S.A. for the highest quality and performance

• String Gauges: Wound .045, .065, .085, .105

• Environmentally friendly, corrosion resistant packaging for strings that are always fresh