Hartke HSB550 Bass Strings (Medium 5-String)

Feature:
Initially, the "nickel wound, hexagonal core" sounds brilliant, a good bright tone that will ease off with finger style. Then you find the blurb on the back of the package relates it to their "ultra fast transient" amplifiers in some way (subtle...) And the tone, as described above, negates the features completely. Even the colour coded ball ends for each string (just in case you happened to mix up the B and G string mid change...right?) were beginning to have the paint scratch off when i opened the packet.

Quality:
The colour coded balls were scratched, the finish on the strings towards the bridge was uneven and the things popped out of the bridge several times during tuning up.

Value:
Admittedly, I will give this particular set the benefit of the doubt when it comes to value, considering it may have simply been a dud batch. I heard somewhere these strings are run offs of the mighty d'addario, so if this is the case...£15 for them is not a bad price at all.

Desirability:
It's a set of horrendous bass strings. With roughly the same ratable "sex appeal" as a ham sandwhich. What else is there to tell?

Sound:
Usually with most strings, you have an overall balance of the tone they aim to provide. Dark and earthy, bright and piano-like maybe. Not with these, you're greeted with an overly bright top end for the bottom 4 strings, great for the odd slap but little else, with the top B string sounding as if you're playing a piece of spaghetti...far too muddy a tone to fit in with the rest of the set, no tightness to the bottom end at all.

Ease of Use:
As you may guess I was not at all impressed with the complete lack of uniform tone on these beasties, but hell...what else is an EQ for? Eventually after much coaxing you can get a usable (ish) fingerstyle tone from the things, and even then it all turns to a wallowy mess of bass as soon as you ever consider the dreaded B string.

Support:
you have a "HARTKE.COM" website at the bottom, "comments and queries? call: ...." as found on most other string makes are not to be found.

Overall:
I have little to say here, having just purchased another couple of Ernie Ball sets just for continuity...but on a final note, imagine my delight when the festering turd of a B string went on to finish itself by cracking my top nut on my beloved bass. Thankyou Hartke, thankyou.