You are very welcome.

Bill - one really important thing - you should probably get a bass-size string winder - a regular guitar one probably won't fit and you don't want to crank all of those by hand, or at least I wouldn't want to...

Wow!  Ask an question and everyone rushes in to help!  That's one of the best things I love about this forum!  Thanks for all the info.  I've ordered a set of D'Addario Chrome flats from Juststrings or around $41.  I had to order a coupe of sets of La Bella 12 string Veillette Gryphon strings anyway, and they're just about the only source for those.  I also threw in a couple of sets of GHS Santana guitar strings to try.  
 
Harry:  Thanks for the tip on the string winder.  I'll have to heck to see if my Ernie Ball PowerPeg fits.  (It really is a great product for $20).
 
By the way, I rememeber playing with a guy like 30 years ago who would routinely take off his strings and put them in boiling water for 15-20 minutes, as I recall.  Anyone ever hear of this?  Does it work?  
 
Happy Holidays to everyone and hope Santa's good to you tonight.
 
Bill, tgo

Crank the strings up with your left hand and build up your wrist for vibrato !    LOL________   just thinking pragmatically , that is  my modos operandus _  LOL !!!  NO WINDERS ! LOL !!!!

YES BILL__
                    I boiled strings 30 years ago too !
 
 IN FACT- they were PYRAMID GOLDS -- back when I was a poor young man.  I soaked them in ISOPROPYL alcohol first and then boiled them!
 
(Message edited by sonicus on December 24, 2009)

Yep - same here, I've boiled a few sets!
 
The wraps get a little frayed after boiling but it cleans well, I suppose an ultra-sonic cleaner would really shiny them up! My heavy left hand left witness marks where the frets are so boiling didn't stay as an option very long.

Same here pauldo. Marks on the strings_____.

Way back when (in the days of Cesar), I used to periodically boil the Rotosounds on my Fender Jazz (but only once per set of strings).  Make sure you keep the ends with the wrappings sticking up out of the water.  It's amazing how much gunk is on strings, even when they look clean.  
 
For me, the strings would sound almost new for just a few days and they'd feel slightly rougher with more resistance when playing glissando.  
 
My string of choice in modern times used to be DR; now I prefer the burnished tone and supple feel of Curt Mangan Nickel roundwounds:
 
http://www.curtmangan.com/shop/index.php/bass-guitar/nickel-wound.html
 
I played the NAMM show a few years ago during my pre-Alembic days. We were in the Starr Labs booth in conjunction with an up and coming electronic drum manufacturer so our drummer used their stuff. But between them constantly asking us to stop so that convention goers could also play their drums and the fact the drums were glitchy as hell (and our drummer plays left-handed so the configuration had to be altered back and forth), we only played sporadically  
 
Anyway, at one point I wandered away and stumbled into the Curt Mangan booth.  In spite of all the big name guys walking around, I was treated like royalty and they had a full array of basses strung with their strings and a couple of Mark Bass amps to play through.  I loved the tone and explained I was playing at the show.  They gave me two sets of strings to evaluate and I told them I'd change strings that night and after the next day's performance give them some feedback. Later, while my band mates were asleep in the hotel room I put them on my Spector.  Even unamplified, the instrument was so loud it woke them up! The tone and clarity was great when we performed and they've been my string of choice ever since.

Thanks for the link. I might have to try those.

Never heard of those strings either - gonna have to check them out!
 
One other thing I thought of, Bill, is the issue of cutting the excess string length - you have to cut it BEFORE you start winding up, because of the way bass string tuning posts work. Definitely re-read Dave's post above - I use the three-inch rule for most of the strings, but personally find that it can be a little too much for the low E (and probably the low B too but I only have one bass with a low B so not sure).
 
Maybe people can chime in on how much string you leave before winding?

Yes 3 is a good rule of thumb.
Adjust accordingly for thicker strings or other alterations . . .
 
I have a Hip-Shot D-tuner on my E string, the post on it is shorter so for that particular string I cut it at about 2.5.

Is Fat Dog still there at Subway Guitars at 1600 Cedar St. in Berkeley? Last I heard he had $10 sets of bass strings that weren't too bad.
 
I like the DR Sunbeams for fretless. Great growl and last a long time.

Here he is   http://www.fatdawg.com/

I'm late checking back in but Wolf- great link, thanks.

Well, my fav's are Elixir strings. Why?  
Well, they have monstrous sustain, also coated, and lives way longer then any other strings.
Too bad they are pretty expensive. And not everyone likes coated strings.