[Bob Faulkner]

You *can* use other strings, and they will color the sound the way that brand would normally color any bass's tone. That said, I've settled on Smith strings even on my non-Smith basses because, well, they are really good strings and I love compressors.

You're not going to harm the nut or saddles with non-taper-core strings. I've been using smith slicks and compressors on mine for 7 years and neither of those are offered in taper core versions (though i've asked ken for em!)... You may need to resetup the bass for normal strings. Ken would suggest you have the nut and saddles recut if you're not going to use taper cores.