Do we convince ourselves that expensive strings sound better?

[morsefull]

As a rule, I don't spend big money on strings anymore.

In the past I've used Elixirs, Sunbeams, Black Beauties, In fact many different makes/types of nickle or coated strings.

During the last 3 years or so, I've used cheap strings from Harke, Olympia and Adagio.
They last around the same time and sound perfectly fine to my ears and the ears of many sound men.
I've never had a dead, odd souding string or an unbalanced set.

I play a Streamer Stage II 5 string through an Avalon U5 DI.

My point is this; do we suffer from the "snake oil" effect when playing expensive strings?

[Muzz]

I think it's horses for courses in lots of ways - I use the 3-sets-for-15-quid Hartkes on my Fortress, because they suit the bass down to the ground, but I've just put a set of Elixirs on my Shuker, and they're surprisingly good - a real improvement. I've got DR Sunbeams on my FrankenP, and they suit that very well (and have mellowed really nicely), and my Fenderbird has D'Addarios, which are nice. I've been through lots of different strings on different basses, and there''s only a few which I universally don't like (Rotos, Elites and Warwick Reds), and a couple which I'd use more if they were cheaper (the DRs - I'd have them on my passives like the FrankenPs and Fenderbird).

Snake Oil is only effective if you're of a mind to accept it - and IME a bit of open-minded trial and error usually proves the thing one way or another.

Never had an unbalanced set or dead string, either.

[Ou7shined]

Probably... but how are we to know if we are fooling ourselves.

I've tried many of the oft spanked over flatwounds on here and yes they are good and all have their merits and so on but not being one for running with the pack I eventually found that I actually preferred a slightly cheaper range and I don't care that they aren't expensive, it's the sound and feel that are the most important thing.

Edited January 10, 2012 by Ou7shined

[Dave Vader]

Yep, I use even cheaper flatwounds than Rich does (I tried the ones he uses, I didn't get on with them). They are nice. When I do use rounds, I use Legacys, they are around £8 a set, and absolutely fine.

[morsefull]

I've just (yesterday) ordered 2 sets of 45 to 125 nickels delivered for £21 I have every confidence that the'll be as good as before.

In these hard, cash-strapped times it's nice to pass on some savings tips. It's easy to fall into the "higher price = best" philosophy (which I've done before with Hi Fi) Obviously, if people are happy with the more expensive options that's that's their choice.

[JakeBrownBass]

I've bought 2 sets of strings in past 2 years & both time they've been elixirs.

The reason being that for me, they last ages, feel great & sound great to my ears.

They work for me so i'm sticking with them. ≈ £40 a year isn't much in my ears.

[Doctor J]

I've got a set of webstrings on a J bass and they're horrible. They were dull coming out of the packet and I cannot wait to put a set of Elixirs on in their place. I get at least a year out of a set of Elixirs and I like bright strings so I don't see them as that expensive in the long run.

[chris_b]

[quote name='morsefull' timestamp='1326197919' post='1493555']
....do we suffer from the "snake oil" effect when playing expensive strings?....
[/quote]
[size=4]How can you evaluate what I want to spend on strings?[/size]

[size=4]Why does anyone drive a BMW when a Ford Focus is perfectly adequate?[/size]
[size=4] [/size]
[size=4]If you can appreciate the difference and that difference is important to you then spend as much as you need[/size]
[size=4] [/size]

[Mog]

I'm happy with warwick red labels for most uses (~€9.50). For bigger gigs I stick a set of Dean Markley Blue Steels on my main gigging bass.
If anyone can find a brighter string cheaper I'll gladly buy those instead.

[morsefull]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1326209477' post='1493828']

[size=4]Why does anyone drive a BMW when a Ford Focus is perfectly adequate?[/size]


[/quote]

But is Shell petrol better than Esso ? that's more the question If you think your car runs better on Shell , fine.

Personally, I wish Aldi sold petrol

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1326209477' post='1493828']
[size=4]How can you evaluate what I want to spend on strings?[/size]

[size=4]Why does anyone drive a BMW when a [size=5][b]Ford Focus [/b][/size]is perfectly adequate?[/size]

[size=4]If you can appreciate the difference and that difference is important to you then spend as much as you need[/size]

[/quote]

I claim my £5.

You are "Friendly Seller" from the ebay links thread.

[BassBod]

I'd say no...but the differences aren't always as great as the price would suggest. My favourite all rounder is DR Sunbeams, sound good, feel good, last ages. I also rate Picato nickel rounds - sound almost as good, feel good but stiffer, don't sound good for as long...but plenty long enough. The Picato's are about half the best price I can get on the Drs..and a third of the worst prices I've seen. I'm happy to pay more less often and luckily Its been a good few years since I got over the need to always sound bright and twangy. I probably rate strings as much by tension/feel as I do by sound.

[brensabre79]

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1326213756' post='1493922']
I claim my £5.

You are "Friendly Seller" from the ebay links thread.
[/quote]



Seriously though this thread has got me wondering... I have sweat like battery acid and even a decent set of strings won't last more than 2 weeks. i have to play Steel because i'm allergic to nickel. I'm using LoRiders at the moment because I like the extra tension and long life but they ain't the cheapest and now I'm doing more gigs I'm starting to wonder if I should get the cheapo ones and just change more often. The LoRiders i put on last week cost me £35 and they are like rubber bands already! Finances alone means every set gets an isopropyl bath and used twice. The best ones I ever had were a set of Thomastik infeld 45-105 they lasted over a month but they aren't easy to get hold of and they are incredibly expensive.

[brensabre79]

[quote name='morsefull' timestamp='1326212692' post='1493892']
But is Shell petrol better than Esso ? that's more the question If you think your car runs better on Shell , fine.

Personally, I wish Aldi sold petrol
[/quote]

Actually, there is a difference in petrol if you're running a performance engine. Supermarket brand petrol does cause a lot of sludge build up in the tank, its not really an issue unless you run low and then all the sludge goes through your engine. The more expensive brands put additives in the fuel to break the sludge down in the tank... I ran a performance car for a few years, thought nothing of filling up at Tesco every week, saved some money but not enough to pay the £4k bill for an engine rebuild. The mechanic (a friend) said don't ever take this car to the supermarket again! I didn't, I wrapped it around a tree a month later

[L_Bass_Dog85]

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1326217032' post='1493986']
Actually, there is a difference in petrol if you're running a performance engine. Supermarket brand petrol does cause a lot of sludge build up in the tank, its not really an issue unless you run low and then all the sludge goes through your engine. The more expensive brands put additives in the fuel to break the sludge down in the tank... I ran a performance car for a few years, thought nothing of filling up at Tesco every week, saved some money but not enough to pay the £4k bill for an engine rebuild. The mechanic (a friend) said don't ever take this car to the supermarket again! I didn't, I wrapped it around a tree a month later
[/quote]

Agreed.

Companies buy in stocks and shares when it comes to fuel (or everything!). There are cheaper, crapper oil refineries and amazing, top notch ones. Supermarkets cut costs and go for the crapper one of the two to cut costs at their fuel stations to drag more punters in. They won't care about the implications about what happens to the vehicle as you have experienced.

In my opinion same goes for strings (and pretty much anything else) spend a little more money, get better quality products. I haven't changed my strings (DR Hi's on Spector and Rotosound PSDs on Ibanez) for a good year or so. They still sound amazing and my sweat is [b]very[/b] corrosive!

[skidder652003]

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1326199255' post='1493604']
Yep, I use even cheaper flatwounds than Rich does (I tried the ones he uses, I didn't get on with them). They are nice. When I do use rounds, I use Legacys, they are around £8 a set, and absolutely fine.
[/quote]
yep gig with the legacy's and i find em fine!

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='morsefull' timestamp='1326197919' post='1493555']
... My point is this; do we suffer from the "snake oil" effect when playing expensive strings? ...
[/quote]
No, I buy the flatwound strings that I want because I like the feel and the sound of them and then I keep them on the bass for years so they are actually dead cheap. For example, I've had a set of TI Jazz Flats on one bass since 2005 and no plans to change them - so they've cost me about £5 per year so far.

[morsefull]

I'm beginning to dream about owning a nice silver 1.4 Ford focus with funky wheel trims
Maybe adding some Halfords car seat covers at a later date.

[morsefull]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1326220568' post='1494041']
No, I buy the flatwound strings that I want because I like the feel and the sound of them and then I keep them on the bass for years so they are actually dead cheap. For example, I've had a set of TI Jazz Flats on one bass since 2005 and no plans to change them - so they've cost me about £5 per year so far.
[/quote]

I can see your point here. Flatwounds are a different beast, but I play about 10 hrs / week, mainly finger style, with the occasional slap and pop in there when under orders. I got through my last set of Black Beauties in about 3 months and the Adagio's have been on since mid Sept and they definitely need changing. They'll be replaced in a couple of days with the same.

[JakeBrownBass]

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1326216725' post='1493977']




Seriously though this thread has got me wondering... I have sweat like battery acid and even a decent set of strings won't last more than 2 weeks. i have to play Steel because i'm allergic to nickel. I'm using LoRiders at the moment because I like the extra tension and long life but they ain't the cheapest and now I'm doing more gigs I'm starting to wonder if I should get the cheapo ones and just change more often. The LoRiders i put on last week cost me £35 and they are like rubber bands already! Finances alone means every set gets an isopropyl bath and used twice. The best ones I ever had were a set of Thomastik infeld 45-105 they lasted over a month but they aren't easy to get hold of and they are incredibly expensive.
[/quote]

Have you tried coated strings, say Elixirs?

Also, surely buying cheaper strings more often will add up to pretty much the same as more expensive less often.

[Baxter]

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1326198680' post='1493581']
Probably... but how are we to know if we are fooling ourselves.

I've tried many of the oft spanked over flatwounds on here and yes they are good and all have their merits and so on but not being one for running with the pack I eventually found that I actually preferred a slightly cheaper range and I don't care that they aren't expensive, it's the sound and feel that are the most important thing.
[/quote]

what kind do use, i'm feeling experimental and unwilling to pay 30 bucks for roto 77s

[Low End Bee]

Funny. I was having a solitary debate about this recently. I realised that I stick with Black Beauties because I don't like changing strings very often and anything but black strings on my two basses now looks odd to me. In reality I should go for something cheaper and a bit brighter. Only there aren't any that fit the bill in black. Unless you know otherwise?

Edited January 10, 2012 by Low End Bee

[morsefull]

[quote name='Low End Bee' timestamp='1326233142' post='1494338']
Funny. I was having a solitary debate about this recently. I realised that I stick with Black Beauties because I don't like changing strings very often and anything but black strings on my two basses now looks odd to me. In reality I should go for something cheaper and a bit brighter. Only there aren't any that fit the bill in black. Unless you know otherwise?
[/quote]

[i]Indelible pen?[/i]

[Immo]

Well, from my experience the more I paid for strings, the more I was satisfied with their sound. I never paid big amounts of money (comparing purchasing power of PLN and the usual prices for bass strings) - I always looked for a good deal, but the most expensive strings (in my case, Rotosound 77 Flats, D'Addaior Chromes and Fender Nylon Tapewounds) were the best. But those aren't the strings from the top shelf... And I'm not sure I'd pay 10% of my salary for a set of strings even if it'd last forever, like La Bella flats.

[jackers]

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1326216725' post='1493977']


Seriously though this thread has got me wondering... I have sweat like battery acid and even a decent set of strings won't last more than 2 weeks. i have to play Steel because i'm allergic to nickel. I'm using LoRiders at the moment because I like the extra tension and long life but they ain't the cheapest and now I'm doing more gigs I'm starting to wonder if I should get the cheapo ones and just change more often. The LoRiders i put on last week cost me £35 and they are like rubber bands already! Finances alone means every set gets an isopropyl bath and used twice. The best ones I ever had were a set of Thomastik infeld 45-105 they lasted over a month but they aren't easy to get hold of and they are incredibly expensive.
[/quote]

I recently bought a set of LoRiders, SunBeams and HiBeams from the US (for comparison). Including shipping it came to £16.50 for each set, which is almost 20 quid cheaper than some places sell them in this country. So if you like the LoRiders, then that would be worth looking into