Dead and Deader

[cytania]

Thought my strings had plateau-ed out to a nice dead sound after nine months but this week they seem to have found a basement below and it's not a good dead. Any advice from those who've had the same strings for years?

Guess I'll just have to change them… darn :-(

Before you ask Ernie Ball Regular Slinkies (Fluorescent Yellow Pack).

[Beedster]

IME flats get better with age almost indefinitely, most rounds get better for a while and then just start to intonate badly

[LukeFRC]

I had the same DR fat beams on my P bass for about 2-3 years - sounded great.
Then one day they really did die.
Go buy some new ones, (oh and round core ones, status, DR etc IME last longer)

[cocco]

Another vote for flats. Spend some money on TI jazz flats, mine are getting better every day

[Norris]

I also use EBRS's and had to change to change a 'dead' set recently - again after about 9 months on the bass. I would normally expect them to last about 18 months before getting to that stage. I hope they haven't changed the 'formula' on them. Having said that, there's still not many strings around that would hold their tone for 9 months, and certainly not at the relatively cheap prices EB's go for.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1385591913' post='2290186']
IME flats get better with age almost indefinitely, most rounds get better for a while and then just start to intonate badly
[/quote]

IME the intonation problem with rounds occurs because the contact with the frets wears part of the windings which means that the unit mass of the string is no longer equal along it's whole length. I would have thought the same would happen to flats.

[throwoff]

I agree, when rounds go they really go. I should probably change the strings on my P soonish.

[Ghost_Bass]

WOW! I think i'm going to start selling my used strings around here! I change strings every two or three months (and i use D'Addario Prosteels)!

[40hz]

Every 6-9 months with my Elites.

[stingrayPete1977]

If im using a bass regularly id swap eb strings after 6 months max, if you dont like bright strings id start with something else anyway, I hate rotos but dead rotos sound more like new rotos to me where dead eb strings just sound ready to be swapped?

[Chiliwailer]

Boil them in washing up liquid for 20 mins, it gets the dirt and grease out. But be careful as the water level rises if you don't simmer!

[brensabre79]

Every 2 - 3 weeks until I started using Elixir! Well, for roundwounds anyway.
If you want a dead sound, I'd go for flatwounds every time. Although the ones on my fretless have gone rusty - still sound lovely though after 3 years

[Delberthot]

My Chromes sound just as bright and trebbly after a year than they did when they were new.

[Conan]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1385658070' post='2290815']
WOW! I think i'm going to start selling my used strings around here! I change strings every two or three months (and i use D'Addario Prosteels)!
[/quote]

Me too! I use mine for about a month then give them a soak in meths for a few hours. As good as new if not better! If I do that a second time the effect is not so pronounced, so at that stage I usually pass them on to my school's music department....

But maybe selling them on here is a good idea? Then people who like "worn-in" strings can get what they want without all that "playing them in" gubbins, and I can recoup a few quid for my next new set....

Hmmmm.... good call!

[Beedster]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1385643012' post='2290562']
IME the intonation problem with rounds occurs because the contact with the frets wears part of the windings which means that the unit mass of the string is no longer equal along it's whole length. I would have thought the same would happen to flats.
[/quote]

Fair point, I've noticed some loss of intonation on the La Bella E at the 8ve but that's about it, and they're five years old. Guess it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and might not be flats v rounds per se, or perhaps poor intonation is simply less noticeable with flats?

[EssentialTension]

The ways in which strings wear may also be related to how they are played; soft touch verus hard touch (right or left hand), pick or fingers, sweat chemistry, condition of frets, etc etc.

[White Cloud]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1385738565' post='2291718']

Me too! I use mine for about a month then give them a soak in meths for a few hours. As good as new if not better! If I do that a second time the effect is not so pronounced, so at that stage I usually pass them on to my school's music department....

But maybe selling them on here is a good idea? Then people who like "worn-in" strings can get what they want without all that "playing them in" gubbins, and I can recoup a few quid for my next new set....

Hmmmm.... good call!
[/quote]
Do they smell after the meths treatment? I might try this.

[cytania]

Just changed them strings and like Big Red X said they were deeply rutted on the underside. Now playing off the whine of new EBs.

[MoonBassAlpha]

I wonder if putting a couple of small washers behind the ball on the strings to move the worn part of the string off the fret would make a difference?
might be worth an experiment?

[BigRedX]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1385817492' post='2292491']
I wonder if putting a couple of small washers behind the ball on the strings to move the worn part of the string off the fret would make a difference?
might be worth an experiment?
[/quote]

No. The problem is that once they are worn at the frets (and it won't be equal at every fret) the mass of the string is no longer consistent along its length and that's why they don't intonate any more.