Strings - do you routinely replace?

[Telebass]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1423068570' post='2680307']
I use flatwounds of one kind or another and I only ever change them if I get a new bass or if I want to try a different string.

No strings get thrown away they just move between storage box and bass as and when I fancy it.
[/quote]
This.

[Mudpup]

[quote name='Mr Arkadin' timestamp='1423068692' post='2680310']


Is the make a trade secret or summat? Go on, you can tell us, no-one else will know.
[/quote]

Heres a cryptic clue -
Joey, Robert, Michael and William Motorbike
.....man and Lois
.....eyes, dead rabbit

[uncle psychosis]

About once a year or so, sooner if they start to feel minging or the intonation goes.

I'm a bit more careful about doing it more often (annually!) now after the one and only time I snapped a string at a gig. Those were really old strings. Probably a coincidence but I'm paranoid!

[gary mac]

[quote name='Mr Arkadin' timestamp='1423068692' post='2680310']
Is the make a trade secret or summat? Go on, you can tell us, no-one else will know.
[/quote]

[theyellowcar]

Roto rounds on my active P go for about 6 months without a change - still have plenty of zing even then, but I think that's more to do with the bass.

The Ernie Ball rounds that I use on the rest of my basses lose their sparkle after about a month, but I tend not to change them until 3 or 4 months in. Not for any reason, just when I feel like getting that 'new string sound' back.

[M@23]

I started using Fender flats about a year ago, and they still sound great on two P's. They took a good month to break in I reckon.

[stingrayPete1977]

I've gone from 3 months to 6 months and now probably a year with a battery swap at the same time. I use whatever my pro mate gives me that he gets off his bass tech mate, dean markleys currently, lol

[TimR]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1423080904' post='2680553']
I like the sound of dead Roto Steel Rounds, so as long as they hold tuning, they stay on my basses as long as possible. I keep tinkering around with flats, but I also prefer the feel of the Rotos under my fingers so Rotos it be.
[/quote]

I used Rotos for years but thought they died very quickly. I'd say three to six weeks before they lose all the top end piano type sound (zing?). I'd change them every three to six months as by then they'd sound completely dead.

I'm wondering if it is the pickups though.

I'm now playing an active bass with Bass Center Stadium Elites. I've no idea how long they've been on (maybe over three years) but they still sound fresh.


What do you guys mean by intonation going out? I've never noticed this effect.

.

Edited February 6, 2015 by TimR

[Nicko]

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1423215213' post='2682214']


What do you guys mean by intonation going out? I've never noticed this effect.

.
[/quote]

As far as I can tell if you get a lot of crap building up on your strings it affects the vibration of the string. So even if your scale length is correct when you fret the string the effective length of the sting appears to be altered - resulting in unwanted/atonal effect. Other than that damage to the winding at the fret or bridge will result in poor intonation.

[Adrenochrome]

Undamaged strings, cleaned properly and regularly, usually last for years and years with little change in performance.
I think many bass players like that new 'sproingy' sound, and also change them just cos they fancy a new set of strings rather than they NEED them.

[TimR]

[quote name='Nicko' timestamp='1423216248' post='2682230']


As far as I can tell if you get a lot of crap building up on your strings it affects the vibration of the string. So even if your scale length is correct when you fret the string the effective length of the sting appears to be altered - resulting in unwanted/atonal effect. Other than that damage to the winding at the fret or bridge will result in poor intonation.
[/quote]

Nice one. Thanks.

Once again this forum brings a new aspect to bass playing I had never considered.

I'll double check my intonation with a tuner but my ears seem to think it's fine.

[TimR]

[quote name='Adrenochrome' timestamp='1423217108' post='2682241']
...
I think many bass players like that new 'sproingy' sound,
...
[/quote]

Yes. Sproingy. That's a good onomatopoeia.

Exactly why I changed strings. In the end I think I could only hear the sproing when playing solo. Which happens very rarely. I might see if I can get a sproing FX pedal.

[JTUK]

There is a world of difference sound wise between a new string and a well played-in string.
So much so, that you would probably have to re-EQ, I am not saying one sound is
better than the other as that is for the individual, but a new string livelier and peakier
and a played-in string is more rounded.
I found that a Ag GS112 cab was fantastic with new strings but so very much less
to my tastes after a few days max. That was one reason why I moved the cabs on.

[discreet]

[quote name='Adrenochrome' timestamp='1423217108' post='2682241']
...bass players change them just cos they fancy a new set of strings rather than they NEED them.
[/quote]

That's why most of my strings get changed... well, you have to try 'em all, don't you?

[SpaceChick]

I've just been wiping my strings down (as you do).

My routine is a tea towel between the strings and fretboard to provide a barrier (far easier on my fretless!) then a quick wipe down with a cloth with white spirit on it. Then wipe down with a clean cloth. Then a whizz down the strings with some fast fret and then wipe it down again with the buffering cloth.

My strings on my fretted are at that stage now where there are going out if tune too easily and have lost their "sproinyness" (loving that word by the way!!), however, with a gig tomorrow and a gig next Sat I don't want to change them until after that, as I hate strings for the first week or so as they are too lively for my liking!!

[discreet]

[quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1423222784' post='2682347']
My routine is a tea towel between the strings...
[/quote]

Tsk! Typical girl bass player!

[karlfer]

[b]WHAT, YOU CAN CHANGE[/b] [b]STRINGS??? [/b]

[EliasMooseblaster]

Part of me thinks I'd probably change them more regularly if I could afford to (it is widely said that The Ox used to change them daily when touring, and he is my main source of inspiration, after all), and I've got a few packs of Roto Swing Bass Nickels waiting for when we go into the studio next month.

I've stopped bothering so much for gigs, partly for expense, partly because the only person that really notices the difference is me, and partly because I normally play a T-bird or an EB3 with Cherry White, and the darker, thicker sound of those big humbuckers tends to cover up the loss of "sproing" quite well. This is especially true when I'm playing through a shared bass amp that I'm not familiar with anyway!

My main conundrum is whether to get yet another fresh 8-string set for the studio, having only put new ones on last week. They ain't cheap, or easy to come by, and the 8-string's only going to be used on one song...but then we will be rehearsing quite a lot between now and mid-March, and I would rather like to give the little bugger a bit of a setup in the meantime.

[TimR]

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1423223447' post='2682361']
[b]WHAT, YOU CAN CHANGE[/b] [b]STRINGS??? [/b]
[/quote]

I did know that. But what's with the cleaning thing?

[FuNkShUi]

I havent changed my strings on my main bass in four years.
They are roundwounds.
But when gigging i'm in a motown band, so i like the sound and think it suits. YMMV and all that....

[stubass]

[quote name='Adrenochrome' timestamp='1423217108' post='2682241']
Undamaged strings, cleaned properly and regularly, usually last for years and years with little change in performance.
I think many bass players like that new 'sproingy' sound, and also change them just cos they fancy a new set of strings rather than they NEED them.
[/quote]

New favourite word, sproingy!

That's the sound I hate though! Chrome flats after around 8 weeks sound best to me. A clean every couple months and they just get better.

[KevB]

Still very pleased with these;
[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Coban-Guitars-DCG3-Bass-Guitar-4-Strings-45-105-Deluxe-Range-Great-ITEM-/161553961556?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item259d5dd254#ht_3977wt_1144"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Coban-Guitars-DCG3-Bass-Guitar-4-Strings-45-105-Deluxe-Range-Great-ITEM-/161553961556?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item259d5dd254#ht_3977wt_1144[/url]
If roundwound steels are your weapon of choice they are well worth investigating.

[paul_5]

I've just got 3 months out of a set of Thomann's basic £5 sets. I got a job lot to do some recording back in October (I likes 'em bright and punchy, but couldn't afford [i]named[/i] strings in that quantity) and they've performed admirably.

My right hand technique is REALLY heavy, so to still be playable after 12 weeks of that sort of pummelling is no mean feat.

[51m0n]

About every two gigs - which are rarely less than a month apart

Or directly before recording (you can eq out zing - but you cant eq out harmonic content, and I do like a bit of harmonic content)

Edited February 6, 2015 by 51m0n

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1423225530' post='2682406']


I did know that. But what's with the cleaning thing?
[/quote]

I prefer the DK Marlowe "shlappa dah shiit out of them" technique!