String life

[Kevin Dean]

Apart from coated strings , what makes some strings last longer than others , sweat & dead skin  must effect a any set of round wounds in the same way surely ? & would wearing a glove like Scott what his name  help ?

[spongebob]

I've got some D'addario NYXL's coming today. 

Can't report yet, but by all accounts they're billed as a longer lasting round. 

Going to stick them on a Geddy Jazz, looking forward to getting these on. 

[jposega]

Different alloys of metal react to different players sweat PH which can change depending on weather/climate/diet/etc, the amount of crud that comes off your hands, particles from the environment, how they were packaged, and whatnot.

[Delberthot]

In order to keep my strings fresher for longer I wash my hands before touching my bass, carry a microfibre cloth to wipe the bass and my hands and point a fan at my hands so that they don't sweat and stick to the strings which would inevitably cause skin particles to end up between the winds of the strings. I get around 9 or 10 wedding gigs out of a set before they get noticably dull.

My bass is also the last thing to come out at a gig and the first thing to get put away at the end of the night

Edited June 16, 2018 by Delberthot

[garyt]

Some strings sound super good out the bag, and rapidly decline.  Nowadays I use Ernie Ball Cobalts, they don't .  There is no wow factor on day 1, but they hold their tone and feel for a long time.   My current set have been on for 6 months and are due a change, but they still gigged on Friday no probs.   I will probably change them soon, but I gig about 2-3 times per month so that's not bad going.

Sweat and other crap is the real killer.  Definitely wash hands as much as possible and wipe strings regularly.  At a typical pub gig I'll wash my hands before start and during the break.  I reckon wiping strings with a clean cloth would probably be fine, but I do use Fast Fret.  Every string change I give my bass a thorough clean and polish with the strings off.   

If you have the luxury of a 2nd bass, practice on that at home to preserve string life on your main bass.  Use your main bass for rehearsals and gigs.

Keep your bass in its case as much as possible .   Leaving it out is a killer for dust. 

This may sound a bit silly, but lowering your expectations helps.  The top pros seem to have that zingy fresh strings sound all the time.   Unless you're loaded and getting paid top whack for gigs, you probably don't have that luxury.  

[Kevin Dean]

what about wearing a glove ?

[GisserD]

5 hours ago, Kevin Dean said:

what about wearing a glove ?

I don't think wearing a glove is practical for any other reason

[Skybone]

I always have a couple of silicon gel sachets in my case (you know, the ones that you find in the boxes of most electrical equipment you buy). They draw the moisture out of the air, so in theory at least, they'll keep your strings in reasonable condition when the bass is in it's case.

Stainless steel strings always last that bit longer as well as retaining their brightness.

[DiceSociety]

I always wash my hands before playing, and before I put my bass back in it's case, I apply a little methylated spirit to a cloth and quickly wipe the strings. Managed to get about a year of my last pack of NYXL's doing that.

[Hobbayne]

I,m not really that bothered. I cant be arsed to go through all that rigmarole just for the sake of the strings losing their brightness.

If they go dull I will just change them.

[Lozz196]

It is a strange one, and one I still can`t work out. For years I`ve used Rotosounds, but as I need that twangy/brightness you get from a fresh set of steel rounds I`ve found that Rotos although they sound great just die too quickly. So I`ve moved to Warwick Red Lables, and I get pretty much the same sound but at least twice the life/almost three times as much.

[T-Bay]

Same experience here, swapped from rotos to reds after a thread on here and finding the life much better and sound 95% as good.

[Kevin Dean]

6 hours ago, T-Bay said:

Same experience here, swapped from rotos to reds after a thread on here and finding the life much better and sound 95% as good.

I'm on my 2nd gig with them I agree .

[NJE]

I seem to have pretty bad body chemistry for strings and have tried a few brands to see what lasts and sounds good. I can only comment on Nickel strings though.

Elixirs have been my choice but if you aren’t after coated, probably the best two sets I can recommend are the D’Addario NYXL and the Dunlop Super Brights which did really well considering there is no claim they last longer than any other string.

Apart from that everything else I have tried just doesn’t last.

[discreet]

Wouldn't you need two gloves, anyway..? 

String life - or lack of it - isn't a consideration for me since I started using flats. Fit 'em and forget 'em, they just sound better and better the longer you leave them on. The only reason I change them is if I'm doing some work to a bass and end up damaging the strings through muppetry and/or banana-fingered oafishness. A set of well-broken in La Bellas is one of the finer things in life...

 

Edited June 18, 2018 by discreet

[Happy Jack]

I'm sorry, I just can't resist any longer.

Every time, EVERY time I see this topic title, I get the same result ...

 

[scrumpymike]

Thanks for that HJ - Roxy are right up my string.  Meanwhile, back on topic 😉 I never change my strings.  A bit like Jamerson - although that's where the similarity ends.   Mind you, I do change my basses quite often though.