Bass Strings keep dying, Help Please!!!!

[cjbassguy]

I play a 2000 Fender P bass MIM, and it plays great, its got SD basslines and a new badassII bass bridge on the way.

I have never had a set of strings last me for very long, and im getting pissed. I have tried switching string types and
all kinds of other methods.

I began washing my hands before i play everytime and that made the strings last a little longer, but not much. So
i don't think its because of the oil in my hands.

these strings that last "forever" are not lasting very long at all. I don't want coated strings at all either so no recommendations on those
please.

could it be something with the bass. I have been cleaning the neck too with bass neck cleaner and all kinds of other things to narrow
down the problem. its so frustrating and im getting no life out of these strings.

Nickle has lasted longer than stainless steel i have noticed, anyone no why?

could it be the bridge or the neck or something breaking the core. I know how to put my own strings on but i have had
dealers put them on for me too and i used a pair of strings once that lasted 1 day and were dead as a doorknob the next.

Im getting pissed, so any help would be great

thanks

[~tl]

Out of interest, what brands of strings have you been using?

[crez5150]

You don't state how long you expect them to last..... also what are you expecting to get out of a set of strings..... As a gauge, if I put new string s on my bass then play a gig Saturday and a gig Sunday (Approx 3 hours per gig) I will then put a new set on for the next gig..... I like my strings bright so this is key.... if you aren't after a brighter sound then they would probably last longer.

[OutToPlayJazz]

As crez5150 says, if you're playing a lot & you like the bright and zingy sound, you're going to need to change them more regularly. A lot of it is a trick on the ear as well. My small amp (Roland BassCube 100) has no hf horn so strings sound automatically duller, whereas my MarkBass rig has twin hf horn units so even when the strings are past their best, you still get a great top end sound. On average I tend to change mine after every 2-3 gigs, same as Jay.

Rich.

[Jase]

Do you smoke, sweaty hands? Leave your bass out of it's case for days? As mentioned, depends what tone you like using, Bright=change regularly Dead, bass, boomy=change not so regular

[mrjim]

one of my strings just broke this morning... after 19 months - i dont change mine until they break (like james jamerson!)

i dont know how you can afford to change strings so often...

Edited January 2, 2009 by mrjim

[Basszilla]

I used to change mine way too often, but recently i've stopped as I found I prefer the sound when they're well played in.

Always used Rotos, never had an issue.

DRs are pretty good as well IME with regards to string life.

[Adrenochrome]

Are you sure the strings are really 'dead'? Sounds fishy to me.

[cjbassguy]

thanks for all the replies.

i don't smoke and im using 45 to 105 guage.

nickle strings seem to last longer

i don't sweat hardly at all

the thing is i could be playing and they sound bright and amazing(yes i like that sound) but i know when
strings are dead and when they are broken in. I don't pluck hard when i slap, i slap just like marcus miller if you can get a
picture of the way he places his hand and doesn't do it hard at all.

i had a new set from the 18th to the 28th, and i was playing and they sounded just fine, bright and great.
i put the bass down for a second and i went downstairs for a second. came up to my room again and the E was so dead.
then the A and so on shortly after.

if this narrows anything down please reply

[cjbassguy]

also, when i boil my strings they seem to last much longer than they do when i take them out of
the package new. i have been using DR Hibeams recently. sound great but last no more than ten days
for me. I practice everyday but i don't gig right now.

and guys, im not changing the strings often, i just have to deal with a dull sound for about 4 months and
then ill change, but it would be nice if i didn't have to

[Bay Splayer]

[quote name='cjbassguy' post='368667' date='Jan 2 2009, 06:04 PM']also, when i boil my strings they seem to last much longer than they do when i take them out of
the package new. i have been using DR Hibeams recently. sound great but last no more than ten days
for me. I practice everyday but i don't gig right now.

and guys, im not changing the strings often, i just have to deal with a dull sound for about 4 months and
then ill change, but it would be nice if i didn't have to [/quote]


dont boil

try this

[url="http://www.tunemybass.com/strings/how_to_clean_bass_strings.html"]http://www.tunemybass.com/strings/how_to_c...ss_strings.html[/url]

denatured alcohol is what we call methylated spirits

[martthebass]

I find with me it depends on the bass.

On my old MIM jazz (now long departed) I found the strings (Rotos) lost their edge after about 3 gigs (c. 7hours play time). Fortunately I like 'played in' so I left them this way for 6 - 12months before changing.
On my Ray4 - I rarely change, I just dial in some treble/mid if the zing ain't there. I only change when there is obvious wear in the strings above the 'most common' fret positions. Here the natural 'zingyness' of the bass coupled with active electronics helps the cause.
My P bass has very old strings - I haven't changed them since I got it from Old Horse well over a year ago so god knows how old they are. I use this for mainly rock n roll and 60's stuff so dull as dishwater suits well.

I generally found that Rotos were pretty crap at holding the new sound tho some people tell me they are now much better in this respect. I've found EB Slinkies to hold the new sound for longer.

[Delberthot]

I bought Rotosounds in an emergency from my local music store when i broke one and had a gig the same night.

Hogmanay was the 3rd gig I had done with them and they were as dead as a very dead thing so I'll need to change them. Not dead as in lost their zing, dead as in as if they had been on a bass that had been left in a pub for 20 years or alternatively all the basses at the school I used to go to.

I thought I'd try them to see how I'd get on but I'm going to go back to my Optima strings - they normally last me over a year so work out cheaper even though they are more expensive.

Coated strings sound dead to me even when they are brand new- Elixirs and DRs.

Your nickel strings will seem to last longer as they aren't as bright to begin with so the difference seems less than with steel.

[cjbassguy]

how about rooms and room temperature?

dust and stuff?

i put my bass on a stand and only in my case when i need to
take it somewhere.

[Delberthot]

If you leave your bass out, the strings will die a lot quicker than if you keep it in its case.

Mine only come out at the gig and the first things I pack away again.

[ardi100]

[quote name='mrjim' post='368396' date='Jan 2 2009, 12:42 PM']i dont know how you can afford to change strings so often...[/quote]


[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_red_label_045.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_red_label_045.htm[/url]

Used to be £6 before the pound dropped!!

I like them 'semi' played in, so I'll chuck a set on 2 rehearsals before a gig and then it's right for a couple of shows.

Edited January 3, 2009 by ardi100

[Musky]

Tricky one. You've pretty much ruled out all the likely causes so I'd hazard a guess that the problem is one of perception.

The piano like zing on new SS strings doesn't last very long before it goes. As Delberthot says nickel strings don't have as much zing when new and the same is true of boiled strings, so your starting point is less bright. If you really like that as new zing to the strings you're just going to get used to splashing out regularly. An alternative might be to try the piano string design Rotosound do, which are incredibly zingy. I used to use them and found they were almost too zingy when new, but they settled down to something more like other new strings with a bit of use. They still die eventually of course, but I found I got more useable life out of them. Not easy to find, but maybe others could suggest other naturally bright strings.

[cjbassguy]

thanks for all the replies everyone. been really helpful to narrow down the problem

[Machines]

[quote name='cjbassguy' post='368661' date='Jan 2 2009, 05:58 PM']i had a new set from the 18th to the 28th, and i was playing and they sounded just fine, bright and great.
i put the bass down for a second and i went downstairs for a second. came up to my room again and the E was so dead.
then the A and so on shortly after.[/quote]

Unless you came back with your hands covered in lard I don't know how this possible.

[mybass]

[quote name='cjbassguy' post='368661' date='Jan 2 2009, 05:58 PM']thanks for all the replies.

i don't smoke and im using 45 to 105 guage.

nickle strings seem to last longer

i don't sweat hardly at all

the thing is i could be playing and they sound bright and amazing(yes i like that sound) but i know when
strings are dead and when they are broken in. I don't pluck hard when i slap, i slap just like marcus miller if you can get a
picture of the way he places his hand and doesn't do it hard at all.

i had a new set from the 18th to the 28th, and i was playing and they sounded just fine, bright and great.
i put the bass down for a second and i went downstairs for a second. came up to my room again and the E was so dead.
then the A and so on shortly after.

if this narrows anything down please reply[/quote]
Looks like we are all baffled here!
If you could reach the N.E. Hants area I'd invite you over to try and help as you are getting real frustrated about this and it may well be a technical problem with the bass itself. Putting it down for a minute and then finding the E string is dead sounds more technical than a string going off in such a short time.
I have sometimes used this method in gigging situations: slacken OFF the string so you can raise it a couple of inches higher than when tuned, then pulling it a' la slap style half a dozen times, then retuning the string to pitch can give it a gigs worth of life.

I have been using "Galli" bass strings 45-105 nickel wound for a few years now. Italian made and on my fretless, have been lasting me a good 25/30 gigs. I could not believe the sales patter at first about these strings lasting so long but they do. I always dry wipe the strings as soon as possible after the gig. All strings are a personal choice though and these rank high against my old faves, D'Addario However.............
As an addition to the reply about using alcohol/meths:
I used to clean strings with surgical spirits (bought from any chemist). I used this a while when I had a difficulty with D'Addario Half Wound strings. They were sounding dead within minutes of tuning them up. The surgical spirits cleaned out a huge amount of very fine residual filings, almost certainly the effect of "half ground" strings. I complained to D'Addario and sent strings back to them in the States as proof. Although they replaced strings they wouldn't respond about any problems but I would reckon they literally cleaned their act up.

[Alun]

Out of interest, are you playing unamplified or into an amp?

I've never experienced a string going from fine to dead in a few minutes, and am just wondering if it might be something to do with the bass itself?

Cheers
Alun

[cjbassguy]

yea that is my biggest worry, i have had a set go dead in one day. isn't that rediculous. should i take it to a dealer

[Alun]

Do you always play plugged in or are they noticably dead unplugged too?

[cjbassguy]

if it is a techinical problem what could it be guys?

[cjbassguy]

the problem is that they fine one minute and noticeably dead the next, thats not right