There's no ZING in my strings.

[cheddatom]

[quote name='Eight' post='494395' date='May 21 2009, 04:02 PM']I've never been so insulted in all my life. [/quote]

Well, that's what happens when you're used to the whimpy insults from the lesser Newcastle (upon tyne).

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='alexharvay' post='494378' date='May 21 2009, 03:49 PM']I like Elites, I think quite a few people here use them. I usually change them once every 2-3 months depending on how many gigs I've played and how much practice I've done. I find they have a long life. I don't sweat that much so can't comment on the effects of sweat on string life. In the past I've used lots of different brands and found Elites to be the ones that work best for me. If you're looking for a place to bulk buy strings then Strings Direct is the place I would recommend. I'm sure there's plenty of other places online to buy from though.

I met a guy once who told me he boiled his string in oil (Engine oil, not vegetable oil) to clean them and imporve tone! Not sure if there was any truth to this. Apparently it works quite well on old bike chains as well.[/quote]

I read this and though WTF??

...and then I realised this is more related to the original post then any of our efforts!

[cheddatom]

Conclusion:

If you're normal, just change your strings every few months.

If you're abnormally disgustingly sweaty, fill a tube with meths and keep a set of strings in there to swap with another set every day or two.

[AM1]

[quote name='cheddatom' post='494417' date='May 21 2009, 04:22 PM']Conclusion:

If you're normal, just change your strings every few months.

If you're abnormally disgustingly sweaty, fill a tube with meths and keep a set of strings in there to swap with another set every day or two.[/quote]

No, no, no...you got that a touch mixed up. Let me assist you by correcting it:

If you're abnormally, disgustingly into jazz or play like a boring tw@t, with no energy, change your strings every few months.

If you're normal and play top quality, energetic, sweat-inducing music, fill a tube with beer, to cool you down and bulk buy lots of strings.

I'll get my coat!

[Eight]

[quote name='AM1' post='494687' date='May 21 2009, 09:45 PM']I'll get my coat! [/quote]
And a towel.

[SteveO]

I changed my strings once... I became paranoid and bought a 2 spare sets, one for the 4 and one for the 5. Thought i'd change them and keep the old ones in case of breakages.
Swapped out the 5 string, but never bothered with the 4. I still have the unopened packet in the gigbag... that was back in '95. Come to think of it, the 4 still has it's original strings, they must be 15 years old now.

Not sure what a set costs now, but this maybe a usefull tip to save on replacements... I have an amp with a trebble control on it. A quick clockwise tweak makes the sound lovely and zingy when needed

edit: Come to think of it, I usually end up soaked in beer at the end of a gig... I wonder if ale has string rejuvanating properties...

Edited May 21, 2009 by SteveO

[AM1]

[quote name='SteveO' post='494718' date='May 21 2009, 10:21 PM']I changed my strings once... I became paranoid and bought a 2 spare sets, one for the 4 and one for the 5. Thought i'd change them and keep the old ones in case of breakages.
Swapped out the 5 string, but never bothered with the 4. I still have the unopened packet in the gigbag... that was back in '95. Come to think of it, the 4 still has it's original strings, they must be 15 years old now.

Not sure what a set costs now, but this maybe a usefull tip to save on replacements... I have an amp with a trebble control on it. A quick clockwise tweak makes the sound lovely and zingy when needed [/quote]

Hiya - tried all that - no amount of tweaking will make blackened strings sound zingy, trust me!

Also, I am really not a fan of bass tones that are too trebly. I find a big difference between zing and treble!

I'd love to hear those 15 year old strings though!

[51m0n]

[quote name='SteveO' post='494718' date='May 21 2009, 10:21 PM']I changed my strings once... I became paranoid and bought a 2 spare sets, one for the 4 and one for the 5. Thought i'd change them and keep the old ones in case of breakages.
Swapped out the 5 string, but never bothered with the 4. I still have the unopened packet in the gigbag... that was back in '95. Come to think of it, the 4 still has it's original strings, they must be 15 years old now.

Not sure what a set costs now, but this maybe a usefull tip to save on replacements...[b] I have an amp with a trebble control on it[/b]. A quick clockwise tweak makes the sound lovely and zingy when needed

Come to think of it, I usually end up soaked in beer at the end of a gig... I wonder if ale has string rejuvanating properties...[/quote]

Errr epic fail matey.

New strings arent great because of trebleness, but because they have so much more harmonic content, old strings + treble is not the same at all!

[SteveO]

[quote name='51m0n' post='494722' date='May 21 2009, 11:25 PM']Errr epic fail matey.

New strings arent great because of trebleness, but because they have so much more harmonic content, old strings + treble is not the same at all![/quote]

lol. makes sense, maybe i'm missing out, but to be fair it was a sarcastic comment and really shouldn't be taken too seriously
One day I may try new strings and it may be a life changing experience, but I wouldn't hold your breath coz it'll probably only be when they come fitted to a spanking new bass, and sometimes I think i'm the only gasless bassist on here

[AM1]

[quote name='SteveO' post='494746' date='May 21 2009, 10:50 PM']lol. makes sense, maybe i'm missing out, but to be fair it was a sarcastic comment and really shouldn't be taken too seriously
One day I may try new strings and it may be a life changing experience, but I wouldn't hold your breath coz it'll probably only be when they come fitted to a spanking new bass, and sometimes I think i'm the only gasless bassist on here [/quote]

To be perfectly honest, I was being diplomatic in my reply to you.

Putting on a new set of strings more frequently that once every fifteen years isn't GAS...

I think in your case, it WOULD be a life changing experience if you put new strings on!

You don't realise how crap they really sound until you fit a new set.

Nothing worse than the tone from dead strings, it's so dull.

[pete.young]

[quote name='AM1' post='494687' date='May 21 2009, 09:45 PM']No, no, no...you got that a touch mixed up. Let me assist you by correcting it:

If you're abnormally, disgustingly into jazz or play like a boring tw@t, with no energy, change your strings every few months.

If you're normal and play top quality, energetic, sweat-inducing music, fill a tube with beer, to cool you down and bulk buy lots of strings.

I'll get my coat! [/quote]

You have a coat? That's not very punk rock.

[SteveO]

[quote name='AM1' post='494748' date='May 21 2009, 11:54 PM']To be perfectly honest, I was being diplomatic in my reply to you.

Putting on a new set of strings more frequently that once every fifteen years isn't GAS...

I think in your case, it WOULD be a life changing experience if you put new strings on!

You don't realise how crap they really sound until you fit a new set.

Nothing worse than the tone from dead strings, it's so dull.[/quote]


Maybe I should apologise, after all I am slightly drunk and I may have been winding you up a little bit. TBH I have played new strings a few times (all loaned basses except the one time when I changed my own) and I agree there is a marked difference in tone. Nice as it was I personaly don't feel it's worth changing every few weeks / months to keep it. I suppose I'm happy with the range of tones I have at my disposal (even with my old strings). Your prefered range of tones requires buying new strings every so often. Tough break there on the old bank balance but if you think it's worth it then who am I to pass judgement. I'll butt-out and let you get back to talking about tramps and whatnot.

[pete.young]

[quote name='AM1' post='494748' date='May 21 2009, 10:54 PM']You don't realise how crap they really sound until you fit a new set.

Nothing worse than the tone from dead strings, it's so dull.[/quote]

If it was good enough for Jamerson ...

If you use flatwounds, there's really no point in changing them.

[dlloyd]

[quote name='pete.young' post='494778' date='May 21 2009, 11:28 PM']If it was good enough for Jamerson ...

If you use flatwounds, there's really no point in changing them.[/quote]

Good enough for a lot of the greats.

[AM1]

[quote name='pete.young' post='494778' date='May 21 2009, 11:28 PM']If it was good enough for Jamerson ...

If you use flatwounds, there's really no point in changing them.[/quote]

I don't use flatwounds. I use 45-105 roundwounds.

By the way, Jamerson may have used "dead" flats but he also used a '62 P Bass, a tone monster in itself, as well as playing more like a double bassist with an extremely high action and using signal boosting for overdrive.

There's dead and there's blackened and black roundwounds do NOT sound good!

[dlloyd]

[quote name='AM1' post='494866' date='May 22 2009, 08:18 AM']I don't use flatwounds. I use 45-105 roundwounds.

By the way, Jamerson may have used "dead" flats but he also used a '62 P Bass, a tone monster in itself, as well as playing more like a double bassist with an extremely high action and using signal boosting for overdrive.

There's dead and there's blackened and black roundwounds do NOT sound good![/quote]

Bernard Edwards and Michael Henderson are two players who used rounds and rarely (if ever) changed them.

[harvey1-8]

[quote name='AM1' post='494687' date='May 21 2009, 09:45 PM']No, no, no...you got that a touch mixed up. Let me assist you by correcting it:

If you're abnormally, disgustingly into jazz or play like a boring tw@t, with no energy, change your strings every few months.

If you're normal and play top quality, energetic, sweat-inducing music, fill a tube with beer, to cool you down and bulk buy lots of strings.

I'll get my coat! [/quote]

Ha, I don't play jazz and I don't play like a boring twat but I can get away with changing every few months. But I get what you mean.

Maybe if you improved your cardiovascular endurance you may sweat less?

[AM1]

[quote name='alexharvay' post='494904' date='May 22 2009, 09:37 AM']Ha, I don't play jazz and I don't play like a boring twat but I can get away with changing every few months. But I get what you mean.

Maybe if you improved your cardiovascular endurance you may sweat less?[/quote]

I'm as fit as a fiddle mate, cardiovascular conditioning is THE single most important factor in deep diving.

Maybe if I jumped around like a loony less when playing, I'd sweat less! (Or played jazz)

I don't really think it is just sweat off my hands at practices/gigs is what is killing the strings so fast, I think it is also probably oil, plus the fact that I am pretty much glued to my bass most of my free time. In fact, any more and it will have to be surgically removed!

[cheddatom]

[quote name='AM1' post='494687' date='May 21 2009, 09:45 PM']No, no, no...you got that a touch mixed up. Let me assist you by correcting it:

If you're abnormally, disgustingly into jazz or play like a boring tw@t, with no energy, change your strings every few months.

If you're normal and play top quality, energetic, sweat-inducing music, fill a tube with beer, to cool you down and bulk buy lots of strings.

I'll get my coat! [/quote]

I play hard, and I sweat a lot, but not from my hands you weirdo!

[AM1]

[quote name='cheddatom' post='494909' date='May 22 2009, 09:50 AM']I play hard, and I sweat a lot, but not from my hands you weirdo![/quote]

Yeah exactly not from your hands, but I bet sweat drips onto the bass anyway, then when you play, your strings get slippery, you slippery weirdo!

[harvey1-8]

[quote name='AM1' post='494906' date='May 22 2009, 09:46 AM']I'm as fit as a fiddle mate, cardiovascular conditioning is THE single most important factor in deep diving.

Maybe if I jumped around like a loony less when playing, I'd sweat less! (Or played jazz)

I don't really think it is just sweat off my hands at practices/gigs is what is killing the strings so fast, I think it is also probably oil, plus the fact that I am pretty much glued to my bass most of my free time. In fact, any more and it will have to be surgically removed![/quote]

I don't know the first ting about diving so interesting to learn that cardiovascular conditioning plays such an important part in diving. I'm a good middle distance runner and I attribute my lack of sweat on stage to that.

I'm assuming you've tried several different makes of strings? Like I said, Elites work for me and I've found Ernie Ball, Rotosound and a few other stings just don't last as long under my fingers.

[AM1]

[quote name='alexharvay' post='494930' date='May 22 2009, 10:09 AM']I don't know the first ting about diving so interesting to learn that cardiovascular conditioning plays such an important part in diving. I'm a good middle distance runner and I attribute my lack of sweat on stage to that.

I'm assuming you've tried several different makes of strings? Like I said, Elites work for me and I've found Ernie Ball, Rotosound and a few other stings just don't last as long under my fingers.[/quote]

It's hugely important for diving. If you only do one form of cardio though you will hit a wall, the body needs to be shocked regularly, that's why it's better to also include swimming and cycling. Diving - yes probably most recreational divers using single tanks and only going to 40 metres max. can get away with being unfit and overweight (grossly so in many cases!), but it's a road to certain death on deep diving, particularly regards closed circuit and decompression. Poor cardiovascular conditioning impedes the lungs from exchanging gases, increasing the overall work of breathing (which in a closed loop can result in increased CO2, hypercapnia and death) and impedes effective decompression. Not to mention the difficulties in getting on and off a vessel in force 6 seas, carrying 70kgs+ of gear.

Sweating on stage - I defy anyone to play for an hour, playing constant fast 8ths (in fact more like 16ths a lot of the time) under hot lights, while also leaping around like a maniac, and not sweat You WILL sweat on a punk gig, no two ways about it!

I haven't tried that many makes of strings actually, (well not on my basses) it does seem to be Hi-Beams that always die quickly, but I did kill some D'Addarios fairly fast recently as well.

[BigBeefChief]

It's the leaping around. That's where you're going wrong. I try and stand as motionless as possible on stage. Like the Ox.

I usually gig in a t-shirt AND jumper. That's how cool I am. I'm the motherf***in' Iceman of bass!

[cheddatom]

[quote name='AM1' post='494913' date='May 22 2009, 09:54 AM']Yeah exactly not from your hands, but I bet sweat drips onto the bass anyway, then when you play, your strings get slippery, you slippery weirdo![/quote]

Well, not really, the sweat drips off my face and I would guess a few of those drops get onto the strings, but not a significant amount. I am always soaked through after gigs but my strings have never gone black or even got significantly dirty. Similarly when I play drums I sweat even more, so much that it feels like i've had an extremely sloppy turd in my pants, but I can still hold onto the sticks!!

[alexclaber]

There's no doubt that some people have sweat that kills strings a lot more quickly than others. Mine always last more than a year and I'm dripping by the end of a long gig. It's also tied in with the bass that they're on - some basses are just way brighter than others (acoustically) and thus sound better to most ears with well worn strings. That's partly the logic behind my RIM Custom 5 - wenge thru-neck and board and stainless steel frets gives a very bright acoustic tone, then the Q-Tuner pickups catch every last treble detail. Result = fantastic tone and very little time and money spent changing strings.

Alex