Cheap Bass Strings

Lowner · #1 08-29-2005, 05:48 PM

We all know that bass strings are pretty expensive. Is there some place on the net that has them cheaper than what a guitar may sell them for?

JimmyM · #2 08-29-2005, 06:50 PM

Not that I've ever seen.

dave120 · #3 08-29-2005, 07:04 PM

The cheapest bass strings I've seen are Hartke ones for about $10. I think Musician's Friend brand also has some for that price too. They might be cheaper than some guitar strings, but still twice as expensive as the majority.

**cheezewiz** · #4 08-29-2005, 07:27 PM

Unfortunately, the Hartke strings sound almost as bad as Hartke amps.

Gecko 5 · #5 08-29-2005, 09:38 PM

I tried the Carvin stainless steel , and liked them .
I think a 5 string set was $12-13 plus shipping .

SuperDuck · #6 08-29-2005, 09:47 PM

Look for the D'Addario "Environmental" XL packs, which I believe are two sets of strings on one package. The XL's are pretty good sounding strings, and are pretty cheap to boot. Look them up on www.juststrings.com and see if buying them and having them shipped is cheaper than what you can find locally.

Also, if you want to go _really_ cheap, you can buy bulk strings from the same website, in packages of six. Then you can pick your specific gauges and make the sets you want. I didn't run the numbers, but you can probably make some pretty substantial savings that way. Check it out.

bassontherun · #7 08-29-2005, 09:56 PM

+1 on the Musician's Friend roundwounds. Under $10 and sound surprisingly good for the dough. I also keep an eye on the MF site for their sale stuff. Got my Fender tapewounds for $16. Lots of "under $20" choices there.

SuperDuck · #8 08-29-2005, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMASH

http://www.webstrings.com I've bought some, got great service, and like 'em fine enough especially for the price.

Yowza! $10 for a pair of strings, free shipping? Where have these guys been all my life?!

I think you just saved me a bunch of money.

mcbassdude · #9 08-29-2005, 10:25 PM

Carvin sells 5 string sets in nickel and steel at $12.99 a set. They are manufactured by D'Addario. The four string set's are cheaper. At that price you can always keep a fresh set on your axe. The best deal I know of and every now and then they actually go on sale. They're the only thing I ever buy at Carvin.

Sippy · #10 08-29-2005, 10:44 PM

what to you guys consider expensive? I get some nice Fender strings for about $16 and I love them.. Once they've been played for a week or two... I don't know if they do, but when I played guitar Elixers were the Shiznit (I think thats how you spell it.. perhaps shiznik?) anyway.. so if Elixer makes bass strings it's worth the extra dough!

seanm · #11 08-29-2005, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMASH

http://www.webstrings.com I've bought some, got great service, and like 'em fine enough especially for the price.

Hmmm... I notice they have flatwounds now. Last time I checked, they didn't.

And speaking of flatwounds, Lowner, flats cost more, but if you like the sound they last longer.

JimmyM · #12 08-29-2005, 10:52 PM

I used to whine about the high price of electric bass strings. Then I bought an upright. The gut strings on my upright are $160 and that's the cheapest gut set available. I don't complain about electric bass string prices anymore.

WesW · #13 08-30-2005, 06:37 AM

I used http://bassguitarstrings.us and had pretty good service and prices are good too.

YMMV

Sonic_Death · #14 08-30-2005, 03:04 PM

If anyone has bought from the webstrings.com site, and have tried the 5 string nickel or ss rounds, can you please tell me how you liked them, and if you had any complaints. Any brief description of how you thought they sounded compared to other strings would be great. I know the best thing to do is to try them for myself, but I was just wondering.

phxlbrmpf · #15 08-30-2005, 04:02 PM

What are Warwick Red Label strings like? They can be had pretty cheap -- over here, that is. 15 EUR for a 5 string set with a nice fat B string.

bgavin · #16 08-30-2005, 04:26 PM

Expensive is calculated in different ways:

1) Replacing $10 strings every 3 months
2) Replacing $50 strings every 5 years

Do the math.

I have been gigging a set of TI Jazz Flats on my MIM-P since 2000. I think I paid $43 to Dude (the importer) at that time. I broke a G string early on, and Dude sent me a replacment free of charge. Hard to beat that kind of customer service.

My TI Flats are neither dead, nor worn out. I will remove them from my P and install on my J-fretless because I want something different on the P.

mcbassdude · #17 08-30-2005, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bgavin

Expensive is calculated in different ways:

1) Replacing $10 strings every 3 months
2) Replacing $50 strings every 5 years

Do the math.

This doesn't work for everyone. My sweat is very acidic and rot's a set of strings after about 4 gig's (a gig being a night of 4 to 5, 45 minute sets). Must be all the chili's I eat

I've tried all the tricks but the only solution for me is to replace them often. I also dig in so the combo of my sweat and digging in just kills the strings. If I don't change them after 4 shows I run the risk of breaking one. I also prefer the sound of new strings to old ones, they tend to be more dynamic IMHO. So for me a $50.00 set of strings is just not in the equation.

i_got_a_mohawk · #18 08-30-2005, 06:35 PM

on ebay.co.uk i got dirt cheap no-name strings for £4.99, and it does the trick for the cheap bastard i am

Asaf · #19 08-31-2005, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

on ebay.co.uk i got dirt cheap no-name strings for £4.99, and it does the trick for the cheap bastard i am

oh man...i like the way you think.
i buy from mymusicstuff.com Rotosound Rotobass and they cost like 14$ a set...which is cool for a cheap bastard that wants some quality.
but because im cheap i really want to try the Vinci which sell for 10$ and the Webstrings...
...i like being a cheap bastard

BTW how would you describe the webstrings and\or vinci strings in sound ?

SMASH ! i got the pickguard and got it to fit my bass and it looks nice...very nice quality for the price.

addylewis · #20 08-31-2005, 03:39 AM

Don't slam me but... Encore strings are pretty good for a fiver a set, my mate gave me some old ones he'd bought to test a bass that ended up on his shed door (he's a bloody nutter - found out recently if was a vintage fender, grr!!! Not worth having now its been on there for 5 years...)

anyway yeah... - used em fo 2 years till one of them kinked, if anything they sounded as good or BETTER EVEN than my current Rotosounds