D'addarios holding tune

[JimmyM]

Hey, I want to know if any of you ever had trouble keeping D'addario XL's in tune. The reason I ask is because when I bought my 79 Precision, it had a set of fairly new GHS Boomers on it, and it stayed in perfect tune for days, even to and from a gig. Then I put the D'addarios on it, and now it slips out of tune slightly and I have to retune before a set is over.

I think I may have to try a set of GHS strings again and see if it stays in tune any better. I wonder if the lack of silk winding causes them to slip or something.

[caesarbass]

I've been using Daddarios for years, XL Nickel and Prosteels and I never have any problems with them going out of tune. Not sure what to tell you, maybe check to see is you have enough string around the tuning machine post. Good luck...

[PilbaraBass]

no problems, here...been using xl's for years...even on cheap basses...

[bassmangreg]

I have that problem with those strings also. I have to re-tune almost everytime after a few songs. It might be the bass but I use them on all of my basses. I use the EXL 170-5's. It's gets a little annoying sometimes. I still buy them though but I may go for something different soon.

[PilbaraBass]

I find these issues about the D'Addario strings going out of tune, amazing.

I give my bass a little tweek (never more than a few cents) when I first get to church and then I'm good to go.

Often, I'll pull out the bass and it won't even need a touch.

One issue with different strings, is that the truss rod may need a bit more tension to help compensate for extra string tension. But that all depends upon which strings you're moving between.

By the way I even have D'Addarios strung on a cheapo chinese p-bass copy, e-bay special ($65 US)...and it also keeps tune surprisingly well.

[SuperSnake2012]

I use D'Addario XLs (.50 - .110) on my '78 P, stays in tune very well. During 3 hour band practices, I only tune up at the very beginning; my bass will occasionally go out of tune (not drastically) after being transported.

[JimmyM]

Hmmm...well shoot...maybe it's just me and Greg. I stretch and stretch them, and I'm lucky to get an entire hour set in tune.

[Jeff Moote]

Yup, that's really weird. I've never had this trouble with any quality strings really, including the D'Addarios.

Is it just one set, or is this a regular thing? If you think it's a bad set, maybe you can send them back, but I guess if it's happening to all 4 it's probably more than a coincidence that you got a bunch of bad ones.

[SirCanealot]

Have you make sure they're strung properly and stretched out. When I took it to a shop last for a minor repair, I mentioned my E string kept going out of tune and he said "Who strung this? The E string is strung like a girl strung it. Did you only change the E string or something?" I said "Thanks..."

[JimmyM]

Ya, they're most definitely properly put on and stretched out.

[Silversorcerer]

I've used the D'addios for years on my Fender P. It got to be a joke with one of my bands when we were tuning up how consistently the bass statyed in tune;- with 3 or 4 3 hr. rehearsals per week and gigs. The strings were about 2 months old and the bass could go weeks with just a tweak here or there from transportation jostling.

A problem I had years ago with that bass was that the bridge saddles would sink as I played hard. By the end of a set I would have to get a screw driver and raise the saddles up. The E saddle would be so bad that the bass would be out of tune and rattling. I replaced the bridge and solved that. Make sure your nut is lubricated with graphite. Strings sticking in the nut when stretched can make it seem like a bass has tuning problems. Its worse with roundwounds than flats.

[tplyons]

Do you play with a heavy hand? My D'Addario's will stay in tune forever... I play lightly by the bridge. Major Metal knocked my Jazz out of tune rather easilly with his heavy hands.

[Tenma4]

I put D'addarios on my Schecter Elite 5 a couple of months back. They sounded awesome at first. I don't think I like the sound as well now, and I'm finding they require tweaking a bit more often than the Elixirs I've used for a few years. I'm undecided if I will go back to the Elixirs or not.

[PilbaraBass]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Ya, they're most definitely properly put on and stretched out.

jimmy,

I have no doubt that you know how to string a bass.

do all strings go out?

is it possibly you have a bad set?


it's just that I find the hole thing rather strange?

is the tension for the D'add's the same as your other set?


if it were just "slippage", the strings would eventually reach a point (and that would be rather soon) when they would stop slipping altogether.

[JimmyM]

Ya, I use the same size strings on all my basses. I don't know. It's nothing I can't live with, but it sure was nice to go from one place to another and see that my bass was still in tune.

[JimmyM]

Update...bought a set of GHS Boomers, .040-.095. Had to go to three stores to find them. They didn't stay in tune any better than the D'addarios, so since GHS are $4 more a set, it's a no-brainer.

But now I can't decide whether to bump down my gauges. For years I used .040-.095, and only switched 10 years ago because a bass I had just bought worked better with strings .045-.100. I like the lightness and the extra bendability, but I think I'm going to have to raise my action because of fretbuzz and fretting out when I bend too far, and that to me defeats the purpose of the light strings.

Eh, nobody cares and I'm just babbling

[CrazyArcher]

After the initial settling down, d'Addarios hold tune perfectly even on my old piece of plywood. There's a slight touch of a tuning peg here and there, but it's happens before anyone even notices that the A string is out of tune or something...