Godin A4 strings

[giacomars]

Hi to everybody,
I own a Godin A4 fretted acoustic bass, non-synth. I have it since two years, and I use the "ernieball bronze" strings on it. I really like the bright tone I have with this setup, but these kind of strings have two great problems. First of all, after 7-10 gigs it's hard to slide through the fretboard due to the oxidation (I guess) of the strings, and this makes my playing quite uncomfortable. Second, my hands become really dirty due to the same oxidation process.

I would like to ask you if you have some reccomandations for me, considering that I don't want a thick, upright-style tone but a bright, brilliant acoustic tone...for this reason I'm not so oriented to the flatwound strings.

Thank you very much,
Giacomo.

[Jay2U]

Ciao Giacomo,
Oxidation may be the cause. To prevent strings from oxidising, I would try a good cleaning after playing. A soft cloth could do the job. It's just to remove transpiration and skin particles. If a dry cloth doesn't work, you may like to try some alcohol, which sucks up water, grease and whatever is there. Apply alcohol with a cloth and remove it with another, dry cloth.
If your strings are already oxidised, you could try some good contact spray (PROTECT THE FRET-BOARD). Contact spray dissolves oxidation.

[giacomars]

Thanks J2U....!

I substituted my old Ernieball bronze strings (Which were in really bad conditions) with the Thomastik Acoustic Phosphor-Bronze. The sound is amazing, just what I was searching for...and I also bought a cleaning cloth and a contact spray in case the strings will oxidize soon (I hope not!!!).

Thank you again,
Giacomo.

[fretlessguy]

I would suggest flats, but since you want something with a little more zing, why don't you try the new Fender phosphor strings. They are less tensioned than the D'Addario ones, and are not quite as fingernoise prone as most phosphors. The price is right too.