Hartke strings set of 5 for $14??? I'm sold on em

[DangerFlow_Nate]

Ive never been much of an equipment guy although Ive been playin bass on and off professionally for 20 years. Now.... if were rich and money wernt an issue I'd go through the effort to find my absolute favorite set of strings and have them changed about every 4 hours of playing. Since that isnt practical (it would be 50 dollar a week habit more or less). I have been using the least expensive bass strings I have ever encountered...they "hartke strings" which 4 me costs me with tax 15 bucks for a set of five. i have no idea why these strings are so much cheaper ...but...to me..they sound reasonable when I put them on ....and i am way more likely to change them more often just because of the price. Call me crazy ,but i would choose these $15 new hartke strings over any other set that has been played on for 4 hours or more. because i am changing strings more often I would bet that i'm getting a better sound for a larger percentage of the time than ur average bass player who is sure to pick a a certain high quality string but is not willing (or able 2)to change strings very often because of price. Can anyone feel me on this one? This is my first post ever here btw.

[stflbn]

I start liking most strings after 6 - 8 hours of playing. Before that I'm rolling off treble and merely tolerating the zing, ping and zip. But I'm not a dead dead string fanboy... I just don't care for 'fresh out of the envelope strings'.

You might also want to fill out your profile here at Talkbass. It helps people get an idea what your preferences in music and gear are.

By your preference for ultra brand spankin' new strings I'll assume you're either into Metal or Slap style bass.

[DangerFlow_Nate]

thanks 4 the advice in filling out my profile. I'll go ahead and do that. Yes I do do a fair amount of slapping but my style is mostly fingerstyle. My band is quite eclectic with its influences so I do play a wide variety of styles. Regardless of the style however I believe new strings are better...even with the deep reggae bass and low hip hop pedal tones I use. I feel u can always filter out the highs of the string with eq...u actually lose all the overtone possibilities when a string gets worn down limiting the richness of the string which cant properly be compensated 4 by eq. thanks again.

[fretlessguy]

I have read and heard folks trash them. But, the ones I got free and another set I bought sounded fine for what I was doing at the time. I now play folk music and prefer flats of different kinds, but have no qualms with using the Hartkes again if the need arises.

FG

[Meatrus]

Sounds good, but from what I have seen they only make Nickel strings, which is a bit of a bummer for me as I'm a steel man (you can call me that....please? lol).

They are £20 for two sets here, which isnt massively cheap, but still a very good price. Do you know who makes them? Are they there own brand or made by one of the more well known makers?

[jeremyr]

I've gone through 3 sets of hartke strings (got all 3 sets for $26) and they are AMAZING. I personally think that D'addario make them, but I really don't care because they sound and feel awesome. No to mention the buggers seems to last forever.

[chicago_mike]

I have a set of these. Im going to try them out finally.
These should fit a 35" 5 string right?

[DangerFlow_Nate]

Originally Posted by chicago_mike

I have a set of these. Im going to try them out finally.
These should fit a 35" 5 string right?

Yea..i got a music man 5 and theres a ton of string length left when i put em on

[DangerFlow_Nate]

Originally Posted by jeremyr

I've gone through 3 sets of hartke strings (got all 3 sets for $26) and they are AMAZING. I personally think that D'addario make them, but I really don't care because they sound and feel awesome. No to mention the buggers seems to last forever.

This begs the question...does anyone have the slightest idea why these strings are so much less expensive then all the rest? 3 sets for $26? thats like $9 a set! At $14 for one set of 5 these are around HALF the price of what I might expect to pay for the other name brands. Is it just that all the other string companies overcharge???

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by DangerFlow_Nate

I feel u can always filter out the highs of the string with eq...u actually lose all the overtone possibilities when a string gets worn down limiting the richness of the string which cant properly be compensated 4 by eq. thanks again.

The worn in string tone, is not just less highs, and can not be made by meerly rolling off your treble, you'll get something that's passable, but thats it.

I generally prefer broken in strings, I could easily buy a new pack of my favourite strings, for the bass I'm playing most, every week, but I don't, because thats not how I want them to sound.

[Cyber Soda]

Originally Posted by Darkstrike

The worn in string tone, is not just less highs, and can not be made by meerly rolling off your treble, you'll get something that's passable, but thats it.

I generally prefer broken in strings, I could easily buy a new pack of my favourite strings, for the bass I'm playing most, every week, but I don't, because thats not how I want them to sound.

And now comes the barbecue sauce!

[Darkstrike]

Thats not to say that there is anyting wrong with Hartke strings, I've not tried them, but if I did try them, and liked them, I wouldn't be changing them any more often than I do anyway.

[DangerFlow_Nate]

[quote=Darkstrike;8079705]The worn in string tone, is not just less highs, and can not be made by meerly rolling off your treble, you'll get something that's passable, but thats it.
QUOTE]

To an extent I agree with you....b4 recording I'll mak sure 2 play on a new set for at least a half hour(partly so there wont b intonation problems) but also so the natural sound is slightly (just slightly) less bright.
I'm no expert on what happens acoustically with new vs. worn in strings, but my understanding is that the fundamental (the first note of the overtone series) will more or less be the same volume with new and old strings. Now as u wear in strings, all the overtones above the fundamentall will gradually decrease in volume and with really worn in strings some of the overtones become so quiet compared to the fundamental that they almost might as well not be there, that's why very worn in strings sound dull. So that's what I mean when I say you control a lot of the brightness of a new string with eq...u actually have reasonable spectrum of frequencies to choose from to eq to your liking....where as with the worn down string u do not.

[cyclopathic]

I just put a set on and these things will make grown man cry.. they are just horrendous! anytime fingers touch them they sound like a techno spaceship landed on my 5er, and unfortunately Bart CB PUPs pick it all up.. I mean I am all for saving money but there's gotta be a limit somewhere

also B-string is too short for stringing through on 34" scale neck

[Chowowbus]

I have been using Hartke strings for about a year now for the same reasons as the op.
I change them out before every gig.
Out of 15 sets none have broken.
These strings are brighter than the EB hybrids I used to use.
I buy the 3 pack (HSB 445 3P Light) for 29.99 at my local shop.
10 bones per pack is a steal for these puppies!

[FunkMetalBass]

Originally Posted by DangerFlow_Nate

This begs the question...does anyone have the slightest idea why these strings are so much less expensive then all the rest? 3 sets for $26? thats like $9 a set! At $14 for one set of 5 these are around HALF the price of what I might expect to pay for the other name brands. Is it just that all the other string companies overcharge???

Just a sale. Elixir offers sales sometimes where you buy $100 worth of strings and you'll get another $60 worth of strings for free (not accurate, but similar to what I've seen from them).

It's the holidays, people are spending money, and Hatke/Samson likes to capitalize on holiday sales.

I got 10 sets of Hartke strings 4 years ago for Christmas because my father found this sale.

[mmbongo]

Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass

Just a sale. Elixir offers sales sometimes where you buy $100 worth of strings and you'll get another $60 worth of strings for free (not accurate, but similar to what I've seen from them).

It's the holidays, people are spending money, and Hatke/Samson likes to capitalize on holiday sales.

I got 10 sets of Hartke strings 4 years ago for Christmas because my father found this sale.

Actually that's the normal everyday price from anywhere. Not a sale.
http://www.samash.com/p/SB445%20Ligh...5105_-49976846

[Meatrus]

Originally Posted by mmbongo

Actually that's the normal everyday price from anywhere. Not a sale.
http://www.samash.com/p/SB445%20Ligh...5105_-49976846

Yep, added to the fact the OP wasnt in holiday season when first posted!

[rumblethump]

Before switching to flats, I used these strings. Got a free 5string set, bought several sets of light gauge strings for a bass that had a maxxed truss rod (siince fixed with a couple of washers added). I thought theses strings had a great all around sound for my style of playing which includes fingerstyle, thumb, muted pick, and a little slap.

[TimboZ]

I just picked up 3 sets of Medium 5 Strings on clearence at a store yesterday for $6.89 a set.