Help! I need to get rid of that new string sound!

[Jaswine85]

Well, the other day my A string broke. This makes me esp. mad because i like to keep my strings dead, and replacing the set would leave my bass all clangly and bright. While i find a write alot better with new strings, i have a gig coming up and would like to remove this clangyness. Ive been playing non stop for two days....and the sound stays. Gig is saturday. Anything i can do to the strings to deaden them up? Thanks

Jason

[FLOYDtheBARBER]

if you like a more "dead" sound- have you considered flatwounds? d'adarrio Chromes are great (i tell everyone to get those strings- i just adore them!)

[John K.]

Butter.

In Bass Player Magazine, it says that Ronnie Baker used to rub butter on his strings to get a sound like Jamerson.

Eat some potato chips and run your fingers up and down the strings.

YMMV, a lot...

[Trevorus]

eat a greasy burger and then play on that single replaced string.

[Jaswine85]

lol, butter, ill try it!

[Wrong Robot]

Yeah....pretty much any greasy food product will do it...I've heard of people marinating their strings in barbecue sauce...then before reapplying giving them a good wipe down, supposedly you can get some really awesome thunky sounds that way.

[Mike]

Originally posted by Wrong Robot
Yeah....pretty much any greasy food product will do it...I've heard of people marinating their strings in barbecue sauce...then before reapplying giving them a good wipe down, supposedly you can get some really awesome thunky sounds that way.

Why not a nice white wine sauce?

That's one of the wackiest things I've ever heard. I wonder what they would sound like in ketchup?

[Rick Rice]

I,m with FloydtheBarber about the D'addario Chrome flats , They have become my sound over the last year or so ,best strings I've tried to date ; and believe me I've tried more than few. The set on my P bass is coming up on about 10 months now and still very consistent , They may last forever

[Jaswine85]

Hey guys, thanks for all the help!

I took some left over shrimp fried rice, put a small amount in a pudding cup, put in a chunk of butter, and melted it down in the microwave. I then soaked a cloth in the butter/rice juice and rubbed it all over my strings (with a towel protecting the fretboard and pups, ofcourse). The result is that my strings sound absolutely the same as before i replaced them. Months of use in 5 minutes - very cool!

[5stringDNA]

A third nomination for the D'Addario chrome flats! Wonderful strings!

[moley]

Yeah, but with flats, they will still have that new string sound, for a bit.

[Chasarms]

Why do I always have to be the serious one?

Before you install a new string, grip the end very tightly by making a fist around the string.

Squeeze it very tightly and use the other hand to pull the string through the grip, thus working the dead skin from the palm of your hand into the windings.

If you run each string through this 4 or 5 times before putting it on, it takes quite a bit of the edge off.


Charles

[The Artist]

I was going to say play alot, or eat greasy food then play alot, but that has already been said.










...why did I even bother post that?

[jasonbraatz]

Originally posted by Jaswine85
Hey guys, thanks for all the help!

I took some left over shrimp fried rice, put a small amount in a pudding cup, put in a chunk of butter, and melted it down in the microwave. I then soaked a cloth in the butter/rice juice and rubbed it all over my strings (with a towel protecting the fretboard and pups, ofcourse). The result is that my strings sound absolutely the same as before i replaced them. Months of use in 5 minutes - very cool!

wow. i should really link this in the FAQ. not because it's frequently asked, but because it's just so darn cool

[John K.]

Hey, I actually just tried my butter suggestion, and holy cow, it worked! My strings have really lost a lot of that high end ping that irks me so

I wonder if butter and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter makes a difference?

[bassed dude]

Originally posted by John K.
I wonder if butter and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter makes a difference?

[Impulsee]

wait..do you just like..rub a stick of butter on the top of your trings...or do you take them off and get the butter all around and stuff

[John K.]

I took some left over shrimp fried rice, put a small amount in a pudding cup, put in a chunk of butter, and melted it down in the microwave. I then soaked a cloth in the butter/rice juice and rubbed it all over my strings (with a towel protecting the fretboard and pups, ofcourse). The result is that my strings sound absolutely the same as before i replaced them. Months of use in 5 minutes - very cool!

[43apples]

Actually, guys:

Jaco Pastorius used to eat Fried Chicken with his bare hands rigth before he was going on stage, so that his hands were all greasy. Believe it or not, but its true.

Personally, if i had the money, i would buy new Rotosound Swing bass strings everyday. I LOVE that crisp, piano like, beautiful sound for almost all the bass work i do. I wash my hands in extra strong soap before i pick up my bass, and never borrow the bass to people with dirty\greasy\sweaty hands.

But on the other side: For getting that James Jamerson sound, i just put black nylon strings on it, no biggie , then i dont need to marinate my roundwounds.

Cheers!
-Erlend

[kurosawa]

I routinely replace strings in broken-in sets (if there's something annoying about them, like the sound just doesn't fit with the rest of the set). Yeah, they sound a little different. Just play.