How do I prevent stings losing their tone?

[RadioMasterDude]

yeah... i'm kind of a newbie so go easy... (been playing bass for a little more than a year, and im 14)

well, last christmas, i got a brand new fender squier jazz bass standard, with some nice fender 7250's with it, but after some time, the strings didn't have the same tone i liked when i bought it. so then, i got some DR lo-riders. they were great strings, nice for slapping, awesome tone, but around 2 or 3 months later, they lost their tone, and don't really sound the same

can you guys recommend me some stings that don't really lose their tone that easily and some ways to prevent this from happening? (i mostly play rock, jazz, metal funk & funk, i like that nice metallic sound for slapping)

[dezspet]

2-3 months sounds reasonable. I have to change the same DR low riders 3-4 weeks, but I have acid hands. BTW DR is one of the best strings in terms of lifetime.
What you can do is the following:
1. Use GHS fast fret. Use it before you play/practice and after, all the time.
2. You can clean/boil your used strings, in case of DR you can boil it at least two times. Here's the recipe: heat water in a vessel. When the water is boiling, wind and take the strings into it for 15 minutes. (Keep it boinling) In the meantime prepare the owen, heat it up to 200 degree Celsius. After 15 minutes of boiling the strings, take them out from the water (carefully, it's hot of course), pack them into one aluminium foil, take a fork, make some holes on the foil and put the whole package into the owen for another 15 minutes. After that carefully take it out from the owen, take out the string form the foil, take a piece of textile and wipe the "fur" off of each strings carefully. It's going to sound like new, though it will get old a little bit faster. That way you can use one set for at least 6 months I believe, unless you have weekly gigs or practise 3-4 hours per day.

[old-fashioned]

Use flatwound strings.

[David1234]

And don't have a greasy bass or have greasy hands when you play. Have very very clean hands and bass, and your hands will sweat less, meaning less opportunities for corrosion and for adhesion of bits of yours skin in between the wounds of the string.

[Psychotic_Hell]

+1 for DR. I have had mine on for about 6 months and am just about ready to switch them

[phatbass]

Wash your hands before playing; especially if you've just eaten anything greasy. Wipe the strings down, all the way along, top and underside, with a lint-free cloth every 20-30 minutes of playing, and also when finished.

Yeah, I know; I sound like yer mom.

[Mic Nuggette']

Wipe and Wash , Clean makes String's Sing! That's my motto!
Mic Nuggette'

[phall2112]

Originally Posted by phatbass

Wash your hands before playing; especially if you've just eaten anything greasy. Wipe the strings down, all the way along, top and underside, with a lint-free cloth every 20-30 minutes of playing, and also when finished.

Yeah, I know; I sound like yer mom.

+1

[markdavid]

Originally Posted by RadioMasterDude

yeah... i'm kind of a newbie so go easy... (been playing bass for a little more than a year, and im 14)

well, last christmas, i got a brand new fender squier jazz bass standard, with some nice fender 7250's with it, but after some time, the strings didn't have the same tone i liked when i bought it. so then, i got some DR lo-riders. they were great strings, nice for slapping, awesome tone, but around 2 or 3 months later, they lost their tone, and don't really sound the same

can you guys recommend me some stings that don't really lose their tone that easily and some ways to prevent this from happening? (i mostly play rock, jazz, metal funk & funk, i like that nice metallic sound for slapping)

Unfortunately , strings do lose their brightness after a while , 2-3 months is not too bad , ive got acid hands myself and a set of strings usually lasts me about 2 weeks before they go dead You can get coated strings that will last longer but they usually sound a little duller than standard roundwounds and are more expensive , I know some people wipe their strings with alchohol wipes after playing , this may be worth trying as well

[Knifedge]

I am lucky to get a couple of months out of a set of strings.. I do play quite a bit, and I play fairly hard, which means my hands can get sweaty. Truth is that all strings, no matter what they are made of, lose their "brand new twang" after a while of playing. Since I tend to go through a decent amount of strings, I buy D'Addario .045 - .130. THey are reasonably priced, and I get decent life out of them for the dollar.

[sleepy_monkey]

Never boiled my strings, but maybe it is time to try that method for some extra life.