so how often do you change your strings?

[Vladpire]

As a somewhat new convert from the land of guitar, I am used to changing the strings of my instruments monthly. How often do you guys recommend someone change the strings on their bass? I play several hours a week at home practicing, and gig out about twice a month., also, what do you recommend for nice bright punchy slap tone as far as strings are concerned? I use Elixirs on all of my guitars, and just love'em. I like the older style poly web. anyone have experience with these on bass? pro's, con's??
thanks all

[Darkstrike]

I dont change em' once I've a good set on, but most of mine are set with flats.

[JeffreyG]

Approximatley never.

I used to use Dean Markley Blue Steels, but they die after a year or so. Since I've switched to D'adarrio's I'm going on about 3 years with no intention of swicthing (maybe I'll get to a point where they die as I am playing more now).

But I'm going for an old school sound - I don't like 'em bright. YMMV

If I played Guitar as much as I'm playing bass right now I would probably change them almost weekly.

[JeffreyG]

Oh and this belongs in the Strings forum - welcome to TalkBass

[BigSwami]

When I used Elixirs, I changed them about once a year. But now that I'm using flats, I'll probably change them only if I break one. These are grown-folks strings right here.

[Phalex]

Round wounds I like to change every 3 months or so with a gig schedule like yours. Flats are a different animal altogether. I'd say one a year, but lots of folks around here let them go until they break. It's that whole till they break thing that makes me change them annually. A busted bass string is darned inconvenient!

[embellisher]

Originally Posted by JeffreyG

Oh and this belongs in the Strings forum - welcome to TalkBass

+1

Moved.

Back when I was gigging a lot and going in to the studio pretty often, I would change my strings on my main players once a month. I play stainless roundwounds and prefer a bright tone.

Now that I am just playing 3 times a week at church, a set of strings lasts me for at least 6 months.

[burno70]

It all depends on what kind of tone you like really.

If you like that zing and roundedness you get with new strings then change them at least monthy as they begin to flatten out after a couple of weeks.

If you prefer a zingless sound then leave em on and change them when they break.

As you prefer a tone for slapping I would recommend roundwound strings, they are usually a lot more brighter than flatwounds.

There are loads of good strings for slapping - Rotosound, Ernie Balls are probably the mainstay or you can move up to the more pricier DR's or Thomastics, to name but a few.

Hope this helps.

[Rumblee]

I change mine every 6 months or so. Rotosounds sound very bright when brand new. I really like rotosound strings or thomastik-infield jazz rounds. They are both very similar.

[UPTHE1RON5]

i clean mine with methalated spirits (denatured alcohol) every week or two to keep them bright and zingy

[whitespike]

Maybe after a year or two, but only if one breaks. I'm gonna change them soon, but only to change my rounds to flats. After that, it could be seven years .... who knows?

And I clean mine with gig sweat, beer, and cigarette ashes. After all, it is rock and roll

[Pilgrim]

I play mostly flats, and once installed I've never changed a set. The set on one bass is more than 30 years old. I have the original rounds on my 2000 MIM Jazz.

I'm not a fan of bright bass strings, as you will no doubt have deduced.

[rakirksey]

I don't have a set time period to change strings, but on the fretless basses that I play I've noticed that older strings are a bit harder to intonate. So when I start notice that I'm having trouble keeping in tune, I'll just get a new set. That happens about once every 6 months, but I don't play that often.

[Supertanker]

When they start breaking.

Once a year, maybe...

[optikhog]

Kinda depends on the strings as well - Elixirs should keep the same tone for a good long while thanks to the coating, whereas a cheap set of Fenders may fade after a few weeks of your schedule. I have 2 sets of Cleartones and they're still zinging for me after almost a year.

I've recently come back to Ken Smith strings which seem to keep their tone on my schedule for about 2-3X as long as the DR's I was using for a while. YMMV.

[Jared Lash]

Every time we get a new president, whether it needs it or not, though those two term guys are hell on my tone.

Truthfully, it just depends. I really like strings during the period after they've broken in a bit but before they go dead. For some strings, this is just a matter of weeks. But DR Sunbeams break in quickly and stay in the zone I like for a long time. With them I'd say every six months or so, give or take.

That's with my primary two basses. The others keep their strings on for much longer.

[InuitThump]

I generally change strings about every three or four years, clocking in around 12 hours of play per week. I use Warwick Black Label round wounds, and I prefer the darker tone you get from aged strings. A friend used to play Elixers, but swore that the webbing pealed after six to eight months and flapped around on the string, distorting his sustain.
Another trick for keeping strings bright(ish) is boiling them, just like spagetti. You'll have to scrub the pot afterward, but it's a pretty effective way of livening up an old set for a brighter tone (be certain to thoroughly dry the strings afterward, rust is not your friend).

[Koki]

I like to do it once a month

[nsmar4211]

Tapewounds.......ummm.......havent done it in 2.5 years.
Flatwounds.......once in a year.
Roundwounds...... had to change after 3 months due to rust (salt air here).
Knew it was time to change when I couldn't slap and be happy with the tone and when I was having trouble with intonation staying put.

[Nino Valenti]

I change the strings when they start to sound dead. I use Stainless Steel round wounds 99% of the time and they can last a long time.

I've had some basses that had the same set of strings on it for months and still sounded very fresh and bright.