What do you do when trying new strings?

[KingRazor]

So, I actually want to try a lot of different kinds of strings on my bass so I can figure out exactly what I want. But, I like to wait until my strings are old and dead before I get a new set, feels like a waste of money if I get a new set before I've really gotten all I can out of the old set. Another thing is that I like to take my bass into the shop whenever I get new strings, so they can set the intonation and all that, fix any neck or bridge problems, etc.

But I'm curious as to what you guys do when it comes to trying new strings. Do you wait until their dead? Wait until their "broken in" for a while? Wait until you can take it to the shop? Or don't wait at all? (I assume you wouldn't wait if you found a set that you just couldn't stand)

[millsbass5]

Well,it depends.....

SUGGESTION:

So,you haven't decided on what type of string yet,huh?? Buy some 'rounds,'grounds (Nickel,Stainless),flats,tapewounds,etc. But first,look over some reviews,pick the highest-rated,most reputable brands,and go from there.

BTW,Carvin makes a most excellent string. Carvin has "birdy" prices.....Cheap-cheap!!!

[spaz21387]

check out ernie balls. for fender j basses and p basses they are perfect for me. I have tryed just about every string out there. elixers were wierd they felt slimy. ghs werent bad. rotosounds went dead after 3 days. their flats were great though. d addarios sounded good when new but when they mellowed out i didnt like the tone. dean markley bluesteels sounded great but had a cheese grater effect on my fingers. (and at the time i was playing for like 8 years so i had thick calluses built up.) ernie balls were the end of my search for perfect strings when it comes to rounds. flats i prefer d addario chromes.

[KingRazor]

I'm not asking for recommendations on brands. I'm asking about the process of trying different brands, gauge sizes, and winding types (round, ground, pressure, flat, etc). I've tried both Elixer and D'addario steels and haven't been upset with either one. I'm gonna try some different gauges and eventually some different brands, but I'll stick with D'addario until I find the right gauge at least.

[Krucial]

I think its all about finding the right combination string-bass-sound you dig.

So when I change the strings I cut them as long as possible, so I can put them on a bass with different headstock after (I now have 6 sets of semi used strings in my rotation poul).
I think that when you change strings you allways have to check the setup!
Since I play in D-tuning I always have thick strings and since I didn't like the tapered strings, the changes in setup were little, but never the less: check it.

I found some realy great combinations:

My Tobias Standard 4 sounds excelent on dubstyle reggae with relatively old nikkel rounds. (If the sound you dig comes from a bass with old stings it's is very good to have a set of old stings in your "string poul")

My old rusty Aria Pro II XRJ, wich I never used anymore, suddenly sounded good when I put Chromes on it. I play some palm muting syle reggae and even rock with it. It still doesn't have a great sub, but it does sound balenced, something I never heard of it before.

[Bongolation]

#1 question: Do they fit properly?

A disgusting amount of the time, they don't.

[PluckyThump]

If you want to get into trying different strings then you need to start doing your own setups. It costs too much to pay someone else to set it up every string change. There is lots of information on setups out there on the web.

As for deciding what to try, do your homework before buying. Strings are a very personal thing. Know what kind of tone you want out of the bass. For me guage preference depends on the string; some strings have more tension than others. I get the higher-tension strings in a lighter guage, and vice-versa. There is lots of information and reviews available here at TB and other forums and Juststrings.com has reviews too. Juststrings has a nice feature that allows you to save your favorite strings, which makes it easy to keep track of what you like and what you want to try out.

When do I change strings? If I really like them they stay on until they start to die, which for me is 6-12 months for roundwounds. If I don't like them, they come off as soon as I have another set on hand.

[Meatrus]

+1 on the learning setup, its pretty essential IMO.

I have tried loads of strings, my method of testing is as follows. Regardless of if I like them or not I play until they are broken in. Then if I like the broken in sound and the new sound, but still want to try others I may make a recording for future use to compare to others.

I normally keep them on anyway unless I hate them (which I only ever have one set) until they are quite dead, usually about 3-4 months. Then on to the next!

There arent really so many brands that your going to run out of time, and its rare to find one (for me) that I hate, so dont mind having something different on each 4 months. So far my winner is still Rotosounds 66, which I'm probably going back to soon after all this experimentation.

[KingRazor]

I don't plan on trying very many brands, I want it to be easy to walk into any music shop and buy strings. So I'm probably going to look at the big brand names. Sure, there might be some off brand that I could order that will look/sound better to me, but I need to be able to get a hold of them.

[PluckyThump]

Originally Posted by KingRazor

I don't plan on trying very many brands, I want it to be easy to walk into any music shop and buy strings. So I'm probably going to look at the big brand names. Sure, there might be some off brand that I could order that will look/sound better to me, but I need to be able to get a hold of them.

You can get a hold of just about anything online:

http://www.juststrings.com/electricbassguitar.html

http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/bagust.html#top

[KingRazor]

Originally Posted by PluckyThump

You can get a hold of just about anything online:

http://www.juststrings.com/electricbassguitar.html

http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/bagust.html#top

Crap, now I'm gonna feel obligated to try every brand!

jk this just means I need to start reading reviews.

Also, I'm pretty sure I can get most brands of strings at my local shop, they just order them for me. Don't have to pay shipping and the markup is less than shipping costs would be for strings ordered online.

[KingRazor]

I bought a new B string for my 5er. I'm going to replace all the strings pretty soon, but I wanted a lighter gauge B, so I went ahead and replaced it separately (I'm getting a heavier gauge on the rest).

It was good to hear the comparison between a new string and an old string of the same type and brand. Turns out I really like "broken-in" strings, new strings are too bright.

Also, this was actually the first time I've put a string on a bass (I know, kind of sad when you've owned one for over a year). I had no idea how easy it was. That being said, I still think my bass could really use a setup. But I don't think I'll have the shop restring my bass anymore, I'll do the restring myself and then have them set it up. Believe that' s cheaper.

Also, unless I keep up my "play the strings till they die" thing going, I'm not gonna get the bass setup every time I restring, but I still want to get it setup twice a year or so.

[knuckle_head]

Try this - go to JustStrings and buy single E strings of as many brands as you are curious about. Put nothing but E strings all across the bass and listen to the difference between brands.

By far the best way I was able to test out B strings, but E strings are common to 4s AND 5s.

Best way I know to do a head-to-head as you don't have to remember what it sounded like a set or two back.

[KingRazor]

Originally Posted by knuckle_head

Try this - go to JustStrings and buy single E strings of as many brands as you are curious about. Put nothing but E strings all across the bass and listen to the difference between brands.

By far the best way I was able to test out B strings, but E strings are common to 4s AND 5s.

Best way I know to do a head-to-head as you don't have to remember what it sounded like a set or two back.

See, it's this kind of thing that is why I asked this question in the first place. I wouldn't have ever thought of that.

Thanks for the advice! This should cut down the time it would take to compare brands by a lot.

[Meatrus]

Originally Posted by knuckle_head

Try this - go to JustStrings and buy single E strings of as many brands as you are curious about. Put nothing but E strings all across the bass and listen to the difference between brands.

By far the best way I was able to test out B strings, but E strings are common to 4s AND 5s.

Best way I know to do a head-to-head as you don't have to remember what it sounded like a set or two back.

I really dont want to sound like I'm arguing, just a question: how would doing this lead to an understanding of tone across the strings, or feel across the range either? I personally would think I may need a full set to judge, but I'm not a string wizzard like you .

[Jaco who?]

Originally Posted by Meatrus

I really dont want to sound like I'm arguing, just a question: how would doing this lead to an understanding of tone across the strings, or feel across the range either? I personally would think I may need a full set to judge, but I'm not a string wizzard like you .

Yup. I won't even get into how all those .100, .105 E strings are supposed to fit in the nut slots filed for .065 and .045 D and G strings. But I'm not arguing either.

[Thunderthumbs73]

Originally Posted by KingRazor

So, I actually want to try a lot of different kinds of strings on my bass so I can figure out exactly what I want. But, I like to wait until my strings are old and dead before I get a new set, feels like a waste of money if I get a new set before I've really gotten all I can out of the old set. Another thing is that I like to take my bass into the shop whenever I get new strings, so they can set the intonation and all that, fix any neck or bridge problems, etc.

But I'm curious as to what you guys do when it comes to trying new strings. Do you wait until their dead? Wait until their "broken in" for a while? Wait until you can take it to the shop? Or don't wait at all? (I assume you wouldn't wait if you found a set that you just couldn't stand)

I buy a new set every 3-5 years. Most of the time, I want a bright zingy sound, so I'll boil the strings right before a gig to get the zing back to get me through the gig. And then they'll eventually get thumpy again. I simply can't afford the cost to keep all my basses strung all the time with the most brand-new spanky, zingy strings. And even if I had the money, I don't have the time to keep up that kind of maintenance schedule.

I generally don't "try" new strings in the common sense of the term. Unless they're absolutely terrible (for one reason or another), most strings end up staying on/staying with a bass for years. For me, there is not much "try". It's mostly, use.

[motionkid]

Slap 'em on and pray they sound good... otherwise I just deal with them until I get what I like again...

[knuckle_head]

Sooo.... how's your memory?

The only way to do an actual side by side comparison is to.... do it side by side.

Say what you will about swapping out multiple entire sets, you run on memory the moment those strings leave the bass.

I go for tonality first, and define and refine once I like what I hear. I realize there are other ways...

[KingRazor]

I don't play any gigs, and I have plenty of time to try new things to figure out what I want. Strings have too much of an impact on an instrument's tone for me not to take the time to figure out what I like and what I don't.

Once I know what strings and electronics I want, I'll worry about other things like the type of wood the bass is made of.