What's the best way to cut a bass string?

[Jamco]

Apologies if this has already been asked but what's the consensus regarding the best method to cut a bass string when changing strings?

[RickenBoogie]

A nice pair of diagonal wire cutters.

[Funky Hugh]

pliers always work for me!

[Nighthawk551]

I use wire cutters.

[MonetBass]

The cutters on my needlenosed pliers work great!

[iamchipsmith]

Carefully

[anon_6j591b0]

Slack the string off 1st....sorry if that's obvious but releasing the tension on the neck that fast creates a shock load that's not a good thing. I use a pair of small cheap Craftsman diagonal side cutters that I use only for cutting steel strings. Cutting strings dulls them fast so you never want to use someone's nice Klein cutters they have for cutting softer copper wire. I've made a couple of guys buy me new cutters after they used the wrong ones without asking.

[Der Bluten Kat]

Bass string cutters... should be available at your local music store.

[PrimusNut]

Originally Posted by OKStateBass66

The cutters on my needlenosed pliers work great!

+1 Pretty well any wire cutters will work fine.

[ThunderSix66]

wire cutters.

[Jimbob Jones]

Afer loosening the string almost completely, I cut it twice: once by the nut and once by the bridge. Then I haven't got a big sharp end flicking around my bass while I pull the remainder through the bridge, likewise when I remove the other end from the tuner. Then I collect the 8 little bits together (from the tuners and bridge) and bin them, then tie the four longer bits in a loop together and bin those aswell.

I use a pair of cheap long-nosed pliers that happen to have a pair of extremely good cutters on them.

[knuckle_head]

Taking 'em off or putting 'em on?

If putting them on, then I encourage you to put a 90 degree bend in the string between the cutting point and the full thickness of the string in case it is prone to unravelling.

Seems taking them off is well covered.....

[steve66]

Originally Posted by knuckle_head

Taking 'em off or putting 'em on?

If putting them on, then I encourage you to put a 90 degree bend in the string between the cutting point and the full thickness of the string in case it is prone to unravelling.

Seems taking them off is well covered.....

+1 prevents the roundwound wire from separating from the core when tuning and under tension

[FunkyFlashFive]

Originally Posted by Der Bluten Kat

Bass string cutters... should be available at your local music store.

where? i've never seen such a thing.

and if you don't mind winding for hours you could just leave them long and have lots of extra. i've done that before.

[Koki]

So muck talk about this. Just cut it!

[ergodynebass]

I have one of those planet waves peg winder and string cutter in one, great tool I recommend it.

[MudKricket]

sorry for the noobness of this question, but what do u mean to crimp the string? i know what it means but i dont get where to do it.

[mutedeity]

Originally Posted by FunkyFlashFive

where? i've never seen such a thing.

and if you don't mind winding for hours you could just leave them long and have lots of extra. i've done that before.

Having excess winding creates a lot of problems with tension especially when the strings are new. More than three turns around the machine is probably too much in most cases and will result in you having to retune your bass every 5 minutes. When you put new strings on you should stretch them in to make sure that any slack in the strings is removed, also. I also use a method I first saw Lee Sklar describe, which is to pull the string out at the 12th fret and let it slap back onto the fretboard. As far as cutting the strings, and I am assuming you mean cutting them to length when they are new, there are a lot of different winding/cutting devices out there. I think good old wire cutters are good enough. Personally I dont even bother with cutters. I just bend the strings back and forth until they break from metal fatigue. Maybe I should get some cutters though, it's more time efficient.

[Baird6869]

Originally Posted by OKStateBass66

The cutters on my needlenosed pliers work great!

+1. $2 pliers work great for me.

[allexcosta]

I use my hands...