Worn patch on new strings

[burning-beard]

Hello all,I'm fairly new to bass (about 3-4 months) so i'm not sure if this is a common problem or just bad strings.

I recently had my bass setup and re-strung at a local shop and after about 3 weeks of regular playing I have a worn patch at the third fret of my low E string.Wouldnt bother me but it feels like I'm sliding the string across sand paper whenever I bend there.There is also another one forming at the fourth fret of the same string.

Am I just over doing it with the bends?Or are the strings I'm using no good?The strings are D'Addario EXL165 XLs by the way.Thanks

[Your41Plague12]

Sounds to me like that's just a spot that you have your hand at a lot. The only things I can suggest to prevent this in the future are wiping down your fretboard when you're done playing and washing your hands before you play.

[Sundogue]

Nothing you can do about it really. It is what it is, and what it is, is no big deal.

Hey, it's metal rubbing against metal. Something has to give. I'd rather have my strings wear than my frets. Replacing a set of strings down the road is less costly than a fret job.

If you play a fretted instrument, strings are going to have wear marks. If it ain't affecting your tone or tuning, don't worry about it.

I put an old set on a different bass and I noticed marks all over the strings from the frets...and they weren't where the new bass's frets were, which is how I even noticed it. They still sounded great.

Don't sweat it and don't let it affect your playing!!!

[bassistgook]

Sounds like you will need a fret job soon. I'd suggest trying strings with a pure nickle wrap because they will be a lot easier on your frets. Are you digging down as hard as you can when doing slides or vibratos? If so that could be the cause. Try using a lighter touch. My guitarsit digs down really hard all the time and flattened out a lot of his frets and it's now causing intonation issues.

[burning-beard]

Thanks for the help guys .After reading your replies I watched what I was doing while practicing last night and you were all spot on it seems.I favor that area of the neck and have a bit of a death grip when playing more aggressivly.

Was just a little surprised that it wore out so fast since the strings that were on it before had little to no wear at all after two months or so of playing.

Maybe I'm just playing more than i think because I have so much more fun learning to play bass than I did with guitar.I've always been a bass kinda guy though