Dominant question . . . String fatique?

[cole-emma]

I've been on Dominants for 1 year now. Love the sound and feel. I'm on my 2nd set.

set-up . . . GDA dominant with a spiro E


Has anyone else noticed the following . . . ?

Over the course of a 3 or 4 set gig, I seem to notice that the strings are not as articulate and somewhat, um, "dull" , by the end of the engagement. The bass sounds and feels great right out of the bag, but after a couple hours of play, I notice the feel is spongier and the sound less focused and less mid. I continually notice this as the night goes on, but then I play the bass again later and it seems fine. I keep talking myself into believing that this is not occuring. I can no longer deny that this occuring and would like to know if anyone else has noticed this and if this is common with sythetice core strings?

Maybe it is not the strings . . . but then what? I've noticed this amplified and acoustically?

Thanks,
Lou

[greitzer]

Originally Posted by cole-emma

I've been on Dominants for 1 year now. Love the sound and feel. I'm on my 2nd set.

set-up . . . GDA dominant with a spiro E


Has anyone else noticed the following . . . ?

Over the course of a 3 or 4 set gig, I seem to notice that the strings are not as articulate and somewhat, um, "dull" , by the end of the engagement.

Lou, I didn't notice this when I was using Dominants, but they did go "dull" -- as in "dead" -- after six months. So if yours have lasted a year, you're getting a lot more out of them than I did.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by cole-emma

I've been on Dominants for 1 year now. Love the sound and feel. I'm on my 2nd set.

set-up . . . GDA dominant with a spiro E


Has anyone else noticed the following . . . ?

Over the course of a 3 or 4 set gig, I seem to notice that the strings are not as articulate and somewhat, um, "dull" , by the end of the engagement. The bass sounds and feels great right out of the bag, but after a couple hours of play, I notice the feel is spongier and the sound less focused and less mid. I continually notice this as the night goes on, but then I play the bass again later and it seems fine. I keep talking myself into believing that this is not occuring. I can no longer deny that this occuring and would like to know if anyone else has noticed this and if this is common with sythetice core strings?

Maybe it is not the strings . . . but then what? I've noticed this amplified and acoustically?

Thanks,
Lou

I never noticed this with my Doms. In addition, I can't imagine what would make them go dead and then "heal" themselves. I suppose if one thought they were heating up and then cooling off, then that would be an explanation but it's difficult to believe that's the case. I can certainly understand their going dead from use (e.g., stretching, etc.) but not how they'd come back to life. Perhaps others more knowledgeable about such matters will chime in.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

IME, a lot of how long strings last has to do with the type of skin the person playing them has. As a dry skinned person, the upside is that strings last forever (the downside is nasty, flaky, itchy skin). People with oily skin tend to "kill" strings a lot more quickly (with the upside that they don't have to carry a bottle of lotion wherever they go). Maybe this has something to do with it?

[Francois Blais]

Chris is on the right track I think, but I'll go further:
Your finger tips are becoming softer as the gig goes on, and this changes the tone.
The next day, when your callouses have hardened up again, the tone is different.
That's how I explain it.

[cole-emma]

Thanks for the advice . . .

OK . . . I put a new D and G on and they are back. Will need to break them in, but they sound good again. You were right John.

I think they just haven't lasted as long as I had hoped. 6 months into the set and they sounded dull. They do get alot of play from me. 5 - 6 gigs a week. Almost all pizz. Some real hard driving bands. Still love their sound and feel. I'll have to accept the fact that I do wear them out. I was used to using spiros in the past. Could leave them on for years!!
Briefly tried Daddario hybrids (not for me). Then discovered Doms thanks to Chris' posts on talkbass.

Hope it's not my skin Chris, maybe I should wear gloves??!!

Thanks,
Lou

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by cole-emma

Hope it's not my skin Chris, maybe I should wear gloves??!!

My students with a more string-corrosive PH balance tell me that it's good to wipe the strings down each time you play them. Some use alchohol, some just use a rag. A luthier could probably suggest something workable. If you don't have dry skin, count your blessings... dry skin is great for strings, but sucks for everyday life.

[hdiddy]

Yeah my hands are pretty dry. I'm pretty lazy and never wipe my strings and they seem to sound ok. I just clean them every week or so. Some of the finger funk gums up on the FB and underneath the string (yeah I know... EEEWWW!!!), but I don't notice any tonal differences.

I hate playing with oily fingers - they make my blisters worse. Speaking of which, seems like I get blisters. Especially the middle finger. If I don't have one, I'll get one. Seems like it usually means I haven't had a hard session since the last blisters have sloughed off. I dont' know if that's neccessarily lucky.