I give up...

[TroyK]

Originally Posted by Michael Case

Strings can be maddening. It's a sickness.

Witness!

[hdiddy]

Originally Posted by TroyK

I think it's awesome that you're still trying things and documenting your experiences in a thread that you created called "I give up".

The duality of the TBDB psyche.

I am definitely giving up and resigning to the fact that the string search will be a never-ending process. If the strings don't change on you, the bass will. If the bass doesn't change on you, your ears and what you want to hear will. Today I was kinda regretting that I sold off an old set of Ebolagatos because they might be worth trying now. The only thing is that I'm not really want to spend even more money to buy more strings. The Gamut experiment still stings.

@SWAMI: Yeah I know it takes a while for strings to settle in, but I kinda rank strings in this manner:
1) Do they hurt me when I play them?
2) Can I get the notes I want to get across without too much trouble?
3) Sound/Tone
4) Misc issues (staying in tune, thump, volume, arcoability, etc)

On the first point alone, I judge strings on whether or not I want to continue. If the adjusters are all the way down and my fingers hurt after just 10 min, they're coming off right away. Sure I can try to spend more time and build up strength with them but there's a fine line where I won't sacrifice my long-term playing health for a particular sound. The rest is a mishmash. I stopped using EPs on my bass mainly because of this reason, and same with the Jazzers once I had that set up redone. Of course there are no hard fast rules.

[Marc Piane]

I guess the point is changing so much might be an impediment to your ability to improve as a player. It sounds almost like someone who changes their outfit 10 times when they are getting ready to go out. They'll still get laid if the person underneath comes through.


I know for myself every time I change string there is a break in period. Sometimes its just a few weeks, sometimes longer. Hearing things in a slightly different way can open your ears to new things but it can also, at least in my case, confuse my ears and my chops.

Ultimately YOUR sound comes from YOU (the mantra). Find some strings that work for you and live with them for a while. Like a year. See what happens.

[Michael Case]

I've been better about switching strings lately. I will put on a set of strings and run with them as long as I can deal with them. I always seem to switch between Spiros of some kind and gut. Evahs were the only set I took off quickly and know exactly why I did so. They were beautiful with the bow, sounded good pizz in my practice room, but really didn't deliver on the gig. I just recorded myself playing Stella solo with the guts on my bass (switched this morning) to compare with a solo recording of the same tune with Spiros. Surprising, I can hear my sound, my basses sound, and the rest is subtle, but I now know better what I like about each type of string. I'm going to stick with my gut top spiro bottom for now and look for bottom strings to suit the guts. So what I'm saying is try recording you playing the same tune with two different sets of strings. It could be very helpful in the process.

[TroyK]

There's really something to that. How they feel and how reliable they are matter at least as much as sound, if not more.

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

I rate strings by three major criteria:
1) How does the bass sound? Do the strings bring out the full potential of the bass?
2) How do I sound? Am I able to play to my potential at that point in time? Can I execute my ideas and am I inspired to play better; to go for things I either normally wouldn't think of or might not want to hear?
3) Maintenance and hassle.

By the first two, my favorite setup was Anima E, Garbo A, Pistoy D and Lyon G. I dug the big sound, strong fundamental and the way the bass came alive with the reduced tension. It seemed to breathe rather than choke up as it can with heavier strings.
Dislikes? They turned my hands black and the D wasn't good in thumb position.
The biggest problem was the maintenance and hassle factor. The guts sprouted hairs every night and I got tired of the hassle.

My current setup is a decent compromise and the guys I play with say I've never sounded better so something must be working.

[Michael Case]

After putting two gut strings on my bass practicing a bit and going to a jam session last night I am back to Spiros. I think all the string switching is a joke, every string will be a compromise no string will give everything asked of it. I have decided that I will make my compromises and live with them. I'm sick of spending time swapping out strings, the break in period, and the money spent. Plus, strings can only be taken off and put on so many times before they wear out. I have several Spiro G strings that are now useless due to being put on and removed. I know it's said kind of lightly, but just put some strings on and make music.

[TroyK]

Originally Posted by Michael Case

After putting two gut strings on my bass practicing a bit and going to a jam session last night I am back to Spiros. I think all the string switching is a joke, every string will be a compromise no string will give everything asked of it. I have decided that I will make my compromises and live with them. ...

Yep. Find something that works for what you're doing, accept the compromises that come with it and play. I will add that in my experience, that energy, time and money is better spend if you can find a luthier to work with on setup around that compromise.

[BawanaRik]

I just got a UR and I'm speaking from the EB side of things. The grass is always greener. Maybe not but it is new grass and we are programed to hunt down new things.

At least I am. I may be hard to the xenophile side of side things in it's true meaning but I remember getting my GK rb800 setup and loving the heck out it's tone. After a while not so much. I played a couple of other amps and then plugged into the RB800 and boy I was digging that.

Same with fuzz boxes. Some days a box is THE box. Other not so much. I thought I was crazing until I read that David Gilmour keeps two fuzzes on his board. Some days the one sounds good next the other.

I splurged for a set of Spirocores on my bass. I can't afford to get another set.

That all being what it is you're still smarter than most. One of my buddies ran a music store and I was amazed at the amount of basses coming in the door used. He mentioned it was player looking for a different sound. I asked did they ever hear of changing their strings? Take a Ric and put TI flats on it. It's a whole new bass. Put Rotosounds 66s on a Pbass, then put the TIs. Wholenotherbass

I think the bottom line is that you are normal and what you're doing is part of life. Enjoy it.

[JayB]

Originally Posted by TroyK

There's really something to that. How they feel and how reliable they are matter at least as much as sound, if not more.

Truth. If my hands could handle it, I'd just play super jacked up spiros.

[hdiddy]

Ditto, so long as the Spiro's bowed easy (and I'm talking Mitts here).

Anyways, I played the Helicores in a session with a guitarist friend and acoustically they don't hold up. The decay was just too fast and made me sound really anemic. I like to play duos & trios so the sustain is important to me.

Went back to the string pile and out came my old Flat Chrome Steels. Paired with a Spiro Mitt E and I"m back to being a happy camper. Sustain, easy arco, good even sound. Even new, they're not too banjo'y and played a gig on friday with a pianist and they worked well. With the setup adjustments, the Spiro E speaks a bit faster than before. So long as they don't go dead, once they settle in they should sound just about perfect. Once the FCS goes dead, I could see myself doing Spiro Weich A, D, G with a Mitt E. No rush at this point.

[hdiddy]

Ok I really surrender now. FCS A was bothering me. Switched to Spiro Solo. Sounded so good I went for the whole set.

If I buy anything it'll be weichs. Game over.

EDIT: Merry X-mas all. May you all have good tone for the coming year.

[Marc Piane]

You're cracking me up. Can you make a list for us of all the strings you've tried in the last 18 months?

[hdiddy]

You should see me when it comes to ski gear.

At least I haven't bought any new strings in quite a while. All these strings are from my drawer. And I've been good at not buying amp gear. No closet full of cabs... at least not yet.

[Treyzer]

In search of the perfect String can really become a sickness that many of us have had to deal with at one time or another! Truth be told, I think that the only guy that truly hears the difference in many string choices, is the guy doing the playing. I think every body else hears how confident the player is about the sound of his/her strings choice and the overall bass set-up. Anyway, that's my perception.

Over time, our ears change, what we like in terms of bass and string sounds change, hopefully these choices become more nuanced and hopefully we get better.

Over the last 2 years or so, I've found a string combo that works for me. I just change them when they start to feel dead which for me, is somewhere between a year to a year and a half. At this point, I'm firmly in the, If it ain't broke don't fix it category!

[what the pluck]

I agree with Treyzer, I went through a bout of stringititus last year and have come to the conclusion we as players are the biggest variable and have to make the string work for us. I think that once you know a set intimately you can get what your after by adapting to it. If your set up is good and you are confident in your playing it will translate well to an audience. That's just me though.

[Marc Piane]

I'm just busting your chops. I have had said sickness and I know how it can be. My cure is I just think of the number of gigs that I would have to play to pay for the -itis and goes away.

[hdiddy]

Agreed Trey. Actually, the sound between the FCS and the Spiro Solos aren't that different and only I would notice (at least until the Spiros settle down). Physically there's less tension, esp coming off of the Mitt E. I just want bowability of the A and the rest of them to match. I somehow have gotten bitten by an arco bug. It's hard but it's somehow alot of fun taking up the new challenge.

If it were for the setup change and the desire for arco, I would've happily stayed with the jazzers.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by what the pluck

...I think that once you know a set intimately you can get what your after by adapting to it. If your set up is good and you are confident in your playing it will translate well to an audience. That's just me though.

Sounds familiar.

Originally Posted by drurb

...I think that players often overlook the extent to which we can and do adapt our playing to a set of strings. I think that accounts for the fact that, after leaving on a type of string for an extended time, everything seems to "settle in." Yes, the physical properties are reaching equilibrium but the player is changing as well.

When I switched back to Spiros after using other strings, of course, things seemed a bit strange. Over weeks (months) things improved dramatically. Was it me or was it the strings? I believe it was both.