New strings before a show?

MycooLeeyun · #1 10-16-2011, 04:48 PM

I don't know if I should change my strings or not!! My band hasn't played a show for a while now and I've recently acquired a Carvin LB75 strung with XL-170's and I absolutely love it. I don't know how old the strings are but they don't seem that bad at all. I bought a new pack of the same strings that it is strung with but I'm worried that if I string it up, the bass won't play as good as it does right now (it might change the tension on the neck or just feel different). I know they're the same strings and all but what do you guys think? Wait til after the show to put on fresh strings or string it up now and rock the new strings this friday?

pstyle · #2 10-16-2011, 04:55 PM

I'd keep the set that is on now for as long as they sound good.

brendanbassist · #3 10-16-2011, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MycooLeeyun

... strung with XL-170's and I absolutely love it. I don't know how old the strings are but they don't seem that bad at all...

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

MysterMunky · #4 10-16-2011, 04:56 PM

I would wait until after the show. Strings take some time to settle in, in terms of pitch.

Floyd Eye · #5 10-16-2011, 05:05 PM

Maybe it depends on the strings ( and obviously your own preference). I tend to use strings until they lose their zing, but I LOVE the way a brand new set of Rotos sound. If you're worried about the bass playing differently, just be sure to change the strings one at a time so you don't radically change the tension on the neck.

millsbass5 · #6 10-16-2011, 05:10 PM

One of my main gigging basses is a Carvin LB75. D'Addarios and DR's are my strings of choice. I change mine every other weekend. Religiously. Chang'em,you won't regret it.

SBassman · #7 10-16-2011, 05:12 PM

Don't mess with the bass. If you are using it for the gig, and it is sounding good with that set, leave it for now. You have the rest of your life to mess with it.

MycooLeeyun · #8 10-16-2011, 05:14 PM

Thanks for your input! Got a lot of votes for leaving the strings on. But the one vote from millsbass weighs in pretty heavy considering the fact that he uses the same bass AND string as me. Thanks everybody

vin*tone · #9 10-16-2011, 05:19 PM

If you like the new string sound - change em up the afternoon of the gig, play em for an hour or so. If it doesn't float yr boat, change em back again.

JohnMCA72 · #10 10-16-2011, 06:48 PM

It's all a matter of preference. Some people like their strings "broken-in". Others like them fresh. Neither is "wrong" or "right" for anybody else. Factors include both sound & feel.

I'm in the camp that'll put new strings on right before a gig if I've got them. I like my strings feeling tight & stiff, plus I like the bright tone of fresh strings, too. I've never had any problem with strings "settling", or not keeping tune. I do give them a bunch of good tugs, every which way, when I put them on & tune up the 1st time. I also check intonation all up & down each string when I change them, so I give a good half-hour to get it done - you won't see me stringing a bass 5 minutes before down-beat!

ggunn · #11 10-17-2011, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vin*tone

If you like the new string sound - change em up the afternoon of the gig, play em for an hour or so. If it doesn't float yr boat, change em back again.

FWIW, no matter how much I tug and stretch new strings, they always slide flat for a day or two. YMMV.

Wes Whitmore · #12 10-19-2011, 12:54 PM

I replace one at a time, and mine tend to settle in by the time I use them that night. Im with you, I sometimes like the sound that I have on "older" strings in my room, but I always feel that newer strings will be even better and help me cut through a bit better. They usually feel better, thats for sure. My guitarist changes his after every show. If we could afford it, I would too. One thing is for sure, if you change them, you will just reset the clock of wanting to change them again next week...it's a vicious cycle.

I often think that by the time the soundman gets done compressing me and sucking out all of my upper freq content, I might as well be playing 5 year old strings anyhow, so I never have the right answer for this problem.
Wes
Wes

jaywa · #13 10-21-2011, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ggunn

FWIW, no matter how much I tug and stretch new strings, they always slide flat for a day or two. YMMV.

This. 24 hours MINIMUM before show time to put on a new set of strings is my rule of thumb.

I used to play with a guitarist who would put on a new set of strings two hours before the show and be tuning all night. Drove me effin' nuts.

rtslinger · #14 10-21-2011, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MycooLeeyun

I don't know if I should change my strings or not!! My band hasn't played a show for a while now and I've recently acquired a Carvin LB75 strung with XL-170's and I absolutely love it. I don't know how old the strings are but they don't seem that bad at all. I bought a new pack of the same strings that it is strung with but I'm worried that if I string it up, the bass won't play as good as it does right now (it might change the tension on the neck or just feel different). I know they're the same strings and all but what do you guys think? Wait til after the show to put on fresh strings or string it up now and rock the new strings this friday?

I usually do not put new strings on before a show normally I break them in for a week at home before using them for a gig. Tough if you only have one bass and you are gigging all through out the week. I would leave the ones you have on if they are not dead dead. if they are and you are forced to change them watch your tuning more closely something always slips out on the brand new ones till you they break in is my finding.

TinIndian · #15 10-27-2011, 07:17 PM

If you like the way it sounds, why mess with it? Play em till they are dead and then change them. I don't understand changing them just for the sake of changing them, especially when they may be in that sweet spot where they are not too new and not too old.

steveksux · #16 10-27-2011, 07:36 PM

If you like the way they sound, I'd leave them alone.

If you do change them, the secret to not having tuning problems all night is to push down on them just inside the nut and inside the bridge saddles.

The strings aren't stretching, that's not why they go out of tune. They bend over the nut, and over the bridge saddles, but strings are stiff, and are not yet bent to their final angle they get to when string tension bends them until they're straight from bridge to nut. So help them along once you put them on and tune them up... press the thumb on the string between the nut and the first fret, just inside the nut towards the bridge. Do the same just inside the bridge towards the nut. Retune.

Done. They'll stay in tune.

Randy

ashtoash · #17 10-28-2011, 02:50 PM

I advise you to play on these strings all your life, the longer you play on them, so they will be getting better and better. It's like wine, the older the better ... You can enjoy the flavor and aroma of its strings. 10 years later, their value on the black market will only grow and get rich you are.

ggunn · #18 10-28-2011, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steveksux

If you like the way they sound, I'd leave them alone.

If you do change them, the secret to not having tuning problems all night is to push down on them just inside the nut and inside the bridge saddles.

The strings aren't stretching, that's not why they go out of tune. They bend over the nut, and over the bridge saddles, but strings are stiff, and are not yet bent to their final angle they get to when string tension bends them until they're straight from bridge to nut. So help them along once you put them on and tune them up... press the thumb on the string between the nut and the first fret, just inside the nut towards the bridge. Do the same just inside the bridge towards the nut. Retune.

Done. They'll stay in tune.

Randy

Not necessarily. I set the witness point (what you are describing) every time I change strings. They continue to go flat for a day or two after I change them. YMMV.

FWIW, in my experience that process has more to do with intonation than it does with tuning.

steveksux · #19 10-30-2011, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ggunn

Not necessarily. I set the witness point (what you are describing) every time I change strings. They continue to go flat for a day or two after I change them. YMMV.

FWIW, in my experience that process has more to do with intonation than it does with tuning.

If it didn't have much to do with tuning they wouldn't go out of tune when you "pre-bend" them.

It would certainly have an influence on intonation too, since by not doing it the strings end up farther off the fretboard due to them arcing over the bridge/nut rather than bending over. End result being just like raising the action.

You also need to be careful winding them, force the windings down tight so they have nowhere to shift from the tension.

Eliminate the slop in the windings on the tuning posts, bend the strings to the angle they'd eventually settle to from the string tension anyway, you'll find the string "stretch" is really just "sag" and "slip".

Randy

nysbob · #20 11-01-2011, 12:07 PM

With me, it totally depends on the gig. If I'm playing a fretted bass, I like fresh strings best. I never have any real issues with them slipping in pitch as long as they're stretched out properly.

I'm not as picky on fretless - it's just that I know they are much more likely to break after a few months hard use.