16 years old strings

[brianrost]

I mean don’t people ever ponder this?

With rounds, I do change strings relatively often. If the bass is being gigged, I change strings every 6 months...at New Years and Fourth of July, it's easy to remember.

But I treat flats differently...they stay on until they break or won't play in tune.

 

[FranF]

It’s as if this thread has become a “Oh yeah? well I’ve had my strings on for 60 years.”
Great, fantastic you’ve proved they still work and play. I just find it fascinating that people don’t for once just sit down and say to themselves “hey it’s been 50 years now since these strings have been on. String technology and materials have come leaps and bounds in the past few decades. I wonder what a different set would sound like? Or perhaps I’ll get a really nice tone I never thought was possible on this instrument. I think I can spare $25 to find out.”
I mean don’t people ever ponder this?

Wow... Us guys that like old strings need to defend ourselves? Well I'll be damned. Sorry! And to assume I haven't tried every string on the planet, is well... we all know how that word breaks down... ;-) I have 36 basses, strung with every vintage and style of string imaginable, including "almost 60" 44 year old '74 P strings, right up to a fresh set of Roto Swings on my Sadowsky, just installed today. I'm doing just fine. This post is in good spirits, and with a wink, of course...

 

[saltydude]

Wow... Us guys that like old strings need to defend ourselves? Well I'll be damned. Sorry! And to assume I haven't tried every string on the planet, is well... we all know how that word breaks down... ;-) I have 36 basses, strung with every vintage and style of string imaginable, including "almost 60" 44 year old '74 P strings, right up to a fresh set of Roto Swings on my Sadowsky, just installed today. I'm doing just fine. This post is in good spirits, and with a wink, of course...

Cool but extraordinary..

 

[dbsfgyd1]

My strings were never changed since 2002. Does very old strings can affect the sound, playing, or create unwanted noises compared to new strings?

What is the average lifetime of strings? And what is the sign that tell you to change them?

This could be a Jeff Foxworthy type question:

You know it’s time to change you strings when.....

1) When the wear grooves on the bottom of the strings are deep enough to fit the entire raised fret, it’s time to change your strings...

2) If you take a string off of your bass, hold it at both ends parallel to the ground, letting go of one end and the string remains parallel to the ground, it’s time to change your strings

3) if your bass case starts to smell like the buffet line at a polish wedding, it’s time to change your strings

Anybody else???

Seriously, of course it depends on how many hours they have been played, as well as the type of music I’m playing, I get about 4-6 weeks out of a set.

 

[pie_man_25]

I've personally found that guitar strings (at least acoustic guitar) wear out fairly quickly - after a couple months I tend to need to replace them. They just lose a lot of the treble that they write have when new. It might just be that my hands are frequently fairly dirty from work or maybe I just like a lot of treble I'm my sound. I tried coated strings too, and they did seem to hold onto their tone longer, but for some reason I just replaced them anyways after a couple months.

Bass strings, it kinda depends - flat wound strings can tend to last a long time because they're supposed to be smooth sounding with a lot of bass and mids and not much else. With round wound strings people tend to want a brighter tone with more treble, strings tend to lose treble response first - before any real intonation problems occur in my experience. I tend to replace my round wound strings every year. If the bass still plays in tune, it's fine with the current strings. Though I'd probably restring my bass if it has 16 year old strings on it, because I tend to like a bit of a brighter sound.

Also, I couldn't help but notice that you're from France. I'm trying to improve my French myself, can you recommend any French podcasts or internet radio to help me get some practice in?

 

[GTHintz]

Sweet deal! One thing about a Ric is that once you figure out how to make them sing they have a sound of thier own that nothing else really matches. They are kinda made to be played aggressively and they reward you for that by having a growl and articulate yet powerful tone you have to see for yourself. You'll feel it when you get her to start talking to ya. I hope you guys have fun and keep rocking!!!

 

[Pilgrim]

Don't let all the nay-sayers bother you.

16 years is just a good start. NO, the strings don't lose their harmonics or a desirable sound. My oldest strings (1963P) are 40 years old. A half-dozen of my basses have flats that are anywhere from 5-15 years old. they all play fine, they all intonate without a problem, they're just old strings, and the sound is very traditional.

I love the sound of that '63 P with the 40-year old strings. They even have enough treble left, but no brightness. I dislike bright sound, so dead flats are my strings of choice. They're no good until they're at least six months old.

 

[Chrisk-K]

Sir Paul’s Ric still has the same strings that he played in the 60’s.

 

[DirkP]

They seem to be roundwound. I didn't know there were flat or round! What are the differences?

Flats are like wine, Rounds are like milk.

 

[basscapes]

I change my rounds once a year at most. not sure twhat the big deal is

Mine get changed whenever the zing starts to fade (Rotosound 66s). To some it's wasteful. To others, it's for consistency. And yet for some, it's OCD.

I'm not sure which one I fall under. I just know that if my instrument doesn't have the twang to it, the strings get changed.

 

[Volunteerk9]

Wow! You got your moneys worth. Average lifetime? For me 6 to 8 weeks.

Yup, same here. The only way mine stay on any longer than that is if they are on a bass that I'm not currently in love with.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Wow... Us guys that like old strings need to defend ourselves? Well I'll be damned. Sorry! And to assume I haven't tried every string on the planet, is well... we all know how that word breaks down... ;-) I have 36 basses, strung with every vintage and style of string imaginable, including "almost 60" 44 year old '74 P strings, right up to a fresh set of Roto Swings on my Sadowsky, just installed today. I'm doing just fine. This post is in good spirits, and with a wink, of course...

The VC Squier factory flats on my 44 year-old '74 Precision are, um, 44 years old. Still play in tune, still make harmonics, play and sound fabulous.

Just a quick pair of questions. Do you play with a fairly light touch? Also, if you could give me an estimate, approximately how many hours a week to you play this bass?

The reason I ask is I’m on mine 10 to 20 hours a week on the average, not to mention, I tend to play with a lot of dynamics which means my strings suffer from significantly more abuse compared to an axe that isn’t used much, and or not worked as hard.

I consider myself lucky to 44 days out of a set lol!!!!

 

[Bassquest]

To me, old strings seem to get tighter, not as flexible, like a wire, a little harder on the fingers.

 

[Pilgrim]

Mine get changed whenever the zing starts to fade (Rotosound 66s). To some it's wasteful. To others, it's for consistency. And yet for some, it's OCD.

I'm not sure which one I fall under. I just know that if my instrument doesn't have the twang to it, the strings get changed.

This is why people like different strings! That's a perfectly defensible approach when it's the sound you like.

I don't even like to play strings until the "zing" dies, especially that bright sound that my fingers make when moving on the strings. A set of rounds that's 5+ year old is usually OK, but to me, the solution is to go directly to flatwounds. As a rule, regardless of which type of strings, the longer they stay on the bass, the better I like them.

Different strokes, and all that.

 

[basscapes]

This is why people like different strings! That's a perfectly defensible approach when it's the sound you like.

I don't even like to play strings until the "zing" dies, especially that bright sound that my fingers make when moving on the strings. A set of rounds that's 5+ year old is usually OK, but to me, the solution is to go directly to flatwounds. As a rule, regardless of which type of strings, the longer they stay on the bass, the better I like them.

Different strokes, and all that.

Agreed! Different strokes...

I'm all about that Entwhistle/Squire/Lee zing; to the point that some BLs think I'm showboating simply because they hear the treble in an otherwise "stock" bass part (of a cover tune even!).

BUT, I also love players that have the "Jamerson Thump" going on. Can I mimic that? Well, mine tends to come across more like Bobby Vega or Joe Osborn. It has its place too!

In the end, if we are happy with our respective tones, we can all gang up and fire the drummer!

 

[GTHintz]

Just a point that hasn't been brought up yet. So after years of using a set of Ernie ball skinkys I realized that I needed a change when a good friend of mine gave me a bottom string of his that was an older rotosound swing bass 66ld. 105 ga. I was loving the bass and loudness that it had. So I bought a new set, threw em on after cleaning the fretboard and everywhere I cant reach usually. I got hooked on the bass! Not the brightness oddly enough but the sheer thud that punches through! Just thought I'd throw it out there. Mostly everybody has been talking about the brightness and treble but I noticed the huge bass and overall volume gained and wanted to share. (Oh and the slinkys were the same gauge as the rotos. )

 

[FranF]

Just a quick pair of questions. Do you play with a fairly light touch? Also, if you could give me an estimate, approximately how many hours a week to you play this bass?

The reason I ask is I’m on mine 10 to 20 hours a week on the average, not to mention, I tend to play with a lot of dynamics which means my strings suffer from significantly more abuse compared to an axe that isn’t used much, and or not worked as hard.

I consider myself lucky to 44 days out of a set lol!!!!

Light touch. For years, it was my main bass, and still gets used maybe three times a month. I do average about 170-180 gigs a year, so it's still fairly frequently used.

 

[Adjectives]

Wow. Yeah I guess. It’s just so much more prevalent and pronounced with fresh strings. I’ll doubt I’ll ever find out cause I can’t imagine not changing strings for 40 years. Perhaps I’ll find out one day if I live that long and also hold onto a bass that long without really playing it.

My 1975 P has its original set of strings (flats) on it. Very dark and not a ton of sustain. It's how I want it to sound though! Unique for certain. I've got an extra set of unused 70s Gibson flats and I wonder if there is a market for something like that?

 

[superheavyfunk]

My 1975 P has its original set of strings (flats) on it. Very dark and not a ton of sustain. It's how I want it to sound though! Unique for certain. I've got an extra set of unused 70s Gibson flats and I wonder if there is a market for something like that?

Here on TB, there is a surprisingly large secondary market for old strings, both used and unused!

 

[JimmyM]

Almost replied to this thread till I saw it was started 2 years ago!