5-strings: do you always change your B?

[Sam Evans]

It's that time to get some fresh strings on my bass. I noticed my B-string still seems fine, which makes sense, considering it doesn't get as much direct play from my grubby little fingers as the other four. I think I'm just going to grab a set of my favorite 4-string bass sets and leave the B on there! So, is it just lazy / cheap me, or is this one of those unspoken secrets of five-string players? ...

 

[michael_t]

The last time I changed the strings on my 5-string (Yamaha TRBX505), I did keep the same low B, which was 6 mths old at the time but still sounding good. It's 10 mth old now while the other four are only 4 mths old. They're still sounding fine together, so no need for any change yet.

I've been experimenting with mix and matching the low B's, so the B gets changed at different times from the other four.

 

[JimmyM]

I don’t recall doing that, no.

 

[onda'bass]

full sale change every time.

 

[Bob_Ross]

full sale change every time.

^^^This. When it's time to change the strings, it's time to change all of them; only thing worse than playing on a dead set of strings is playing on an unbalanced set of strings, where some are deader than others due to different ages.

Plus, if my B string is getting used less than the other four I'm doing something wrong!

 

[TomB]

If you’re a “position” 5-string player who plays low E, F, G etc on the B string then that string gets as much use as your E-string, maybe even more as the “1”. If you only use the B string for notes below E, then I could see why you might want to keep it.

 

[gonzkal]

I always change all strings at once. I tend to use the B string as much as the others.

 

[Wasnex]

If you think it's fine, it's fine.

 

[Sam Evans]

If you think it's fine, it's fine.

I appreciate the validation. I was asking what others do, out of curiosity.

 

[Wasnex]

I appreciate the validation. I was asking what others do, out of curiosity.

I rarely replace strings. When I do, it's usually the full set so the sound is consistent from string to string. However, if a string failed at the gig site and time was limited, I might just replace the one failed string.

 

[trothwell]

Unless maybe some one-off scenario where I had to buy strings in a hurry, I've always put a whole new 5-string set on 5-string basses.

A bass-playing friend has said he usually only changes the B-string every other time or so.