Best site for deals on strings?

[Stagelab]

Looking for a site that has a good deal on strings. I used to get D’Adarrio nickels for $13 a pack but the site I got them from closed down a while back. Tired of paying $20-$22 per pack from the big retailers and my google search yielded a couple strings sites but none had great deals.

Any suggestions?

 

[michael_t]

I used to get D’Adarrio nickels for $13 a pack but the site I got them from closed down a while back.

Maybe they closed down because they were selling them too cheap with little profit?

Get in touch with Jason at Fret Nation at [email protected] and see what he can do for you. I've dealt with him for the last 10 yrs because he always gives me "package deals". If you're willing to buy them in multiple sets at a time, I'm sure he can work out a good deal for you.

 

[Killing Floor]

Get a set of TI and never have to replace them.

 

[michael_t]

Tired of paying $20-$22 per pack from the big retailers...

How often do you change strings? How long would a set of XL Nickels last for you on average?

 

[Geri O]

I’ve always gotten my best string deals from FretNation. I’m also aware that, whether we like it or not, everything has gone up considerably. If I remember correctly, the strings I use have gone up $5-6 a set. Just how it is.
At least I can write off my string purchases.

 

[J Posega]

Looking for a site that has a good deal on strings. I used to get D’Adarrio nickels for $13 a pack but the site I got them from closed down a while back. Tired of paying $20-$22 per pack from the big retailers and my google search yielded a couple strings sites but none had great deals.

Any suggestions?

There's this little thing, a really obscure concept called inflation. Name brand strings don't sell for $13 a pack nowadays. You can get better deals by buying in bulk (probably). FretNation has great service and prices. Sometimes, there are good deals on Amazon (love to hate, hate to love).

 

[Diplock]

The fact your bojack strangs-is-us outfit went under should be telling you something about the economics of fair prices vs "deals".

A couple of bucks more than dirt cheap to keep companies like FretNation or StringsByMail in business is a great deal.

 

[logdrum]

Switch to DRs, cheaper than D'Add and last longer. My buddy says longer than GHS.
And I think he is right because my oldest bass has a set of Pure Blues or Fat Beams that have been there since 2014 and I just played it again. Still sounds alive.

FretNation out of Temecula California - Great olives, wine and strings.

He doesn't sell olives or wine

 

[Obese Chess]

Another vote for Fret Nation. He doesn't stock Elixirs, which I use on my main recording 5er, but I've been getting all my other sets of strings from him for years.

 

[Grinderman]

The one that has exactly the ones you want for the lowest price, including S&H. If that place also happens to operate with business and labor-related practices you don't align with then move on to the next place until you find the best combination of the three.

It's been about a decade since I last purchased a set of string at a brick-and-mortar store and that was a local GC. I don't much like going to GC and these days they wouldn't have my choice of strings any way. I also mostly use flats now.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

FretNation. Get prices and service. If you can find cheaper, they're probably counterfeit.

 

[Five or Six]

I stick with what I like and I've used for years. If they have become $2 - 6:00 more a set, sobeit. Not going to break the bank. Can we expect them to go up more?? I'm more concerned with gas prices than bass strings.

 

[micguy]

$13 for a set is a steal. I end up buying individual strings, or occasionally a 4 string set and a separate B to go with it. Just the B string can run $13.

My real suggestion for saving money on strings is to buy sets of strings that are, out of the pack, too bright for your taste. Every string loses some zing in the first hours or weeks of play, and after that settles into a long, relatively stable period where its sound is less bright than when new, and the change is very slow. If you buy strings that are the right amount of "too bright" when fresh, you'll get a lot of usable life out of them. Long string life is the key to saving money on strings.

People who complain that a set "dies fast" are mostly buying strings that sound good out of the pack, but when they settle in a short time later, they're not bright enough. Their string didn't "die fast", they just bought the wrong strings.

 

[mmbongo]

FretNation is the go-to place for strings.

 

[Relsom]

I buy my strings from Jeff Bezos. He even drives them to my house for free.

 

[Fender_Bender]

I’ve never used the site mentioned multiple times but I’d imagine that if you’re willing to buy 10 sets at a time you’ll get a good bulk price.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

Get a set of TI and never have to replace them.

Have you had experience with TI vs Chromes?
I’ve heard great things about TIs, and am considering getting a set to slap on my bass currently equipped with chromes. I dig the way it sounds, but they’re getting old and I’d like to try something new. It’s a string through body bass, though, so once they’re strung up on this one I can’t swap them to a top loader bass if I don’t like them.

 

[mdogs]

Will never buy from Fret Nation, just got a good deal on DR Pure Blues from Strings and Beyond. But, got a good deal on strings last month from Sweetwater, so yes, I like a good deal, just wouldn’t take them from Fret Nation for free.

 

[Killing Floor]

Have you had experience with TI vs Chromes?
I’ve heard great things about TIs, and am considering getting a set to slap on my bass currently equipped with chromes. I dig the way it sounds, but they’re getting old and I’d like to try something new. It’s a string through body bass, though, so once they’re strung up on this one I can’t swap them to a top loader bass if I don’t like them.

There’s no best string. I’ve played Chromes and like them but I find the TI more uniform in tone and I got used to the tension. If you like a little more tug then you’ll like the Chromes. I tend to like stiffer strings like that on my fretless for some reason.

 

[Diplock]

I like a good deal, just wouldn’t take them from Fret Nation for free.

Why not?