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change strings how often

#61
joebeadg said:
Hi guys, was just wondering how often do you change you're strings? Mine are five or ten years old. And lately, I'm not liking the sound I'm getting out of my rig, witch is a hartke HA7000 with a 15" and a 2x10" with a tweeter. Now, for many years I loved it. But lately, I don't know if its my ears, or maybe the amp. But it just doesn't sound like I want it to lately. The guys in my band are telling me its my old strings, but I don't think old strings sound bad, they're just not bright. Was just wondering how often other bassists change they're strings.
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Depends on gigs and studio and stuff and the bass and setup. . Pretty much any time we play a show where I feel the PA is good enough to justify it. In the studio I've actually used two sets in one day before. But i won't change strings for practice if we're taking a break between shows to write and stuff. I'd say on average I change my strings about once every 6 weeks. I will also add that washing your hands really well helps strings stay brighter longer. If you're not wanting to buy strings as often I'd try flat wounds and see if they work for your band. A lot of people that play flats rarely ever change their strings.
 
#62
On my main bass : Monthly if I have a regular gig schedule. otherwise I leave them a while longer. Longest I have ever left them is about 6 months.
On my Drop tuned bass: Every other month as it only used for about 20 mins a show.
On my back-up/ rehearsal bass: every 3 months-ish (depends how often we rehearse).

If I'm heading into the studio All basses get a new set the week before, just enough time to let them bed in and be 100% stable.

10 years is daft. Get some new strings. They are dead and buried
 
#63
joebeadg said:
Hi guys, was just wondering how often do you change you're strings? Mine are five or ten years old. And lately, I'm not liking the sound I'm getting out of my rig, witch is a hartke HA7000 with a 15" and a 2x10" with a tweeter. Now, for many years I loved it. But lately, I don't know if its my ears, or maybe the amp. But it just doesn't sound like I want it to lately. The guys in my band are telling me its my old strings, but I don't think old strings sound bad, they're just not bright. Was just wondering how often other bassists change they're strings.
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5 years is a extended amount of time. If you like a bit less bright or flat sound maybe you change it every 2 months depending on how often you play that bass. I have many bass guitar and gig once a week & practice 4-5 days a week. I change my strings or clean them when I no longer like the sound I'm getting. Flat wounded strings can last alot longer than round strings but the sounds is between low bassy flat sound compared to the normal brighter sound in round wound strings.
 
#64
I was changing my strings every couple gigs (Dunlop Super Bright Nickels), but now I'm leaving them on there and not changing them because the darker less sustainy sound works better overall for my band, plus I can still get plenty of zing when I need it with the Dunlops but they sound way closer to flats when they're dead than any other roundwound I've used for when I need the darker tones, which is most of the time.
 
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#65
I like a really bright tone, so I change them when they start to go dead. Depending on many different factors, that might be once every gig, or once every month or two. I can't imagine going more than a couple of months.

Tom
 
#68
Eric_Allard said:
Jamerson did not use round wounds. He used Labella's Original Flatwound set, which are now named after him. It is true he never changed them until they wouldn't tune properly.
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You are correct. I looked it up again in "Standing in the Shadows of Motown." According to that book, he would only change them if they broke. It was the neck of the bass that he never cleaned and that accumulated a lot of gunk and grime over the years.
 
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#71
I recently put Chrome Flats on my ASAT, and that is the last string change it will endure under my ownership.

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#73
For your common generic roundwound from various manufacturers, 90-120 playing hours.

For Rotosound SwingBass 66's, 40 playing hours.

Flatwounds can actually go dead! It's true. Change them when they do.

I do not like tapes or halfrounds, so I never change them because i never put them on anymore. One time each was one time too many.

For Pressurewounds, 180-200 playing hours if want to keep them fresh. I'm pushing mine experimentally and will let you know.
 
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#75
I soak mine in denatured alcohol at the 6-month mark, and scrap 'em at the 12-month mark. So, once a year. 5-10 years...WOW! That's a lot of crud to build up on a string. I bet you'd be MUCH happier with new strings on your bass. It'll probably weigh less, too. :)
 
#76
About every 4-5 months. I have low ph so I'm not corroding the wraps / core, I wash my hands before I play and in between sets, I wipe down the strings thoroughly after every play, I keep desi-paks in my cases, and I like / prefer the sound of broken in rounds.
 
#77
this really depends on the strings. I started out using DR Marcus Miller strings and those I'd change once a month. This was back when I was practicing bass a lot, and I'd lose that high end zing in about that time.

Eventually I changed to elixirs and with the coating on them the tone is consistent for longer. They're twice as expensive -- and not as bright -- but I could be happy with the tone for four times as long.

About a year ago I switched to mostly using flatwounds. I just change strings when I want to try a different brand, and I save and label the used ones for future use.
 
#78
I can get around three gigs out of a set of strings before they are dead (depending on the length of the gig). If I want to practice with the same bass then I'll change strings for practice. Once my strings go dead I'll boil them and get another couple of gigs out of them. Forget basses and amps - I want a string sponsorship! :)
 
#79
RichardW said:
You are correct. I looked it up again in "Standing in the Shadows of Motown." According to that book, he would only change them if they broke. It was the neck of the bass that he never cleaned and that accumulated a lot of gunk and grime over the years.
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That's a great book and documentary. I think it was in the movie where they interview James Jamerson III where he says he still hasn't changed the strings or cleaned the fingerboard on his dad's german upright and still plays it regularly. Those must be well over fifty years old or more by now.
 
#80
Every string I've ever played reaches a point where it should be replaced. I've had some sets go for over a year, and some sets that could benefit from being replaced every few weeks.

It all depends on your ears and tastes. As a rule of thumb, I keep flats on far longer than I do rounds. But there's no hard and fast rule because there are too many factors affecting the useful life of a string to make generalizations. So change them when you think they need changing. Because that's about as scientific as it gets.

I personally don't go in for a lot of zing on my strings. I like a darker bassier sound. So I tend to leave my strings on longer than other folks because I prefer a more broken in tone. But that's me.

P.S. Your bandmates are correct. The older strings get, the less likely they are to sound or play right. Intonation and overtones experience changes with the age of the strings.
 

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