Do strings last longer on fretless?

[Oneirogenic]

I've had the same set of Hi-Beams on my fretless Corvette for over a year now and they still sound good. I have kept them clean and alcohol soaked them a few times. I don't recall ever letting strings go this long before and on this bass in the past I would only change because it had been several months. I haven't been playing fretted bass much at all in the past few years so I can't really compare but it seems to stand to reason that frets kill strings faster. Does anybody else find this to be true?

 

[hotbass57]

+1 I hope that's true. I just started playing fretless. It makes sense that frets would help wear out the strings faster.

 

[BassBob1]

I don't play fretless but I can't see how that would be true. How long strings last depends more on how much you play, how much you sweat, and the bio-chemical content of your sweat. It seems to be a general condenses that DR strings last pretty long, so maybe that's what you're experiencing.

 

[GM60466]

LaBella tape wounds seem to last forever

 

[Slammin]

I think frets wear strings out. Ever notice the flat spots on your strings after you remove them from a fretted bass?

 

[Jazzdogg]

My preference for fretless basses strung with flats means that I often use the same strings for a decade or more.

 

[Fairly Bassic]

I think it's both, and it will depend on your own hands. If you are the guy who has high acidity sweat and you're hard on strings, you're probably going to take those strings out in a couple of months no matter what. If you're not that guy, then yes, the differential wear of having frets will make your strings wear out sooner and especially will make them start losing their intonation. Just my guess.