So, I’m happy with the sound of my bass guitar yet every time I read threads on changing strings for improving sound it makes me want to change my strings! What ye say TB’ers?
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Does this happen to you?
- Thread starter cool breeze
- Start date
You should change your strings if you want to. If you don't want to, you shouldn't change your strings.
Everything on this forum makes me want to try something new.
I first tried Chromes, because of TB, and now I've got one bass with Cobalt flats which I like a lot.
Elixirs I found out all on my own, because they came on my new Ibanez Premium. TBH they kind of tricked me, just a little, because even though they were old, they sounded like new strings.
So, I grabbed a set of Stainless Elixirs which are on there now & put the nickel set on ice for now.
It took a bit for those SS strings to break in though, as they sounded tinny & weak for a couple of days.
They're certainly retaining their brand new zing!
but it has only been a month
I first tried Chromes, because of TB, and now I've got one bass with Cobalt flats which I like a lot.
Elixirs I found out all on my own, because they came on my new Ibanez Premium. TBH they kind of tricked me, just a little, because even though they were old, they sounded like new strings.
So, I grabbed a set of Stainless Elixirs which are on there now & put the nickel set on ice for now.
It took a bit for those SS strings to break in though, as they sounded tinny & weak for a couple of days.
They're certainly retaining their brand new zing!
but it has only been a month
This is pretty air tight. I change them about twice per year. New strings always sound better to me but if you are happy as-is, don't change them.
no, not really. 
i'm happy with a couple of string brands (both round wound). i change them when they're too dead for fred.
i'm happy with a couple of string brands (both round wound). i change them when they're too dead for fred.
Dont love the bright sound of fresh strings so i literally never change my bass strings. They dont get sticky or sound bad like old guitar strings. Im also pretty lazy about it. Not having to change strings is like 50% of the reason i play bass.
I want to try a muted P Bass with flat wounds but I always use DR Fat Beams.
Not usually. I'm usually pretty happy with my strings but I do make note of certain things to try. I recently tried the Steve Harris Rotosounds and hated them. Tried D'Addario Tape wound flats and love them!
No, because I change strings the minute I bring my bass home and I haven't been wrong yet.
If Paul McCartney dropped by to visit and recommended this or that set, I'd have to say "Thanks, but no thanks!'
Welcome back! Wait, you spent time AWAY from TalkBass and got another despite that?! Whoa, talk about lingering GAS...
I tried some TI Jazz Flats on a friend's P-bass, based on rave reviews here onnTB, and loved them. I will probably put a set on my jazz in the next few months. Except I am in this band now where I need the 70's jazz funk tones, so... Probably not, after all.
If I had a gig that needed my Pbass, like a soul and Motown gig with no funk or disco, I'd throw a set on right away.
I am otherwise happy with DR Sunbeams roundwounds.
The only thing I think about is retrying the strings of my youth to see what I think about them now: Roto 66 Swingbass, Boomers, Blue Steels would be the ones I'd try again. But I probably really won't do that experiment.
If I had a gig that needed my Pbass, like a soul and Motown gig with no funk or disco, I'd throw a set on right away.
I am otherwise happy with DR Sunbeams roundwounds.
The only thing I think about is retrying the strings of my youth to see what I think about them now: Roto 66 Swingbass, Boomers, Blue Steels would be the ones I'd try again. But I probably really won't do that experiment.
There are endless possibilities pairing certain strings with certain basses and switching it up, how can you not get excited? I don't change strings often because I'm incredibly lazy, but also because they never seem to get grimy on me and I like the sound of dead strings. I have roundwounds on my Reverend Justice and flatwounds on my P bass, so that helps too, to have the variety. If I feel like some aggressive funk, I pick up my Reverend. If I feel like some smooth motown, I pick up my Precision.
- Oct 7, 2000
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- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
I just threw Fat Beams on my Caprice. They made me happy, so I bought some more.
Pbassmanca
In the pocket n' thumpy. So woody, so greasy...
I don't have enough basses for all the strings that I like. It's a real problem. TB is feeding the obsession ; I practically go crazy debating which strings to use on which basses.....
Thanks!
The less time I spend talking about bass, the more I spend playing bass.
As I stood in the shop fondling that beautiful new bass, I told myself "There's no turning back now dude, you're going to be a wannabe bass player for life now!".
Before I joined up on social media to talk about gear, I had one of each. One bass, one guitar, one amp
then I learned that GAS was & voila!, off I went in search of a bigger cabinet, a tube amp, & a better bass
oddly enough, just about any cheap guitar satisfies me, should have never sold the LTD I bought for $115
ended up costing me $200 to get another like it, but a new one in the shade I prefer
If I were more pragmatic, I'd have been paying attention to the technique sections of the sites instead of the GAS-inducing sections about amps & instruments.
More than a couple folks have told me a AudoKinesis cab would walk all over my Fender, and I have reason to believe it, since I have heard Kappalites.
So, that's kind of my latest GAS bug, but it would mean finding an amp or power amp + tube preamp to go with it. That could end up costing literally thousands
Will the sound be good enough to justify that cost?
Therein lies the rub!
No. TB threads make me want to keep my strings and change my bass.
I went on a string quest recently doing just that and all it did was reaffirm my love for Sunbeams. They truly are special strings and there's nothing else like them, IMO. I always come back to them.
