Does tonal breaking-in go hand-in-hand with physical breaking-in?

[Ricky Rioli]

Usually, I'm so fond of the sound of fresh rounds that I change them too soon to notice much difference in them physically.

Recently I had a set of Pro Steels for 4 months (a long time for me!) The fresh set had just as much difference in feel as in sound: the old set had really softened up physically.

Is this something that generally happens with all strings?

If the answer is "only sometimes", do the options of hex vs round core and flat vs round wound make a difference?

I'm all ears

 

[GTHintz]

One thing that is true for just about any string is that as you get enough hours invested in it they will definitely get less edgy due to oils and skin and everything else that accumulates in the wraps. Even flats get oils and everything built up where the fingers have the most mileage. Another thing is that over time your fingers tend to get used to whatever texture the strings are and it'll feel less noticeable. Especially if you play Dr strings and you notice how smooth they are vs like pro steels which are some of the roughest ones I've tried. So something that I think I should ask Ricky Rioli is if you noticed any changes in the mids as you played them in. I'm noticing this set I'm playing right now it's very scooped out and I know from experience that some strings tend to get more mid friendly as they get broken in. Rotosound especially so. Did these do that or did they just stay very scooped. Thanks.

 

[michael_t]

Recently I had a set of Pro Steels for 4 months (a long time for me!) The fresh set had just as much difference in feel as in sound: the old set had really softened up physically.

Is this something that generally happens with all strings?

Based on my own experience, the tonal changes are more obvious than the physical changes when it comes to any strings being broken in. I generally dislike the sound of new strings fresh out of the pack, so the faster they break in tonally, the better. Meanwhile, whatever physical changes that may take place during the break-in process are so subtle I really haven't paid much attention to them.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

One thing that is true for just about any string is that as you get enough hours invested in it they will definitely get less edgy due to oils and skin and everything else that accumulates in the wraps. Even flats get oils and everything built up where the fingers have the most mileage. Another thing is that over time your fingers tend to get used to whatever texture the strings are and it'll feel less noticeable. Especially if you play Dr strings and you notice how smooth they are vs like pro steels which are some of the roughest ones I've tried. So something that I think I should ask Ricky Rioli is if you noticed any changes in the mids as you played them in. I'm noticing this set I'm playing right now it's very scooped out and I know from experience that some strings tend to get more mid friendly as they get broken in. Rotosound especially so. Did these do that or did they just stay very scooped. Thanks.

My P has a Dimarzio Model P on it, so there's never any shortage of mids anyway. Let me think. After three months, the brilliance of the top softens, and similar the bass becomes less stern, so maybe there would be a sense of a more rounded warm sound? But no significant change in the balance. When I changed to Pro Steels, I changed the tone cap to .022 and that helps leave the mids in place, the tone knob now just skims off the top end.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

Meanwhile, whatever physical changes that may take place during the break-in process are so subtle I really haven't paid much attention to them.

I was in particular wondering if flats become significantly more supple once they are a few months old. By the sounds of things, no.

Shame, I rather liked the idea of buying a set of DTF at a gauge that was almost beyond me, and letting them slowly reach a more suitable level of comfort.

 

[GTHintz]

My P has a Dimarzio Model P on it, so there's never any shortage of mids anyway. Let me think. After three months, the brilliance of the top softens, and similar the bass becomes less stern, so maybe there would be a sense of a more rounded warm sound? But no significant change in the balance. When I changed to Pro Steels, I changed the tone cap to .022 and that helps leave the mids in place, the tone knob now just skims off the top end.

I haven't tried pro steels before now and I was wondering I'm going to be in for. The tone cap idea is really great. I might want to do that for my fretless. I noticed that more mids the better with that thing.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

I was in particular wondering if flats become significantly more supple once they are a few months old. By the sounds of things, no.

Since posting that I've done endless searches on this topic, and have come across a couple of people saying that a set of flat does become physically less challenging with age.

On the other hand, one person said that their Chromes were much more physically agreeable after some time; but another person was complaining that, unlike other flats, Chromes don't become more relaxed with age. So.

Think I'm going to buy a set of 760FM and find out for myself.