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Flat-wounds: How long is too long?

#41
MoeTown1986 said:
I think TI Jazz Flats last longer than any other string. I have 11 basses all strung with TI’s. One set is 6 years old. I have a new set that is only a few weeks old. They both sound alike. I do wipe my strings down with some degreaser sprayed on a paper towel every few gigs. It keeps them lively.
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This also happens to be why I consider them to be one of the least expensive bass strings you can buy. I calculate the value of most products on the basis of cost-per-use. You can do this on a per hour basis if you like. For example, if you play a bass on average one hour a day, that’s 365 hours a year. Here in Germany a set of TI flats costs the equivalent of about 60 USD. Five years of playing means 1825 hours at 3.28 cents per hour. If you pay 25 bucks for a set of “inexpensive” strings and play them six months before they wear out you are paying 13.66 cents per hour. Of course, lots of flatwounds cost less than TI Jazz Flats and may last nearly as long. And you may prefer the sound or playability. But that’s your call. The bottom line is that the longer a string delivers acceptable performance the cheaper it is.
 
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#42
Steve Harris changes them before every gig, many people leave them on till they break. I split the difference. There's a point where they get so dead I can't take it, but it takes a good solid couple years of constant use to get to that point. But since flatwounds are now an occasional diversion for me, I think I can leave the set of Dunlop flats on my parts PJ on it indefinitely.
 
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#45
The longest I've ever had the same set of strings on any of my basses was four years with the D'A Chromes Flats (40-100). The 100E eventually went all dull and thuddy while the 40G stayed annoyingly bright the whole time. Aside from that, I've never stayed with any set of strings till they were no good any more because I always get an irresistible urge to "try something different" before the old ones actually NEED to be replaced.

Meanwhile, I put a fresh set of GHS Precision Flats (45-95) on my Am Std P four months ago. I intend to keep them on for as long as possible to see how long I can actually go with a set of flats before they're no good any more.
 
#46
FWIW, Im currently running TI flats on my P bass and theyre about 2 years old. Love em.

Cobalt Flats on my Tbird... love em... but I prefer them to be pretty new. They have a decent amount of bounce to their tone with a pick and are sort of a flat/round hybrid to my ears so I'll likely replace them every 6 months.

Bought a used Soundgear off a friend with a 6 year old set of chromes.... played em for 3 years.... then bought a brand new set for a different bass. After breaking them in, I noticed how the really old ones sounded so much better so I swapped them around just to be sure and yea... I really preferred the older ones. FWIW, I felt that the chromes became closer to TIs as the years ticked by.

MORE IMPORTANTLY.... we all need to remember that some of us only use one bass and then have a backup for shows... while others of us have a half dozen or more... some for certain projects.. others for other projects. Also, some of us are clean people that wash our hands all the time and then play half notes for 30 minutes while others of us eat a bunch of fast food with our hands, pack a bowl, and crank out some metal for 3 hours with our drummer at the space.
When we talk about the age of strings.. we're really talking about the use, not the time they have existed.
 
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#47
Leo Thunder said:
Steve Harris probably gets them for free so he can say how often he changes them and fools can be led to think they should do as well. It's a marketing expense.
Strings can be cleaned.
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Well if you want zingy strings but want them to be flats and you're Steve Harris, you're not going to bother with soaking them in alcohol even if you don't get them for free :D
 
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#48
i used to play nothing but rounds and threw rocks at flats...but now mine eyes have been awakened to the glory that is flatwounds...i love them and have 3 of my basses fitted with them...so far all is well in the neighborhood!!
GHS Precisions (medium gauge) are my fav ...
 
#52
mobeme23 said:
Hey everybody, i'm pretty new to the TB crowd, and i've been playing now for only a few years. I'm wondering about various opinions regarding the typical life of of flat-wound strings.

Currently, my G&L L1505 has D'addario Nickle flats (not sure of the specific gauges).
To me, when this particular set was freshly broken-in, there was a distinct brightness and attack that i liked, but as i continue to play the strings, they have gotten warmer and a bit more punchy. while it's still suitable to me, my untrained ears might be mistaking that as dull or dead to a more well-experienced player.

i'm sure there are numerous factors contributing to a given set's "shelf life", but i'm curious about what indicators to look/listen for as the strings age.

What are some indicators that it is time to switch out?
thanks for helping out a noob!!
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For me about 30 days and then the flats come off and get replaced by rounds … but for those who like flats more than me I would think you could go years
 
#53
I've only replaced a set of flats because I either didn't like them (TI Jazz flats, I'm in a small minority around here) or because I simply wanted to put on a different set of strings. I've never had a set reach the point where they were worn out and I've never broken a bass string.

If I like the strings, I easily go a year or more with rounds and I've gone much longer with flats. I had a set of Chromes on my Precision for about 6-7 years and they still sounded great to me. I only changed those Chromes because I was playing in a southern rock band that could get kind of loud and my Precision is a fantastic rock bass with Lo Riders on it.

Just to give you some context, I prefer a broken in string over bright, shiny, chimy, ringy, clangy new strings. So I seem to keep even roundwounds on my basses for longer than a lot of people do.
 
#56
mobeme23 said:
Hey everybody, i'm pretty new to the TB crowd, and i've been playing now for only a few years. I'm wondering about various opinions regarding the typical life of of flat-wound strings.

Currently, my G&L L1505 has D'addario Nickle flats (not sure of the specific gauges).
To me, when this particular set was freshly broken-in, there was a distinct brightness and attack that i liked, but as i continue to play the strings, they have gotten warmer and a bit more punchy. while it's still suitable to me, my untrained ears might be mistaking that as dull or dead to a more well-experienced player.

i'm sure there are numerous factors contributing to a given set's "shelf life", but i'm curious about what indicators to look/listen for as the strings age.

What are some indicators that it is time to switch out?
thanks for helping out a noob!!
Click to expand...
5 seconds is too long for me ;)
 
#57
great stuff!
i'm definitely still in the stage of wanting to try all the brands to find the best match, but i've been digging the chromes on my G&L so far, especially with a slightly muted pick or thumb-style. I was less impressed by the GHS brite flats on the G&L, but they sound great on my old Ibanez Roadster.

At some point, i might pick up a set of TI flats and La Bellas, just to hear how they compare.
 
#58
I you liked the sound they had before, and you don't like it now, then I think the answer is clear.

Personally, I replace them when they get physically damaged from knocks obtained by picking, falls, or stage antics, or they start smelling too much like old meat (i.e. dead skin mixed with sweat mixed with oxidized metal, locked up in a case or gig bag for too long). The strings on my main P have been there since 2008, and they are going strong after 100's of gigs, sounding better than ever. I just put flats on my new AV Jazz and AV P, and if the old P is any example, I expect those strings to be there for at least a decade each. Put the current Steve Harris flats on my Musicmaster Bass back around 2010 or 2011, after I broke a [very, very old] round wound string playing with a pick. Those are the ones that are slated for replacement because they smell like meat. I have a new set of LaBella .109's for the bass sitting here waiting to be installed. (I have played the Musicmaster more, and harder, than any other of my basses.) The flats have been on my B00 bass since at least 1988 (and possibly since new in 1977), and on my L-2000 since I got it in 1997.

If you keep them clean and undamaged, then they can go a very long time.

But I think that in this case, the proof of the puddin' is in the eating'. You said you liked the way they sounded better when they were newer. If you can't account for that difference by way of tone adjustments, then it's time for new strings. You have to make your own ears happy, not ours.
 
#59
I think with flats people get caught in the misconceptions that they'll last forever and will sound better with age. They'll last forever and sound better with age if you prefer thumpy, low-mid heavy tone. If not, there is no harm in changing them out as often as any other bass string. Its not like they cost astronomically more.

The first set of chromes I ever had on a bass, I held onto way past the point of sounding pleasing to me because I was convinced that if I changed out a flat before their 10 years was up, I wasn't getting my money worth. I know now this isn't true.
 
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