How long do your strings last?

[Bass4ThePublic]

I have a rule I *try* to enforce where I change rounds every 3 months. I dont change my flats

 

[iwearpumas]

For me, years. I have 9 basses, so I have a good rotation. Some of my basses are still in mint condition.

 

[Pilgrim]

I'm a dead flats player. My oldest strings are at least 52 years old. Most are 10-15 years old, and a few newcomers are less than 5 years old. None of my dozen basses have strings newer than 2 years.

Buy Labella Deep Talkin' Flats, install them and you're good for the life of the instrument.

 

[wboyd68]

I put Labella 760s on my P bass in 2018. I just put a set on my Jazz

 

[Pyrrho Epoche]

I have Dogal flats on my fretless: I figure, I will have them for years and years.

I am mostly interested in stainless rounds and how long they last playing different styles. I am not much of a flats P bass or Stingray guy---rounds ftw, especially playing hardcore pick.

 

[Drop1]

When I first swapped to steel strings about 6 months ago now, I couldn't go a week without changing.

Out of laziness, I've let my latest set of high beams stay on the bass. It's been about a month and yeah the zing is gone, but they still sound lovely. I REALLY like that new string sound, but I am finding it's not so bad keeping strings a bit longer.

I do find it affects "what" I play though. When the strings are brand new, I pay completely different music than I do after they are weeks old.

Gonna give this set there day and see how long it takes them to truly die.

 

[Pyrrho Epoche]

When I first swapped to steel strings about 6 months ago now, I couldn't go a week without changing.

Out of laziness, I've let my latest set of high beams stay on the bass. It's been about a month and yeah the zing is gone, but they still sound lovely. I REALLY like that new string sound, but I am finding it's not so bad keeping strings a bit longer.

I do find it affects "what" I play though. When the strings are brand new, I pay completely different music than I do after they are weeks old.

Gonna give this set there day and see how long it takes them to truly die.

Thats kind of where I'm at. I'd leave them on longer but they start to warble and everything sounds less than great. I might just buy a case of rounds in bulk and be done with it. All I know is; It is not going to be Dogal rounds at $50 a set.

 

[Billyears IV]

I hardly ever change bass strings. Maybe I should, but I use this technique from time to time:

 

[Drop1]

Thats kind of where I'm at. I'd leave them on longer but they start to warble and everything sounds less than great. I might just buy a case of rounds in bulk and be done with it. All I know is; It is not going to be Dogal rounds at $50 a set.

You have strings "start" to warble? I've never experienced that. They either do or don't and I need to adjust my pups accordingly. But I've never had a set just develop warble outta no where. That's interesting.

 

[Pyrrho Epoche]

You have strings "start" to warble? I've never experienced that. They either do or don't and I need to adjust my pups accordingly. But I've never had a set just develop warble outta no where. That's interesting.

After I kill them, they start to buzz the frets and get warbly...Dogals in my experience. I just need to swap them at that point.

 

[Gizmot]

I’ve got two answers although I voted “carrots”. For at least 20 years, I’ve used Thomastik Jazz Flats on my basses. Those strings can last at least 5 years even if you play a lot. I changed my Jazz Flats after 5 years just because I was bored. If I use rounds, I’ve used various DR string models, mostly Bootzillas or Pure Blues. I can always get 3 - 4 months out of them.

 

[BassinCT]

DR Pure Blues medium or the Fodera nickel light- now made by DR
4-6 months of use between changes, depending on schedule and how I’m feeling about the sound.
I play a variety of music. It could be musical theater, a classic rock cover band, or accompanying a choir- so I generally am not asked to do the aggressive, punch ‘em in the nutz thing

 

[rodl2005]

Rounds - a couple of months depending on use.
The GHS tapes on my Gibson EB4 have been on a few years. I occasionally go to change em, but then think, WHY?

 

[dabis]

I hardly ever change bass strings. Maybe I should, but I use this technique from time to time:

I have to try this. Thanks!

 

[Salem6127]

Just bought some DR pure blues and these strings are lasting TOO long... Love me a good broken in roundwound tone and 2 months later they are just not getting there.

Never in my life have I ever been waiting for a string to actually die like this. I even slathered the fingerboard with lemon oil the other day, did not wipe it off, restrung and played for 30min to coat the strings in grease and hopefully get them to mellow... Nada, they're still brighter than waking up and going to the bathroom at 3am.

Really trying to be patient here because I love the feel of them, but if this squeaky, zingy, tinkerbell tone doesn't get gone soon I'm gonna go full hog and yank em off

 

[Passinwind]

SIT Silencers, at least a year, bluegrass, jazz, and Americana.

 

[Jaco Taco]

I've never come across a stainless steel roundwound string that doesn't lose some of its high end after 3 days of playing an hour or more a day.
So I can totally understand changing your strings quite often if you are a touring pro, but I'm not, so I change them about once a year.

 

[Ritter667]

Elixir coated nickelplated roundwound Nanoweb guitar strings, which I use for my tenor bass tuned basses, last about 6 to 9 months, with playing every day.

D'Addario regular EXL nickelplated roundwound bass strings last about 2 to 3 months played every day.

 

[Pyrrho Epoche]

Just bought some DR pure blues and these strings are lasting TOO long... Love me a good broken in roundwound tone and 2 months later they are just not getting there.

Never in my life have I ever been waiting for a string to actually die like this. I even slathered the fingerboard with lemon oil the other day, did not wipe it off, restrung and played for 30min to coat the strings in grease and hopefully get them to mellow... Nada, they're still brighter than waking up and going to the bathroom at 3am.

Really trying to be patient here because I love the feel of them, but if this squeaky, zingy, tinkerbell tone doesn't get gone soon I'm gonna go full hog and yank em off

Thrash em with a 1.5 pick, hardcore for a few spells. They should die.

 

[DWBass]

For me, they stay bright for about 3 months.