How many chances do you give new strings?

[David Jayne]

They take some getting used to. They do deliver great tone if you are willing to 'work with them.' Took me awhile, weeks of use. They have a ton of mids. You'll need to re-think your EQ a bit, and maybe your technique. They stayed on my bass for a year or so until outdoor gigs made them too grippy to play. Still love them but they don't always work for me, weather depending.

 

[Linnin]

Patience is a virtue. If every day you pick up your bass to play is considered one chance, I'd have to say 97 chances do the trick. Praise Report: GHS Precision Flats

 

[Buzz E]

I know I've given GHS products way too many chances and they've always disappointed. YMMV

^^^This^^^

 

[Hoyt]

Depends. I think it helps to know the natural tonality of your instrument and your playing style well before making a decision in the first place.

For instance, my Warwick FNA Jazzman has a bright, but full tone. Flats may suit my needs just fine because there is already a brightness to the Seymor Duncan Preamp and the maple.

DR Lowbeams work well on my maple/walnut custom because the walnut has a rich midrange content. Flats would work, but probably won't sound great without further EQ'ing.

With my uprights, I know almost instantly after playing a new set if they're for me or not based on tone, feel, and playability. While Evah Pirazzis sound great and play great on my King Doublebass Roadking with an ebony fingerboard, the darker sound and Jatoba fingerboard of my '53 Kay C-1 benefit more from a brighter string like Spirocores.

I don't stick with something simply because I bought it. It has to work for me on all levels or I continue searching. That's what classified ads are for.

 

[jwilson67]

I gave EB Cobalt Flats one chance last night. All they did was confirm to me that I am just not a flats player. I spent the entire night longing to put my Fatbeams back on. My fingers were tired and I felt like I was plucking bridge cables. I need that immediate responsiveness that rounds deliver.

When I talk about DR strings though it's only Fatbeams that I like. Other than that it's Cobalt rounds or Prosteels. From this point forward every time I think about putting flats on a bass I'm going to remind myself to stop and really think about it!

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I'll leave them on for a month or two even if I dislike them. I have the money to not do this if I wanted to, but I'm wise enough with my money to. It just throw $20 away just because some strings aren't to my liking.

 

[jwilson67]

I'll leave them on for a month or two even if I dislike them. I have the money to not do this if I wanted to, but I'm wise enough with my money to. It just throw $20 away just because some strings aren't to my liking.

If it was another set of rounds that I wasn't crazy about I'd leave them on for the duration of their lifespan but flats just don't fit what I do and I should have known better.

With the Cobalt Rounds I was drawn into the "feels like a flat but sounds like a round" thing but they are very much flat wounds. The only other flats I've tried were Chromes and those sounded far more round-like than the EB's IMO.

 

[Sam Dingle]

If I play them for 2 weeks and I don't get my sound I leave. I don't really mess with electric strings too much as I rarely play them. Luckily i played a set of nickel d'addarios i liked on a new bass i got so i'll just stick to those. my DR's are too bright.

 

[Son of Wobble]

I gave EB Cobalt Flats one chance last night. All they did was confirm to me that I am just not a flats player. I spent the entire night longing to put my Fatbeams back on. My fingers were tired and I felt like I was plucking bridge cables. I need that immediate responsiveness that rounds deliver.

When I talk about DR strings though it's only Fatbeams that I like. Other than that it's Cobalt rounds or Prosteels. From this point forward every time I think about putting flats on a bass I'm going to remind myself to stop and really think about it!

It is good to know what you like, and it is sage to disregard entirely tools (or even concepts) one does not find agreeable, as this frees up energy to be used for further investigation elsewhere (e.g., having decided definitively that you prefer rounds to flats, you can now move on to other burning dichotomies such as SS vs TUBE or Precision vs Jazz. Just stay open to the idea you may one day find the perfect jazz that would sound great through a tube head -- if it were only wearing flats! ).

 

[brianrost]

I'm trying to remember the last time I took off new strings because I didn't like them. Not sure if I ever have, to be honest.

I must be the least picky member of TB.

 

[tedious1]

My record is no chance, I got some freebies when I got my Chinese knock-off J. I took them out of the packaging, unlooped the E, ran it between my fingers and threw the whole lot in the scrap metal bin. I'm used to rough strings playing rounds, but these felt like a tiny little belt sander at full bore.

 

[superiorpine]

Just gigged a new-to-me set (40 hrs. playtime at time of purchase) of TI Jazz flats that sound good with only one tonal setting. They have no top end, some mids. Incredible low end, though.

Played two gigs at two venues, both with odd room designs. My bass did not seem to sound how it usually does and had to wonder whether it was the strings or the rooms. These flats feel great but are extremely limiting tonally speaking, unlike Chromes.

How much time is a fair assessment?

TI JFs take forever to break in, not just in tone but also in feel. And as others have posted, they respond differently to playing technique than most other strings. The timing here is really your tolerance for the adjustment period. The TI's won't get brighter, but IME, they got grindier when I adjusted to them and they broke in.

 

[Lionel Albert]

I bought in 2009 three sets of Hartke strings (BEADG), one has been changed then boiled, the boiled one replaced the other set, the third set is still new, I've never opened it.
I've got the same strings (GHS flatwounds) on my other bass since 2006.

 

[Lionel Albert]

Things have just changed, I put old roundwound strings on the 4 string bass but I tuned it in perfect fifths (CGDA).

 

[climber]

I'll leave them on for a month or two even if I dislike them. I have the money to not do this if I wanted to, but I'm wise enough with my money to. It just throw $20 away just because some strings aren't to my liking.

Hard to understand this myself... my tone/sound is everything, with the feel of the instrument right behind. I really can't imagine playing an instrument for "a month or two" with strings I don't like. $20 is a pittance IMNSHO.

 

[twinjet]

TI JFs take forever to break in, not just in tone but also in feel. And as others have posted, they respond differently to playing technique than most other strings. The timing here is really your tolerance for the adjustment period. The TI's won't get brighter, but IME, they got grindier when I adjusted to them and they broke in.

Would you say there is a break-in period for new basses, too? The set in question had 40 hours of playtime when I bought them. Will these strings change as I play with them more?

 

[Son of Wobble]

Would you say there is a break-in period for new basses, too? The set in question had 40 hours of playtime when I bought them. Will these strings change as I play with them more?

The only break-in period for basses as such that I can think of would go to working a little lacquer off the neck through playing.

If you thought the T1s were too one-dimensional for your taste, I don't see how they are going to get MORE distinctive with time.
As @JimmyM said somewhere only half-joking, all OLD flats sound fairly same-y.

I didn't like my D'addario Chromes much for the first couple months, but they sound great now at the one year mark. I find a wider range of tones w/ those than I do in my old T1s. If you are loving chromes, you might already have found your sweet spot with the previous set.

 

[superiorpine]

The break-in process has multiple variables. New electronics and new speakers require some break-in, some feel that instruments that have been played more have more personality i.e. they “open up.” And of course, there is the relationship between the player and the instrument/strings.

Some of break-in is psychological or getting “used to” whatever. Some things feel right immediately, some don’t and won’t, and some change over time. The most important variable is how you feel about the whole thing. When your tolerance or patience runs out, time to change. That said, yes, TI JFs take forever to get to the point where they stabilize. IME they don’t change much after that. Bass guitars are way more subtle when it comes to break in.

 

[Rollin Thunder]

These DR hi beams are just too tight, probably ok for pick but not fingers. Thought they might loosen after about a week. Coming off and roto66 going on.

 

[twinjet]

So, I gave the Jazz Flats a good month. Ended up throwing Markley SR2000s back on.

Couple things.

Pros
-solid, supportive tone

Cons
-floppy as all hell
-not too versatile

All in all, I give them a C+. I'd take Chromes over these any day, but would still recommend these to any player who wouldn't mind the above listed cons.