How many times..

[Selim]

.. can you take off a roundwound set and put back on without there being serious degradation in tone and/or intonation problems?

I’ve swapped out flats too many times to count, but playing on rounds is a more recent event..

I’m going back n forth with DR pure blues and Dunlop regular nickels..

 

[Selim]

Or if this has been discussed, please link me to the thread, thank you!

 

[Selim]

To add: not looking to resurrect the “fresh string” sound, just the broken in sound. Like, do any of you do with rounds what players do with flats, I.e., take them on and off, put them on another bass, etc.?

 

[michael_t]

do any of you do with rounds what players do with flats, I.e., take them on and off, put them on another bass, etc.?

Flats, sometimes... Rounds, never.

 

[hasbeen]

Flats, sometimes... Rounds, never.

I agree on both accounts.

 

[Pyrrho Epoche]

I took off a set of Dogal rounds, after a month on my P bass and just put them on my stingray, a couple weeks ago. They still sound super--no issues intonation wise.
FB Video: The Havoc
YMMV, string maker to string maker.

 

[Ggaa]

Might be more prone to break at the peg end if taken on and off a lot.

 

[Phaidrus]

.. can you take off a roundwound set and put back on without there being serious degradation in tone and/or intonation problems?

Yes. I've done it a number of times with various brands with no issues whatsoever. Just made sure to put them back the same side up at the bridge as in the original installation.

 

[red_rhino]

Flats, sometimes... Rounds, never.

+1. Usually, once rounds go on, they stay on until it's time to change them. If they do come off, it's usually due to some maintenance issue and they go right back on. But even then, I often just time the maintenance to coincide with a string change anyway.

 

[mambo4]

sweat and oil and skin gunk from playing probably have a far greater and faster impact on tone degradation. Beyond the normal risk of breaks/crimps/kinks from manhandling I doubt swapping has a negative impact - but I’d happily be corrected by someone with more expertise

 

[IPA]

I've taken a set of GHS balanced nickels off one bass and switched them to another probably 5 times? No real issues but they were never exactly zingy to begin with.

I have a string trying and changing addiction, I justified it by saying it would keep me from buying another bass. I probably could have bought another bass with the amount of money I spent trying all the different brands

 

[mdogs]

Do it all the time with rounds, be careful and there should be no issues.

 

[B String]

I have a few sets of Nickle Rounds that are not overly used so I can have them if I want a broken in set for a session or I break a string. I like having good spares around.

 

[Gervais Cote]

Did it several times with flats and rounds and never had any problems.

I just make sure I put them back in the same position, don’t back bend them and install them gently on the tuners.

So far, my Dunlop Marcus Miller stainless steel super bright rounds seem to be on their way to last forever !

 

[Stewie]

You can do it over and over until the G string pops at the tuner. Have a spare set handy and dont worry about it

 

[KenD]

I would estimate not more than 1, 289 times.

 

[singlemalt]

All the time. Sets I like come off and go in the alcohol soaking tube. (Denatured alcohol from the hardware store). And I might forget about them and they could be in there for months. I stick a post it note on the tube labeled with string set, estimated age, and the bass they came off.

If I’m experimenting with used sets, I might have to rewind the silk ends around an opposite rotation tuner, or barely have enough string to wrap the peg. That’s a riskier move, but if I’m careful (and lucky) it’ll work.

At this point, there are plenty of used, cleaned, sets for each bass. Which makes string swaps a breeze.

I’ve settled on a few sets that I use all the time, so there’s TI flats and light rounds for each bass.

 

[Tommygun_ted]

When I buy a bass, the factory strings come off immediately, but they go into a zip lock bag in the basses case as backups just in case

 

[Lava]

Flats yea. Rounds nah

 

[dutchwife]

Pleasantly surprised to see the OP not being the person I thought most likely to be asking such a question.
That being said, if you've really spent that much time and money with this string malarkey it's a pity you didn't document your findings. That would have been most interesting.