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Double Bass How you know when to change a string (or all strings)

U

us_soccer

May 16, 2007
57
0
upstate ny
#1
I play my DB a modest amount -- about 5-8 hours per week. I haven't changed my strings since I bought it, which is 3.5 years ago.

How do I know if I should change my strings? I can't tell whether they sound different now than before (because I just honestly don't remember and I play it day to day and don't notice micro changes) , but they still sound pretty good to me. Of course, I don't know what new strings would sound like, so maybe "pretty good" would change to "really good" with a new G string, or a new of strings in general. The catch-22 is that I can only know this difference if I purchase new strings and change them, but then it would be too late in case I didn't really need them..

Sometimes, it sounds like my G string pitch moves just a _bit_ from initial pizz attack to right after that, but then sometimes I wonder if my ears are imagining it.

Any guidance would be helpful. Sorry if there's a thread out there about this, but I searched and couldn't find one. if so, I'd appreciate someone directing me to another thread.
 
#4
They're Spirocores so they should sound fine (Spiros are like the diehard bunny). I bet they sound nice and dark too. As far as how to determine when to change a string/s, your ears should be able to tell you (an old string will have an unclear and vague pitch center).
 
#6
Thanks for the advice ---
I think the Spirocores should hold up then... didn't know they were the "energizer bunny" strings...

I'll also try a cleaning.

My G sometimes sounds like it could use replacing, so if I change anything, I'll just change the one string.
 
#7
Spriocore G string is the last one I'd consider changing until it breaks or won't stay in tune.

New ones sound horrid for awhile.

The E usually gets dead sounding first.

With strings that old if you just change one and not the set the tone difference will be quite jarring.
 
#8
I had just the opposite experience with Spiros. Mine would go kind of dead, get noticeably stiffer and start falsing at about 8-9 months. 6 if it was particularly humid out. My G would go before any of the others so later in my Spiro phase, I would swap the G out at about 6 months and I could go about a year on a set. Maybe I hit them harder or I sweat on them more or maybe I just liked newer sounding strings. I dunno.

When I had to yank on them to get them to speak, I changed them out.

I think it has a lot to do with your bass, you, your playing style including amount of time you spend soloing and what you expect to sound like doing all of that stuff. I found it harder to solo on older, deader strings and since I solo a lot, I'd change them out more frequently.


mark
 
#9
For what it's worth, I had my spirocores on for 7 years and they still sounded fine.

When I had Belcantos put on recently, the tech asked me if the spiros were fairly new, when he took them off...because they still looked great!

Just clean them with rubbing alcohol. Should be ok.
 
#11
I use Spiro Mittels on one of my bass and unless the unlikely event of braking one I am fairly certain that I will not change it for at least 3-4 years. when they get really tight I know that its time to get another secondhand set about 6 months old, I hate new strings, good to clean them with alcohol and use a wine cork to remove rosin. luckily my hands don't sweat at all.
 

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