I hate B and E strings ...where is the promised land??

[mr80htz]

Outside of old Dean Markley Cryo Steels strings I have not been able to find a brand/pack of strings where all the strings degrade equally over time. The Es and low B get old and flubby first EVERYTIME! I use the Daddario NYXLs and EB Cobalt for rounds (I don't have this issue on the basses with half rounds as they are 2 years old). Ideas folks? Cheers

 

[bassdude51]

TIs.

 

[Yahboy]

Suggest get extra (or two) single B and E string on each new string set purchace.

 

[bass12]

Maybe a lighter gauge? I get better results from 40-120 than from 45-130. But the B and E are still likely to die faster than the D and G in my experience.

 

[Lesfunk]

The reason my E and A strings go dead faster than my D and G strings is that I simply play them more. They're the go to strings when grooving.

I suspect t that if we gave all the strings the same amount of use over the life of a set, they'd all go dull around the same time

 

[Killing Floor]

Replace your strings more often?

or TI.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

Suggest get extra (or two) single B and E string on each new string set purchace.

IMO, that's a really good idea!
Many years ago, when my goal was to have a really bright sound, had I done this, I would've saved quite a bit over the years. And I noticed the same thing about the B and E strings turning muddy before the rest of the set. I was changing strings every 3 to 4 weeks to keep that bright sound.

I no longer strive for a bright sound. Right now I'm getting about a year out of a set of strings.

 

[ixlramp]

> I hate B and E strings ...where is the promised land??

I felt the same years ago, only A and up had the tone i liked, so i used A as my lowest string.
B and E are perhaps likely to go dead first because they are the thickest and stiffest.

 

[bassliner50]

If you meam Dean Markley Blue Steels, I agree. Used thse for years until they became unavailable. Those string would last quite a while.

 

[Altitude]

It's unavoidable. "Old and flubby" happens because organic material accumulates in the tiny spaces along string winding, and en masse begins to affect the vibration and harmonic behavior of the string. Larger strings have larger and more winding and therefore more space in which for this stuff to accumulate.

This is also why people always claim that the "B string sounds different from the others on most 5 string basses," it's just that B strings always go dead first.

The idea to keep two sets of low strings and rotate them across the bass and a denatured alcohol bath is a good one. Or just do that with two sets of strings overall.

 

[Scott Lynch]

I recall a relatively well known double bass shop (maybe it was David Gage?) mentioning in an article that the E strings start to go first on double bass sets. Likewise its a common practice among classical guitarists to replace the three wound strings once before replacing the whole set. If you're noticing uneven wear on strings enough for it to bother you, I second the recommendation of just getting an extra B and E and swapping them in the midterm before getting a whole set. Save a bit of money that way.

 

[Thumpin6string]

The only set I've had that did this, was a set of half rounds that I decided to try. The B and E were dead right out of the package. I contacted the manufacturer and they sent another set. They were dead out of the package too. So went back to rounds.

 

[Slevage]

My G and high C ( five stringer) go dead quicker than the other 3 strings.
I buy extras.

 

[Max Bogosity]

Build a mixed set of strings where the B and E are brighter from the beginning?

 

[michael_t]

Build a mixed set of strings where the B and E are brighter from the beginning?

+1

Since I got my first 5-string bass two and a half years ago, I've been experimenting with the idea of mix and matching for the low B. For example, a 4-string set of GHS Round Core Boomers (NPS rounds on a round core) with a GHS Pressurewound low B (Alloy 52 rollerwound on a hex core), which actually balanced better tonally with the rest than the RCB low B that came in the factory 5-string set.

I also had a 5-string set of GHS Progressives (Alloy 52 roundwound on a hex core) on my Yamaha at one point, and when I decided to replace them after 5 mths, I replaced the E-G with a 4-string set of the Pressurewounds and kept the Progressive low B as an experiment to see how they would match up. When I finally took them off, the E-G were 11 mths old, and the low B was 16 mths old, and they still sounded pretty good together.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

TI strings will last considerably longer than any other brands and they sound great too. I honestly don't understand why people bother with some of the vastly inferior "usual suspects". Just do some research into which TI strings will be best for you. I'm guessing the "Infeld Superalloy" would be a good place to start. These are the TI strings that are most middle-of-the-road. The rest of TI's bass strings have a far more unique sound&feel and are probably VERY different to the strings you're used to. They're amazing strings though. Just make sure you get a set that's suitable for your style of music.

Or you can get Roto 77 flats where the E-string NEVER seems to lose the "new string zing". You'll probably complain about the D+G strings going dead within 2 minutes though.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Are you using your B and E strings more often than the other ones, or wrapping your thumb over the neck? If so they could just be getting dull due to dirt/finger grease- put them in some denatured alcohol for a day and they'll be almost as good as new.

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

Optima 24Kt Golds don't do that.

 

[SLPimp]

Outside of old Dean Markley Cryo Steels strings I have not been able to find a brand/pack of strings where all the strings degrade equally over time. The Es and low B get old and flubby first EVERYTIME! I use the Daddario NYXLs and EB Cobalt for rounds (I don't have this issue on the basses with half rounds as they are 2 years old). Ideas folks? Cheers

Sounds like you'd rather play guitar.

 

[Nephilymbass]

Outside of old Dean Markley Cryo Steels strings I have not been able to find a brand/pack of strings where all the strings degrade equally over time. The Es and low B get old and flubby first EVERYTIME! I use the Daddario NYXLs and EB Cobalt for rounds (I don't have this issue on the basses with half rounds as they are 2 years old). Ideas folks? Cheers

i mean as far as strings dying it's basic physics. The thicker the string the more surface area there is to hold dead skin, sweat, skin oils and so on. Sure the fact that we use those strings a lot also makes sense. Honestly the biggest improvement for me when it comes to this wasn't about switching strings it was out playing longer scales. Likely because longer scale basses tend to have a tighter more articulate sound which also happens to be characteristics many of us like in a fresh set of strings on any bass.