I've often thought the same thing. Maybe just use a couple pieces of 50lb. test fishing line (on the E and G) to keep the neck straight, and a coupon... works for me!
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If Factory Strings Suck.....
- Thread starter ZenG
- Start date
I've often thought the same thing. Maybe just use a couple pieces of 50lb. test fishing line (on the E and G) to keep the neck straight, and a coupon... works for me!
When I play a guitar in the store I know whether it's a good guitar or not, and that's in spite of the strings. All my archtops came with roundwounds initially. The guitars all sounded good and played well in the store. I prefer flatwounds on my archtops (and my SG Standard) so they got changed immediately at home. Part of each guitar's purchase was a set of 12-52 Chromes.
Same dealio with the Fender 50's Precision.
It's just a case of individual preference.
Same dealio with the Fender 50's Precision.
It's just a case of individual preference.
IMO, there are lots of guitar/bass players who just play whatever is on the instrument, and then when the strings need to be changed they get whatever they find or someone suggests at the local music shop. (Or they never change them at all ...)
And then there are players who are very specific about what they want and have strong preferences for type, brand, gauge, of string, and are likely to change the strings out.
Neither of these groups really notices much benefit from the manufacturer spending a few extra bucks on the strings that ship with the guitar, so the manufacturer has little incentive to do so. It's an attractive place for the bean counters to cut corners. Especially at the entry level, saving a couple bucks on strings is probably better than cutting that couple bucks from tuners, bridge, or pickups.
And then there are players who are very specific about what they want and have strong preferences for type, brand, gauge, of string, and are likely to change the strings out.
Neither of these groups really notices much benefit from the manufacturer spending a few extra bucks on the strings that ship with the guitar, so the manufacturer has little incentive to do so. It's an attractive place for the bean counters to cut corners. Especially at the entry level, saving a couple bucks on strings is probably better than cutting that couple bucks from tuners, bridge, or pickups.
As a fanatic about Bass strings, this thread is good to see
Some very good points have been made. I think people need to be careful about what a 'factory' string is. They are still a 'brand' name string, that the manufacturer of the instrument has decided to use, because of many reasons. Budget obviously being one. I think it also depends on the quality of the instrument, and also, the players' taste. I think some of us are a little hasty in saying that .. the stock strings 'suck'. As some folks have already mention, it really is a matter of taste... These comments usually come from, with due respect, inexperienced players. Perhaps they feel a string that is a little raspy under their fingers, and decide that it's just a crappy string, not realising that they simply may prefer the smoothness of nickel, so on and so forth.
We are very fortunate that these days, the quality of pretty much everything, is pretty good. However, that is not to say that dud strings and string sets don't occur. I've been a fanatic about strings from the start. It's our very first connection with the instrument, they are the medium in which we extract tones from the wood, which is our bass! Not to digress too much, but I've found that Low B, and E strings with certain companies, are notorious for being dull, and lifeless, straight out of the package. It happens.
In summary, yes, there are 'cheap' strings.. though in my experience, pretty much every bass, no matter what price range, has a brand name string on it. I'm personally not aware of a company that just makes 'stock' strings and just churns them out. One last thing.. often strings that have been on basses sitting in music stores, may just have been dulled out from many fingers playing them. Strings don't just die from hours of bass playing and abuse, there are metal... they are prone to corrosion over time, this is something to consider also.
Hope this helps somewhat
Some very good points have been made. I think people need to be careful about what a 'factory' string is. They are still a 'brand' name string, that the manufacturer of the instrument has decided to use, because of many reasons. Budget obviously being one. I think it also depends on the quality of the instrument, and also, the players' taste. I think some of us are a little hasty in saying that .. the stock strings 'suck'. As some folks have already mention, it really is a matter of taste... These comments usually come from, with due respect, inexperienced players. Perhaps they feel a string that is a little raspy under their fingers, and decide that it's just a crappy string, not realising that they simply may prefer the smoothness of nickel, so on and so forth.
We are very fortunate that these days, the quality of pretty much everything, is pretty good. However, that is not to say that dud strings and string sets don't occur. I've been a fanatic about strings from the start. It's our very first connection with the instrument, they are the medium in which we extract tones from the wood, which is our bass! Not to digress too much, but I've found that Low B, and E strings with certain companies, are notorious for being dull, and lifeless, straight out of the package. It happens.
In summary, yes, there are 'cheap' strings.. though in my experience, pretty much every bass, no matter what price range, has a brand name string on it. I'm personally not aware of a company that just makes 'stock' strings and just churns them out. One last thing.. often strings that have been on basses sitting in music stores, may just have been dulled out from many fingers playing them. Strings don't just die from hours of bass playing and abuse, there are metal... they are prone to corrosion over time, this is something to consider also.
Hope this helps somewhat
