When I changed my bass strings my dad texted me and said this:
Professional bassists, is this true??
Professional bassists, is this true??
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Is this true?
- Thread starter MotherAnarchy
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Yeah, if you need new strings, just buy a new bass.
The Carol Kaye way.
Pretty much if you have them in a climate controlled environment they will last for thousands of years. Just don’t use them. We have this thing on earth called friction. It doesn’t matter weather you’re playing flats, rounds, tapes or telegraph wires. You have metal rubbing together, there will be wear. The more wear there is, the more your tone will degrade.
There is no honor in never changing your strings , there are no awards for longevity (like my Prius going over 200,000 miles coming from Toyota America), just degradation.
True story: I had a set of flats on my 72 pbass for about 15 years. I did so out of sheer laziness and because I read a magazine article where George Porter Jr. said he liked the thud of worn out flats. I tend to take things to the extreme sometimes. Technically the bass still worked, so your dad might have a point, but it certainly wasn’t my go to axe while chasing that Chris Squire tone.
Change em if you want. Don’t if you don’t. I love new string zing. Lots of players don’t.
There is no "correct" answer. It depends on what you are trying to express through your music.
For aggressive slap or metal, nothing beats a fresh set of steel round wounds. For Motown or blues, well aged flat wounds might be what you want.
To each his or her own. Experimenting with various types of strings is an inexpensive way of finding what works for you. There are a lot of options out there.
For aggressive slap or metal, nothing beats a fresh set of steel round wounds. For Motown or blues, well aged flat wounds might be what you want.
To each his or her own. Experimenting with various types of strings is an inexpensive way of finding what works for you. There are a lot of options out there.
so, does dad have any other amusing opinions he feels the need to express? It's a heyday for screwball opinions that have "truthiness" but are accurate maybe 3%
Dad’s first statement can be true (depending on the sound you’re satisfied with), the second one not so much.
I change my nickel roundwounds about every 2 years. I use GHS Fast Fret to clean them and after this period of time that doesn't work anymore to get the high mids back in my sound. I could boil them out but I'm weary of metal fatigue after a while.
this is 100% for flats if you want a certain tone...I've got 15 year old flats on my Motown specific P
I like strings fairly dead. The longest I had a pair of rounds on a bass that was in use as my main instrument was a bit over three years. The strings were Elixirs and after that time, they got fuzzy - the coating came off and it looked a total mess.
On flats, the expiry date is much higher. The oldest strings I own are a set of Optima flatwounds I put on my main bass in December 2020. These are still fine, and have had no tonal changes in the last one or two years.
I guess they might last a decade or more - but I will replace them should they get darker than they are now.
On flats, the expiry date is much higher. The oldest strings I own are a set of Optima flatwounds I put on my main bass in December 2020. These are still fine, and have had no tonal changes in the last one or two years.
I guess they might last a decade or more - but I will replace them should they get darker than they are now.
It's true if you do like the dead string sound, but personally I don't
I was replacing rounds that were completely dead and crusty
Most of my basses have decade-plus rounds on them.
I like it.
You might not.
Change your strings when you no longer like the sound of them.
I like it.
You might not.
Change your strings when you no longer like the sound of them.
I plan to never change the strings on my basses again in my life. TI Flats, TI Rounds, and La Bella Low Tension Flats. When I get a new bass, I get new quality strings. They only get better and better. No rust though.
I’ve read that John Entwistle put new strings on for every gig. Conversely, James Jamerson never changed his.
I can’t remember the last time I bought new strings. I have a set of flats on my P and set of tapewounds on my J. Love ‘em both.
I can’t remember the last time I bought new strings. I have a set of flats on my P and set of tapewounds on my J. Love ‘em both.
