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Lifetime expectation for d'Addario chromes

#23
SLaPiNFuNK said:
And hey... there are some people who like the sound of new flats and change them once they break in too!
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I guess I'm one of those people who likes the sound and feel of fresh Chromes. Out of the package, they're a bit zingy for me until I break them in for about 10 hours or so. After that, they last me on average of about 5 to 6 months.

I totally understand that for the majority of Chromes users, that's about when they settle in. Maybe I can get a good price for broken-in sets...:D
 
#24
Jay2U said:
They die after about two months. :crying: So about 60 days under tension and just over 100 hours of playing appear to be enough to suck the life out of them.
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Basically 2 months is the break in period.

swspiers said:
I guess I'm one of those people who likes the sound and feel of fresh Chromes. Out of the package, they're a bit zingy for me until I break them in for about 10 hours or so. After that, they last me on average of about 5 to 6 months.

I totally understand that for the majority of Chromes users, that's about when they settle in. Maybe I can get a good price for broken-in sets...:D
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Seriously, you should try putting them up for sale.
 
#25
seanm said:
Seriously, you should try putting them up for sale.
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I have a set of chromes I'll sell. They have about 10 hours of play on them.

I like the Roto77's out of the package. They last one show before they come off and get cleaned. As much as my hands sweat though, I may as well be playing with a used, wet dish rag.

I *hate* the sound of "settled in" flats. But I *love* the sound of Roto77's right out of the package. No rounds can compete with them. They have a beautiful, metallic sounding resonance or something. So anyway, after a show they come off and go in the cleaning tube, and a clean set goes on.

I guess I'm very picky about my sound!
 
#26
Jay,
if you live below sea level, that probably means Holland.
Lordofthestrings (Dutch company) has Chromes for 30,95 euros. Shipping free (I believe).
At Thomann (German company) has them for 29 (regular) or 30 (light). If your order exceeds 100 euros, shipping is free.
Thomann is also cheaper on TI's, BTW.
Timon
 
#28
Venom of God said:
I'm just complaining here so ignore me, but here in Aus I pay over $50 a set for Rotosound 66's and Rotosound flats are about $100 a set...
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If I lived in Australia or NZ, I'd quit playing music altogether or I'd buy the cheapest crap I could find. I've been to music stores in NZ and what you guys pay for gear is insanely high. Really cool people ran the stores I went into, but man, One store I went into wanted $850 something for a MIM Precision.
 
#29
JimmyM said:
If I lived in Australia or NZ, I'd quit playing music altogether or I'd buy the cheapest crap I could find.
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Yup. It sucks to be us. Buying musical instruments & accessories is an expensive hobby down here. :bawl:

Anyhow, I had a set of Chromes on my CV Jazz for the last 3 years. They still sounded bright & felt almost broken in. I just swapped them out for a set of GHS Precisions, because I wanted something darker & fatter.

The Chromes still have many years life left in them and will get used again, on something else. ;)
 
#30
Jay2U said:
Hi,

I'm quite addicted to d'Addario flatwound chromes. They sound well and affect my playing in a positive way. There appears to be one drawback. They die after about two months. :crying: So about 60 days under tension and just over 100 hours of playing appear to be enough to suck the life out of them. My hands are as dry as Death Valley, so that isn't the cause. I clean them regularly with alcohol, I don't slap them (who does slap flats anyway), I'm like a father to them. This is the third set which passes away. Restringing and tuning is not the problem, 15 minutes, that's all. The price of a set, that's worrying :eek: me. About $50!!!
Is there a good, equally sounding alternative, apart from Rotosound 66's, which I took off within 24 hours?
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That's hilarious! A set of Chromes would last on my bass a minimum of 20 years. No kidding.
 
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#32
Root 5 said:
That's hilarious! A set of Chromes would last on my bass a minimum of 20 years. No kidding.
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I wouldn't say hilarious. :eek: It is more a matter of taste. Somehow I like the sustain af a new(er) set. It is not the sound I'm after. As I wrote (#26), I don't throw them away. After a period of being not under tension, they partly recover.
I'm not sure, but I think if a new strings are being put under tension (on an old bass or a DIY device) they might become broken in as well. It may be worth while to try next winter. :hyper:
 
#34
FunkMetalBass said:
Jay, have you tried soaking the strings in denatured alcohol for 24-48 hours? It brings strings back to a near-new state and might work well for you.
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Soaking in alcohol is one of the things still to try. I didn't, because I usually clean the strings once a week with a cloth drenched in alcohol. But then they are on the bass and therefore under tension.
I'm trying to understand the mechanics of the string material. I think the tension and resonance change the structure of the metal. Taking away the tension for a while recovers them partly. I heated a set of Fender 9050's by driving an electrical current through them. The temperature reached some 240 deg. C (= 465 deg. F). This recovered them, but just for a while.
 
#37
Pilgrim said:
Average life expectancy of flats is about 10-15 years.

They don't sound right for the first few months, but once they've settled in they're good for at least a decade if they don't break.

My oldest set has been on my P-bass since 1972.
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Beat me! RS66LD on 75 Pbass put on in 77 ans still on... Ditto on the 75 Rick 4001. Here i was thinking no one would beat me... grin. Still have a packet of unopned D'addario 8 string pack from 1980....they last as well.

Thanks to all posters for the endorsements for Chromes, put some on the 6 string fretless... should see me out for the rest of me days.

*** Located Australia. Buy all my strings from the USA in bulk, have to... gig fees would not buy a worn out pick... Some great places to buy strings from in the USA, good people and helpful in the USA. Regards.
 
#39
We learned very quickly in the late 70's that having that fabulous Roto twang of new strings lasted only a few weeks, regardless of how many gigs. At some $60 a packet for RS66LD at that time, the more aged subdued sound of RS66 was ok for all but the very special gigs, hence the 34 year old strings on some basses here. Use neat Eucalyptus oil before and after playing, works for me, others may have to experiment. Boiling strings was never a long term solution in the 70's or today.

The other aspect some get caught up in is gauge of strings, if you measure them, they are rarely the neat "105 85 etc etc... " some are up to 4 mils smaller in diameter, as a percentage of smaller diameters this is noticeable. When you think about it, this parameter spread makes sense, not least the string has to fit the nut slot, if oversize it may not fit properly or more importantly "slide" in the nut as being rough round wounds, they need all the help they can get to assist in smooth tuning on the machine head rotation. Regards.

** A mil is one thousandth of an inch, not a m/m.
 

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