Longest time without changing bass strings; share your experiences.

[rtslinger]

My TI jazz flats have been on my Fender P since 2006 so 11 years and still sound great my Fender is one of two basses I have that are wound with flats the other being my EB-0 so they both share gigging rotation with all the others with rounds

 

[tuba_samurai]

When I first started playing, I didn't know you you were supposed to change the strings unless they broke. And I didn't live anywhere near a music store, and internet stores were not a thing then, so I went years on the factory rounds that came on my Epiphone Accu-Bass. Then the G string broke, and I played it as a three string for a couple of years.

Nowadays I am changing strings every couple of months on multiple basses. Kinda an expensive habit...thank goodness for BSO.

 

[4dog]

Using elixers....when they start to get "hairy" its time.

 

[Acoop]

I still have the original strings on my 74 Jazz that sound great. ... Once you realize it's the oils in your hands that break down strings you get use to washing your hands before playing. ... But if you're a nervous sweater forget it, you're cooked and so are your strings.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

You mean there are people who actually change flatwounds?

Can't say I really keep track of this...probably change roundwounds about four times a year.

 

[2saddleslab]

I replace the TI Flats every decade or so whether they need it or not.

 

[bopeuph]

For me, it depends on the instrument . I love the punch of fresh roundwounds, so I change them when they're dead, I never change my flats, and I haven't changed the strings on my upright in 11 years.

 

[Bent77]

Who knows. I sell basses long before they need strings

Oh and if I do change them, I drop them in alcohol

 

[DocShocker]

I've had the same set of Chromes for 5 years. The were on my VM Jazz 5 for the first 2-2.5 years, but after I got a maple board fretless (that came stock with rounds) I switched them out. The rounds just didn't seem like a good idea on the softer board.

 

[basspedaler]

Only been at this 4 years, so I can't vote longer, but some day i will. I definitely have a few basses with flats and tapes that I'm happy with and I know are gonna go a long way on those strings. I have few that sport rounds and they have been thru some testing to find the right string. Mostly now my vibe is mellow so a new bass is quick to get some flats installed. This has allowed me to try several of the popular flats over the last couple of years.

 

[corinpills]

I play flats almost exclusively, so I don't change them unless they break. My 67 Hofner violin bass has the same black tapewound strings that were on it when I got it 15 years ago. My '63 Hofner Seaatpr has Pyrmaids that I put on it when I got it 10 years ago. I mostly use those for recording. My live bass is usuallymy Rick and that has TIs that are a few years old.

 

[JRA]

i change them when (or before if i can help it) they start producing unwanted overtones or when they stop being 'properly reflexive' (too dead?), or when they acquire scars/nicks. so it's not really a time period so much as a 'state'. some strings, on some of the instruments just last longer, some not so much. but i voted "6-12 months" thinking that's probably a good average.

 

[Atshen]

Usually I'll put my favorite strings (D'Addario Chromes) on any new bass I buy and just leave them on.

When I was playing rounds, I used to change them maybe once or twice a year. Then I realized I might as well be playing flats!

Some players need the metallic sound of fresh strings for their playing style. Me, I'm a meat-and-potatoes player and I just need a round, warm thud. For more growl or clank I just dig in.

 

[SteveCS]

I'm cringing just reading these, LOL. Sorry, I'm a new strings fanatic. I can't go more than 3-4 weeks without changing strings on a bass that I'm playing regularly... and that's with cleaning before and after each time I pick it up. Now, on a dormant bass, it can sit with those old strings until it makes it back into rotation. Then, of course, I have to change the strings.

Back in the late 80s to early 90s I was the same - rehearsing or gigging 5 night a week with shedding in between times and changing strings every few weeks. Looking back, perhaps if my amplification had been up to modern standards such that I could really hear myself properly without needing a ton of top end things would have been different...

 

[gln1955]

It takes a few months for a set of flats to really sound good. Why would I change them just to start that process all over?

 

[FantasticFour]

2 years with the stock strings on my Squier CV. Not lazy, I just liked them.
I eventually changed them because the E was dead (other 3 were fine).
Now it has D'add half-rounds, and they won't stay there 2 years. Probably not even 2 weeks.

 

[NortyFiner]

I've bought and sold a number of basses over the years that had their strings changed exactly once: when I changed them to flats. Some of those basses I owned for years without further changes, and I'd bet that after I sold them, many of them probably still have those old flats on them with the new owners.

 

[Felken]

About 22 years, but that was an old bass, the previous owner was my dad, who bought it when he was 16, 20 years ago. And then I also started bass at 16, changed the strings 6 months later. I ised rotosound 66, so they lasted three days. Now here I am.

 

[Gospel Bass Player]

I've been using Ernie Ball Cobalts for the past year with great results throughout. Recently changed to Dunlop Marcus Miller Super Brights which feel much rougher and produce annoying fret buzz. I've had to turn down the treble to compensate for this. I really want to like these strings and hopefully I can adjust to the different feel. Otherwise, I may go back to my used Cobalts.(tried and true) my two cents...lol

Previously, I've been guilty of keeping the same set of strings for over twenty years...lol

 

[40Hz]

I bought a used Epi Viola at GC back in the late '90s (don't remember the exact year since it was one of those inpulse buys but I think it was '97 or '98) and put a set of TI Jazz Flats on it about a week later. And those strings have been on it ever since.

It gets played fairly regularly (I rotate through the basses I own) and they still sound really nice. So I'll have to say going on twenty years for me.

Properly cared for (a quick wipe down when you're done playing) and properly stored, a set of TIs seem to have the potential to last forever.