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My strings die out so quickly. Help!!

T

the JT

Aug 24, 2007
317
0
Melbourne, Australia
#1
I have had this problem with every set i buy. After about a week of playing, my stings have lost their punch, sustain and clarity and play badly. I use DR lo riders, or d'addario XLs (when the music shop has them). I am a teenager with limited funds so i cant justify forking out 80 bucks (AUD) for a set that lasts about a week.
I have tried lots of things, like string cleaner liquid, boiling my strings and i wash my hands before i play, but nothing seems to work! HELP ME !
 
#2
Some people's sweat composition causes strings to die out. Maybe your body's pH is off. Or maybe you play a whole lot and just wear them out. Strings wear out.

The good news, though, is there are a lot of people who played bass and couldn't afford strings on a regular basis and did just fine until they could, me included.
 
#4
Yeah, and you can also EQ the bass and your amp to get more the quality you want out of the strings when they are worn out. Ofcourse, it doesn't sound as good as a new set of strings would, but it's a way to compensate. :)
 
#6
I play d'addarios exclusively now for about 4yrs, and I never hd problems with them to be honest, but I also have noticed that Elixirs have an awesome longevity to them for an ok price if that's what you're looking for!
I change my strings before every show (unless I'm playing two nights in a row), cause i LOVE the sound of a new string!but it all depends on your tastes!
I know a lot of my friends go with the warwick strings cause they're pretty cheap and have an ok longevity, but I just find them so crappy that I'll rather go the extra buck for the d'addario!:D
 
#8
Howdy,

Noticed that have used DR Lo-Riders and XLs. Here's an important question: Are you using nickel or stainless steel strings? I suspect it's nickel.

I too discovered (the hard way) that I can't use nickel strings, unless I want to change strings every three weeks or so. I switched to all-stainless steel strings exclusively (try the DRs and Rotosounds) and have been saving on strings ever since.

Hope this helps.

Batman

PS: Oh, and wipe down your strings after use (underneath too) and wash your hands before playing.
 
#10
the JT said:
I have had this problem with every set i buy. After about a week of playing, my stings have lost their punch, sustain and clarity and play badly. I use DR lo riders, or d'addario XLs (when the music shop has them). I am a teenager with limited funds so i cant justify forking out 80 bucks (AUD) for a set that lasts about a week.
I have tried lots of things, like string cleaner liquid, boiling my strings and i wash my hands before i play, but nothing seems to work! HELP ME !
Click to expand...

JT- that sounds like you're killen em in short order. i'd like to know A: what kind of music you play?
B: have you ever tried FLATS?

please post answers...........duc
 
#11
the JT said:
I have had this problem with every set i buy. After about a week of playing, my stings have lost their punch, sustain and clarity and play badly. I use DR lo riders, or d'addario XLs (when the music shop has them). I am a teenager with limited funds so i cant justify forking out 80 bucks (AUD) for a set that lasts about a week.
I have tried lots of things, like string cleaner liquid, boiling my strings and i wash my hands before i play, but nothing seems to work! HELP ME !
Click to expand...

Hi JT,

you can generally get a twin pack of 4 string Daddario XLs for around 55 AU dollars. i'm not sure of a 5 string price. I have the same problem as you. after a week of gigs and practice my strings are dead, i haven't found much i can do about it...
 
#12
Well, I find that unless I have a bunch of performances coming up, I can live with having strings that aren't as bright as I'd like them to be, since it's just me playing solo, or just having fun jamming with people.

Basically, I'm just saying that if you can't afford the new strings so often, just deal with it until you have an important performance.

That's kinda a harsh way to put it, but I mean it in a nice way.
 
#14
Try rotosound swingbass.

They're so bright like... when they're very, very, very, very dead they're still insanely bright :P

I bought some nickle strings and the E string went really dead really fast. What did I do? Put my old Rotosound E string on. The dead E string still sounds pretty bright, and the E, A and D of the nickle strings sound really nice. Shame this won't last forever, as I'm gonna run out of half dead rotosound E-strings pretty soon :P
 
#15
i'd say try rotosound swingbass steel, make sure its steel.

they last for aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaages.

one great thing about them is cause your used to them being freakishly bright when you put them on, even when you think they're dead, other people think they're new :D

seriously, try them out, also they're not that expensive either.
 
#16
LifeIsBass said:
For awhile now I've made sure to wipe my strings down with a cloth every everytime I pick up the bass. It seems to help a lot. I've been getting about 3-4 months of acceptable tone out of my DR Hi-Beams.
Click to expand...

same here...if I wipe my strings they last longer.

but if you want a more bright sounding strings maybe you should use Stainless steel or coated strings.

also i Recommend you start buying strings online, if you don't have a high tax on Importing them it makes changing strings cheaper.
 
#17
Asaf said:
same here...if I wipe my strings they last longer.

but if you want a more bright sounding strings maybe you should use Stainless steel or coated strings.

also i Recommend you start buying strings online, if you don't have a high tax on Importing them it makes changing strings cheaper.
Click to expand...

+1. I hate to say it but the local guys are just not coming to the party when it comes to string prices in Australia. I would only put on a fresh set of strings before a gig. There is nothing wrong with practicing with dead strings. I alos found cleaning strings with metho works realy well, especially for stainless steel strings.
 
#18
Ya, stores blow for strings. I tried to get a set of flatwounds recently, and I went to 5 stores and couldn't find anything but one set of Chromes. But these internet string places carry everything at decent prices.
 
#20
search this forum for Denatured Alcohol. I'm one of those ph freeks I guess, as a set of strings only lasts 1 gig or about a week of practice plus a rehersal.

Roatating a few sets of strings (I have 4 sets going) in denatured alcohol has saved my life and my wallet. It's like having a new set of strings at your disposal at any time.
 

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