New strings before a show?

[ecj_bass]

Not unless you absolutly have to change them. Strings take a while to break in, and changing them every gig (especially if you're a frequent gig'er) will not only put you out of tune more often, but it can hurt your neck, due to the huge change of tension every day. Plus, bass strings are bloody expensive. Save your bass, tuning AND your money.

 

[fishtx]

I won't change mine on the day of a gig (always the day before). I have a minimum 24-hour rule for myself as well...

 

[Bassmanbob]

I know some guys who leave strings on for years and others who change them weekly. I play D'Addarios and leave them on until one starts to get out-of-tune overtones. Usually, it's the D string after about six to eight months. It's odd. The string is in tune, but sounds out of tune too.

As far as changing them right before a gig, I'll do it the day before, but not usually the day of a gig. OTOH, I had a recent opportunity to chaperone our local HS Jazz band watch and interact with Bela Fleck and the Flectones' sound check. Early in the sound check, Vic was changing his strings. He changed them one at a time and pulled each one a few times while changing them. Three hours later, I was back for the show. So he changes them the same day.

 

[ggunn]

If it didn't have much to do with tuning they wouldn't go out of tune when you "pre-bend" them.

It would certainly have an influence on intonation too, since by not doing it the strings end up farther off the fretboard due to them arcing over the bridge/nut rather than bending over. End result being just like raising the action.

You also need to be careful winding them, force the windings down tight so they have nowhere to shift from the tension.

Eliminate the slop in the windings on the tuning posts, bend the strings to the angle they'd eventually settle to from the string tension anyway, you'll find the string "stretch" is really just "sag" and "slip".

Randy

With all due respect, I have been changing strings on guitars and basses for nearly 50 years. Strings stretch.

 

[steveksux]

With all due respect, I have been changing strings on guitars and basses for nearly 50 years. Strings stretch.

Be that as it may, I've been changing bass strings without tuning problems for 20 some years since I figured out this trick. Apparently mine don't stretch.

If you're not careful, for a while after installation they'll bend at the nut, and even moreso at the bridge due to the sharper bend they make over the saddles until they are perfectly straight between nut and saddle, and they may slip on the tuning pegs if they're not wound carefully and the loops pushed together so there's no place for them to slip. All those things can be mistaken for stretching since they all relieve/reduce the tension on the strings.

Randy

 

[staindbass]

if your happy with the sound of the older strings, stick with them. its expensive to change them regularly. 99% of the pros change strings before every show, and before every new song in the studio. john entwistle of the who changed strings before every take lol. if your strings will not stay in tune unless they are on the guitar for 24 hrs, they are not stretched correctly, or something else is wrong. most people are all worried about being in tune before they press "record". im more worried about if its in tune after they press "stop". my basses are perfectly in tune after takes. i have a saying- a good tech will hand you a bass that is in tune. with a great tech you will hand a bass back to him that is still in tune. there are alot of fine points to staying in tune. the most important is that you stretch the strings more than they will stretch when you are actually playing. that way you will never stretch the metal. it has elasticity and will always come back to the correct tension as long as you dont go past the tension that you stretched them to. that way the only thing left to worry about are the attachment points and the nut.

 

[rockstarbassist]

if your happy with the sound of the older strings, stick with them. its expensive to change them regularly. 99% of the pros change strings before every show, and before every new song in the studio. john entwistle of the who changed strings before every take lol. if your strings will not stay in tune unless they are on the guitar for 24 hrs, they are not stretched correctly, or something else is wrong. most people are all worried about being in tune before they press "record". im more worried about if its in tune after they press "stop". my basses are perfectly in tune after takes. i have a saying- a good tech will hand you a bass that is in tune. with a great tech you will hand a bass back to him that is still in tune. there are alot of fine points to staying in tune. the most important is that you stretch the strings more than they will stretch when you are actually playing. that way you will never stretch the metal. it has elasticity and will always come back to the correct tension as long as you dont go past the tension that you stretched them to. that way the only thing left to worry about are the attachment points and the nut.

Nice.

My singer recently discovered that yes,you have to stretch strings out ahead of time. And he plays a LP Studio, so we were kinda screwed from the onset, but it's been miles better since then. Our recording engineer told him about it because he was tired of tuning after each note!

 

[nysbob]

To re-iterate what staindbass said - when I was doing pro touring I pretty much changed them daily. If you know how to put them on and stretch them properly, they won't give you any trouble on the gig.

 

[Mystic Michael]

I advise you to play on these strings all your life, the longer you play on them, so they will be getting better and better. It's like wine, the older the better ... You can enjoy the flavor and aroma of its strings. 10 years later, their value on the black market will only grow and get rich you are.

Silly...

As strings age, they lose their natural springiness and resonance. The windings begin to unravel, allowing all manner of dirt, dust, oils and other foreign substances to deposit and deaden the tone. Ultimately they become impossible to keep in tune - or even to keep properly intonated.

That's not my idea of some kind of rare, special treasure. That's my idea of junk!

MM