Should I change my strings? Current strings are about 3 months old with daily playing. DR Hi-Beams 45-105. This was my first experience with DR strings, and I enjoyed playing this set. Feel free to drop your favorite string recommendations as well if you think it’s time for a change. Rock on!
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Should I change my strings?
- Thread starter NotHereNow
- Start date
I like HiBeams. If bright and slightly brittle rounds are your thing that’s a great set.
But I’d change them pretty regularly to keep them snappy.
There’s no best string.
But I’d change them pretty regularly to keep them snappy.
There’s no best string.
If you like the sound currently and they hold tune, no need to change.
Good Luck!
Good Luck!
I think we can't answer your question because we don't know what you want to hear from your bass. Some people like the "wirey" sound of newly installed strings and will change often to get that. Others insist that they have to break strings in for a few weeks or months before they sound right. Still others boast about how long they have had a set of strings on.
So the only answer possible without that information is: if they sound good to you, they don't need a change. If your ears think they're missing something that EQ can't resolve, then you begin your journey down the rabbit hole of string swapping
Good luck 
So the only answer possible without that information is: if they sound good to you, they don't need a change. If your ears think they're missing something that EQ can't resolve, then you begin your journey down the rabbit hole of string swapping
Good luck To add a little context, I’m getting a new bridge so the strings will be off anyways. I’m thinking about this in the same way you change your oil every “X” months or miles. Do you change strings based on lifespan or by relying solely on your perception of how the strings sound?
The latter. If you are satisfied with the tone and they hold in tune, no need to change. I would recommend wiping them down after playing to reduce a build up of skin oil and particles.
Yes, if there's any corrosion, spots from where the strings touch the frets, or discoloring near where you pluck. Or if you hear that your sound isn't as bright as it used to be, change your strings. Buy another set of the Hi-Beams and put them on your bass.
With rounds, I like to change my strings at most every 3 months to keep them fresh while not breaking the bank. That's when my sound and the appearance of my strings starts to change.
DR hi-beam quite lasting on my hand, at least 6 months before she sound getting dull.
If she sound not much different compare on day 1 you install , suggest continue and play until you can hear she sound dead/dull.....
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Are the strings dirty, greased, muck ridden?
Clean them. Don't boil.
What to clean them with? Well after looking at the ingredients of several successful string cleaners, like Fret Ease's etc.... many of them contain mineral oil. Comparatively mineral oil is relatively cheap if purchased in its natural state.
In other words go your favorite store, go to the pharmacy area and pick up a bottle of mineral oil, it might cost two bucks for a pint maybe. Put some mineral oil on a rag pinch your string go up and down the strings a few times times and it'll start to get squeaky, that's when it's clean. Wipe off with a clean rag.
If you have an old bottle of baby oil that's essentially mineral oil with a fragrance, the fragrance will not hurt your bass string. Use it and your bass will smell like a baby's clean bottom end.
Look for pressure indentations from the frets, kinks over the rollers, nut slot fit, winds on the tuning machine capstan etc...
After the bass strings are all cleaned off and inpected and if they sound okay to you, or not -- then make your decision to purchase a new set -- or not.
Why would mineral oil be found in the pharmaceutical area of a store? Because one of its uses is as a laxative. People actually take a couple of teaspoons of mineral oil to free up the bowel in times of bowel impaction. A couple of teaspoons of mineral oil and perhaps increasing fiber in your diet is all that is needed.
If you want the fragrant blend go to the baby supply aisle.
Clean them. Don't boil.
What to clean them with? Well after looking at the ingredients of several successful string cleaners, like Fret Ease's etc.... many of them contain mineral oil. Comparatively mineral oil is relatively cheap if purchased in its natural state.
In other words go your favorite store, go to the pharmacy area and pick up a bottle of mineral oil, it might cost two bucks for a pint maybe. Put some mineral oil on a rag pinch your string go up and down the strings a few times times and it'll start to get squeaky, that's when it's clean. Wipe off with a clean rag.
If you have an old bottle of baby oil that's essentially mineral oil with a fragrance, the fragrance will not hurt your bass string. Use it and your bass will smell like a baby's clean bottom end.
Look for pressure indentations from the frets, kinks over the rollers, nut slot fit, winds on the tuning machine capstan etc...
After the bass strings are all cleaned off and inpected and if they sound okay to you, or not -- then make your decision to purchase a new set -- or not.
Why would mineral oil be found in the pharmaceutical area of a store? Because one of its uses is as a laxative. People actually take a couple of teaspoons of mineral oil to free up the bowel in times of bowel impaction. A couple of teaspoons of mineral oil and perhaps increasing fiber in your diet is all that is needed.
If you want the fragrant blend go to the baby supply aisle.
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D
Do you like the bright, zingy tone of fresh strings or the mellow, warm tone of broken-in, old strings?
Only you can answer that question.
Personally I don't really like the sound of zingy, fresh strings and hardly ever change strings until it's absolutely necessary, which means when they either break (which hasn't happened to me since I stopped playing metal with a pick 30 years ago) or they develop intonation issues (which can take decades with good quality strings). However, I usually have one or two basses set up with bright sounding strings, just in case I have to do studio work that requires that kind of tone.
But you enjoyed the DR Hi-Beams and that would strongly suggest that you prefer a bright, zingy tone. A fresh set of DR Hi-Beams is just about as bright as it gets.
Only you can answer that question.
Personally I don't really like the sound of zingy, fresh strings and hardly ever change strings until it's absolutely necessary, which means when they either break (which hasn't happened to me since I stopped playing metal with a pick 30 years ago) or they develop intonation issues (which can take decades with good quality strings). However, I usually have one or two basses set up with bright sounding strings, just in case I have to do studio work that requires that kind of tone.
But you enjoyed the DR Hi-Beams and that would strongly suggest that you prefer a bright, zingy tone. A fresh set of DR Hi-Beams is just about as bright as it gets.
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Sound. I like roundwounds broken in, but not dead. How long it takes for them to go dead depends on a lot of factors: string type and material, how sweaty your hands are and the chemical composition of your sweat, how much you play, how yo take care of your strings, what you consider ‘dead’. You never know how long a set of strings will last until you tried them.
I’d say: leave them on for as long as you like how they sound. Unless you want to try a different type of string (but in that case, don’t throw the old ones away in case you don’t like the new strings. If the old ones sounded good when you took them off, they will still sound good).
When my strings are dead, I clean them by soaking them in denatured alcohol to revive them. It doesn’t make them sound as new, but I see that as a good thing. This way, I can use the same set for years.
Dunno about baby oil, but a cleaning with Naptha is a good start to get them really stripped of anything objectionable. Then, lube at your leaisure...
Unfortunately roundwounds must be changed often, they dull out quickly. Flatwounds don’t really die, if anything they almost improve, or age or mature or something.
