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So our sound guy comes to band practice...

murph7489

murph7489

Nov 9, 2017
1,216
1,932
Hornell NY / myrtle beach SC
#1
The first thing he says after listening to us play 5-6 songs....murph, how long have you had those strings on that bass....I start thinking, then I say, half stammering..,uh...like I don't know...well, I bought the bass with them on it...and I think they were on it before that ...so a year plus...lol...he says yeah you should get new ones...you need more brightness out of strings and those sound dead... I have no idea what kind of strings are on them...I know they are stainless, rounds...maybe..lol could be nickel but I'm thinking stainless...So I need a new set of stainless bright strings...
 
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#2
Perhaps you should thank the gentleman and get a bit more familiar with the tools you are using. You have certainly covered a lot of ground by jumping from his suggestions of "brighter, not so dead" to "bright, stainless" strings. There are a lot of options in between. I don't mean to cause a fuss and I hope this is a chance for you to become more informed about what you have and what you may want. Great technique and bad tone or intonation (of both at once) still make a bad sounding bass line. Give yourself a chance to be the best you can be: find some strings that work. Maybe the guy knows what he's talking about and may even have some constructive suggestions.
 
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#5
michael_t said:
DR Hi-Beams might be a good place to start for "stainless bright strings".
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Hi Beams have been one of my favorite strings for decades. They sound good, settle in quickly, hold tune well and retain their brightness for a long time. I also think they're a great value given their long tone life.
 
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#11
I think you'll be pretty amazed/astounded at the change in character your bass will have with a new set of just about anything on it! Can't hurt to go over to have a tech go over the intonation and set-up for ya as well!

Old strings, ESPECIALLY rounds, sound crappier than an old set of similarly worn-in Flats (which, while not even in my taste bracket, are pretty bad @$$-sounding for a LONG time).

Disclaimer- I am a ROTOSOUND DEVOTEE. I LIKE the twang and "angry piano" sound of rounds.
 
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#14
murph7489 said:
OH I accept his analysis...and will be getting new strings over the weekend...
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Honestly based on my interactions with non-bass players, the vast majority of people don't know what they heck they are talking about when it comes to bass. I once changed strings before a band practice and had the guitar player tell me that was a mistake as they need "at least a week to settle in". I tuned up and stayed in tune with minor tuning adjustments made throughout the night and had no issue.

I've been finding out the sound guys in particular can be clueless when it comes to bass, I listened to sound soundboards from the last couple of shows we did and the the guys had the bass so low in the mix it actually pissed me off. It was buried way beneath everything.

Your strings may or may not sound great, but if they sound good to you and sit well in the mix thats all that matters and I would have thanked the guy for his advice and moved on. He probably would have stroked out if I told him I was using ten year old flats on my Alembic SCSD and have no intention of changing them anytime soon. I LIKE the way they sound.
 
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#15
I’m not sure how your group runs but every decent band I’ve been a part of or played for treated it’s soundperson like another member of the band, and hence having an “outside” critique of your tone can be invaluable. It’s still up to you if you change your strings or not (since at the end of the day, YOU’RE the bassist) but it would be wise to at least consider what the soundperson is suggesting...after all, they’re the one that’s thinking about how the band sounds to the audience at a show.
 
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#16
basscapes said:
I think you'll be pretty amazed/astounded at the change in character your bass will have with a new set of just about anything on it! Can't hurt to go over to have a tech go over the intonation and set-up for ya as well!

Old strings, ESPECIALLY rounds, sound crappier than an old set of similarly worn-in Flats (which, while not even in my taste bracket, are pretty bad @$$-sounding for a LONG time).

Disclaimer- I am a ROTOSOUND DEVOTEE. I LIKE the twang and "angry piano" sound of rounds.
Click to expand...


ohh yeah.... you cant go wrong with rotosound
 
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#17
I have a lot of basses and gig them all in rotation and I am seriously intimidated by what strings to try. There's, like, a brazillion different sets to choose from.

Because my basses range from short scale hollows, Hofners and the like to 34 inch Fenders and Ibanez and a Jack Casady and a Starcaster, I know no one set is going to make them ALL sound good.

Gonna just hit them one at a time, start with something in the middle like GHS Bassics and move out from there.
 
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#18
Old Blastard said:
I have a lot of basses and gig them all in rotation and I am seriously intimidated by what strings to try. There's, like, a brazillion different sets to choose from.

Because my basses range from short scale hollows, Hofners and the like to 34 inch Fenders and Ibanez and a Jack Casady and a Starcaster, I know no one set is going to make them ALL sound good.

Gonna just hit them one at a time, start with something in the middle like GHS Bassics and move out from there.
Click to expand...
Some will like (and get seriously FUNKY, with a capital "F") Flats, while some will growl and sing with nice, sparkly rounds.

You'll simply need to look at (and listen to) each bass and assess when could work best. I wouldn't go overboard with the idea that EVERY instrument MUST get the right set immediately... It'll come as time passes.
 

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