Double Bass Strings lifespan

[redtomfunk]

As many of us I am in the search for the best strings for my bass and I look on the used market for strings but quite often I find something like "used for a year" in the ad description.
For me it doesn`t make sense since one could play for a year 8 hours a day or for a year 5 minutes a day.
Do you guys agree?

 

[JimmyM]

Yes.

 

[tb-player]

I have sold used strings but I would never buy them.

 

[Mark_T]

I don't generally buy used strings for daily use, but I do sometimes buy them to try things out. I also generally stay away from string that have been on for a while because in my experience many strings don't have a super long lifespan (BCs, EPs all die off). However I wouldn't shy away from a year-old set of Spiros if they're in good shape. All the horrid zing might be almost played out of them and they might be just entering their mature, sophisticated phase.

 

[Don Hergert]

I think it depends on what kind of strings they are and how new a person wants them to sound...

Spiros tend to last forever, especially if a person actually wants their dead tone, as a fair amount of people do. Metal windings over metal core strings tend to last longest -- we're talking decades here -- in many cases lasting longer than people would like.

Some guts -- especially plain guts -- can also last a long long time, in particular if they are cared for well. It's not unusual to read of people having them for 10 years or more.

Synthetic windings on some strings tend to give out. In my experience synthetic wound / synthetic core strings last 3 to 7 years with medium use. They are more fragile than metal wound / metal core strings and just taking them off of a bass after having them on for a while tends to add significantly to wear and tear; personally I would probably not buy them used unless they are clearly in really good shape.

Some of the less expensive monofilament strings will literally last forever.

Some strings have a high-turnover and are found frequently on sale very lightly used. For example, probably because it is notorious that so many people like them, Spiros get tested and then turned over for sale pretty often. Other strings have this happen too. Metal wound / metal core strings that someone tested and is selling because they didn't like them can be very much like new.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

There are stories from the pre-steel days of legit players using the same set of gut strings their whole career.

 

[Rebop]

There are stories from the pre-steel days of legit players using the same set of gut strings their whole career.

I believe it. I'm at over 12 years with the guts on my main bass and I don't do any maintenance to them whatsoever.

 

[Bruce Calin]

My principal in the Omaha symphony years ago was a die-hard gut player who claimed he never changed strings and had forgotten when he had put on the ones he was using it had been so many years. I came across a Kay several years ago that had guts on it the owner claimed were from the sixties. They were beat up but still played. I played school instruments as a student that had ancient gut strings on them that still were playable and I'm sure had been terribly neglected. They're tougher than is often thought.

 

[JimmyM]

I have sold used strings but I would never buy them.

I bought a set of used Eudoxas once. Hated them and then one of the windings broke and I couldn’t bring myself to stick someone like I got stuck.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Oh, gut strings that have been on since the 1960s is nothing. When Howard Carter opened Tut’s tomb a hundred years ago he found instruments strung with 4,000-year-old gut that still played.

 

[J_Bass]

I just put these on my bass, given by my teacher. They sound great!

 

[redtomfunk]

What do you guys say of lifespan of Belcanto? Zyex? Helicore?

Spiros tend to last forever, especially if a person actually wants their dead tone, as a fair amount of people do.

I am happy that there is some love for worn in Thomastik Spirocores. I have a fresh set on my bass and I have no problems in pizzicato but bowed they are too harsh. I have fought similar problems with pretty much almost all the flatwounds I tried before on ABG. I used vaseline in that case and it helped creating an instant worn in sound

 

[PBandJazzBass]

What do you guys say of lifespan of Belcanto? Zyex? Helicore?



I am happy that there is some love for worn in Thomastik Spirocores. I have a fresh set on my bass and I have no problems in pizzicato but bowed they are too harsh. I have fought similar problems with pretty much almost all the flatwounds I tried before on ABG. I used vaseline in that case and it helped creating an instant worn in sound

Truly a case of Your Mileage May Vary.

Depends on body chemistry, personal preference, how many hours a day/week you play, etc.

 

[redtomfunk]

ok but everyone says Spirocores last ages. What about Belcanto, Zyex, Helicores?

I am asking from a buyers perspective when people say they have used such strings for ex. "for 2 hours a day for a year" or something like that.

 

[Don Hergert]

... , Zyex, ...

I have a pro player friend who uses Zyex mediums, heavily -- he's full time, in a traveling band and does a lot of session work. Pizz and light slap. He said he gets about a year out of them. He said he tended to break Zyex lights, so only uses mediums.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

AFAIK, common sense is no strings last nearly as long as Spirocores.
Except for those who like fresh Spirocores and abandon them when they are played in (for anybody else’s taste) after about a year, maybe half a year if you play a lot bowed.

After about ten years they get a bit dull, for people playing just a bit they can even last longer.

When you need to switch to new Spiros, do it when you don‘t have bowed gigs and bow the hell out of them when practicing. That helps to get to the nice period more quickly.

The strings sounding good out of the box or after two weeks are (mostly) dead sounding after half a year or two. And that is the time to get Spiros sounding good afterwards.

So buy a lot of strings for a short time or once with an unplesant longer arco time period for some months to a year each time you need a new set.
And keep a played-in set as spare strings in the case a string breaks. Very unusual for Spiros, but it happened once to me.

 

[redtomfunk]

I guess you answer to my problems with bowed spiros here

 

[Mark_T]

I practice about 60-90 minutes a day (ideally), plus 1-2 rehearsals a week from Sept-June and between 6-10 concerts. All arco.

For me, Bel Cantos last like 9-12 months. Flex Deluxes a little longer. It's been ages since I used EPs but they went from nice to thump in the 6-9 month range.

I have never had a Spiro E or A die. I have never been able to tolerate a Spiro G or D long enough to find out how long it takes to "break them in". They make my bass sound like an aluminum trash can with a neck bolted on being bowed by a power saw. I would love to experience whatever magical sound they make later on but I only have one bass at the moment and I don't have a long enough window where I can tolerate sounding like that. Maybe some summer I'll try again, I think I still have my old S42W D and G lying around.

 

[Stuart.C]

I think it's all subjective.
My section mates of 7+ years (and in general most bass players I meet in real life) never change strings and continue to sound great. (using ep's, obligatos, flexocore)
I think there is a lot of zing when you first put any string on, (even well used strings) then they settle in and then don't change much. If you are happy with the settled in sound then you are set.

regarding bowing Spiros, I think it has more to do with the bass and setup, if they will bow well. My old bass the D and G sounded like nasel buzz saws, and never really changed no matter what (slight improvemnt with sound post but not enough), My new bass they sound like woody choclate.
Age doesn't matter.

IMHO

 

[redtomfunk]

but I only have one bass at the moment and I don't have a long enough window where I can tolerate sounding like that.

That is why I use vaseline on ABG and EB flatwound strings