Double Bass Strings lifespan

[PBandJazzBass]

I’ll just throw in another anecdote.

My old professor has had the same Evah Pirazzi’s on his bass for about 8 years. He gigs and practices more than anyone else I know.

Another friend has had the same set of Evah’s on his bass for about 6 or 7 years, though he only practices maybe 3 or 4 hours a week.

Best person to ask is probably @Chris Fitzgerald. I believe he’s had the same set of Thomastik Dominants for at least 10 years.

 

[james condino]

They make my bass sound like an aluminum trash can with a neck bolted on being bowed by a power saw.

 

[garrett2]

The upside of a fresh Spiro G and D is if you have a local problem with stray dog and cat overpopulation just a little Bottesini will sonically spay and neuter everything within about a 1/4 mile.

 

[the_Ryan]

Most strings I’ve used last about a year. It’s not even that they go “dead”, it’s more that their pitch becomes unstable in the sense that if you bow a harmonic and leave it ringing after the bow is taken off the string the pitch of the harmonic kinda wobbles a bit. Some strings get scratchier and some last much shorter or longer than a year (anecdotally, Kaplans seem to die fairly quickly).

You can kind of extend the life of strings by cleaning them with rubbing alcohol every now and then to remove finger grease and rosin build up (in my opinion you should do that anyway), but that doesn’t change any wearing out of the string from it being under tension.

 

[Don Hergert]

... cleaning them with rubbing alcohol every now and then ...

But, don't try this with synthetic strings, one never knows what material is inside them. A slightly damp (with water) cloth is as much as I'd recommend using to clean synthetic strings, unless something else is recommended by the string maker.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

redtom, the trick to bowing Spiros is slip and grip. If your bow hair grips the string well, they roar. If the hair slips, they squeal. Get your bow rehaired with the coarsest black hair you can get and liberally apply fresh Pops’.

 

[redtomfunk]

Thanks! I have been looking for advices on this for a while now.
I am just a beginner and I have a cheap carbon bow. It is not worth having it rehaired. I should probably just get a better bow first.
I do use Pops rosin

 

[sean_on_bass]

Thanks! I have been looking for advices on this for a while now.
I am just a beginner and I have a cheap carbon bow. It is not worth having it rehaired. I should probably just get a better bow first.
I do use Pops rosin

It is very hard to judge bowability of a string when you are using a low grade bow with the hair that came on it, which is usually the lowest grade possible and unusable. i'd upgrade that bow before passing judgement on strings.

 

[lurk]

I used Spiro Mitts for 35 years and I was an outlier 'cause I liked them new - not brand new, but after a few weeks. I changed about every 18 months. A good friend of mine who's a very busy jazz bassist has had the same set of Mitts on his bass for over 40 years. There you go. I got tired of the Spiro sound and went in another direction: Velvet Anima. I got around 3 years of use from a set before they started to lose something I can't put my finger on (no pun intended). I never had one break as others reported. Since they went out of business I haven't found my string, so I've been changing well before they need it.

 

[JimmyM]

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

White Eucerin cream works better.