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Strings: Old or new?

How old do you like your strings?

  • UInder a week. If they're a week old they're DEAD!

    Votes: 23 12.3%

  • Under 3 months old.

    Votes: 70 37.4%

  • Under 6 months old.

    Votes: 41 21.9%

  • Under a year - I change Annually.

    Votes: 26 13.9%

  • Jamerson style - 2 years old is fresh to me.

    Votes: 27 14.4%
  • Total voters
    187
  • Poll closed .
#23
To me, new strings sound brighter and more resonant, and have better sustain. If I could afford it I would change every two weeks.
I play progressive rock and jazz/fusion, so I want my bass bright enough to light up a room.
I figure if I wanted the "muddy" P-bass sound,
I would play double bass.
I use either Ken Smith medium guage rockmasters, or Dean Markley's.
 
#26
It depends on lots of things. 1) Brand of string I've had some that lasted longer. 2) If I like the strings 3) If I have money for new strings. and 4) If I actually am doing anything that requires I play my bass for something. Usually I change them anywhere from 3-6 months
 
#27
just a question,,, if you love roundowunds on fretted basses, and you like to get em worked in an old, but dislike the grit and slime that gets in the coils of the round wire, then wahat is an effective way to clean that off either right after playing and also after long term accumulation of the grit??? i wanna keep the worked in d'addario's i have, but i dislike all the sludge in the grooves, sum1 gimme sum info...
 
#29
responding to the guy talking about double bass strings, i'm renting a double from school (yes, i'm still in high school. unfortunatly.), and it is quite possible that the strings are 10+ years old. i've never even heard of a double bass string breaking. The school also has Jazz bass from the 70's (i want it), and the strings are at least 6 years old, and they sound great for jazz band.
 
#32
Originally posted by Cornbread
Unfortunately, I must have HCL in my sweat because I tend to kill my strings quickly regardless of hand washing.
Click to expand...

Baking soda!

Yes...baking soda. Before you play each set, dip your hands in baking soda and shake off the excess. Baking soda neutralizes the acid in your hands, therefore making your strings last longer. Also, the powder is very fine and comes off your strings easily, that way they don't gunk them up.
 
#34
I love new strings. They're great! :) The bright sound is something that is highly appreciated, especially when you have a gig coming up or something like that. I do have low funds though, so I can go with the same set of strings for a good 6 months to a year. As long as the strings don't break, then everything's peachy keen. :) I usually wipe my strings off after I get through playing. My hands don't really sweat too much, so I don't have to worry about that. The only thing that I have to worry about is the gunk that just gets in there over a long period of time. Other then that, I don't mind having strings for a year or more. :D
 
#35
I'm John, and I'm a stringaholic. Its only just May and I've gone through 9 sets so far this year...

Seriously - my group jumps, so I sweat. A lot. One gig and their done. The old sets get boiled and thrown back in my case as spares - just in case I can't get any new ones (as has happened a couple of times this year)
 
#36
Hi Guys.

Not exactly on thread, but this business about breaking bass strings really baffles me. And I'm astonished at players doing it regularly.

Discounting breaks mechanical reasons - sharp bits on the bridge or whatever - it must mean some players are virtually swinging on the strings. Or swing the bass around by the strings or something.

Do some bassists play that hard so as to break those thick piano wire strings, so often: is that really what happens?

Phew......

Rockin John
 
#39
Originally posted by bassvirtuoso13
I use custom gauge (yep they give em too me)
D'Addario strings on my 4,5,6, and 7 string basses. I change them every week, because I play atleast 7 hours a day and they feel awful (from all the sweating) after 5 days. By the way I go to Berklee so I have the right to play 7 hours.
Click to expand...

I agree with John: :rolleyes:

And not to get off topic, but since I've never broken a string, I don't understand the concept of it. How <i>do</i> they break?

Anyway, I like to change my strings fairly often. My dad who thinks he's the greatest musical know-it-all ever says how the great bass players change their strings every couple years.:rolleyes:
 
#40
Originally posted by BassDude24
As far as I know, strings for the DB last longer than those turtles on the Galapagos.
Click to expand...

unless you dig in so hard you break them. (when i was in a big band last year i couldn't use amplification because we were an ellington style band, and i probably broke two whole sets of strings that year. good thing i wasn't paying for them)


as for strings - i like them from about 3 weeks old to 6 months. unfortunately they normally break before that. except my B string of course - i just changed that one for the 2nd time ever last month.


as for breaking strings - the inner core breaks right over the bridge, then the outer wrap unravels. it happens to me pretty often, i guess i just dig in really hard.


jason
 

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