Strings: Old or new?

[Gallient Knight]

Nickles are at their most "ripe" after about 2-3 weeks for me. Stainless at about 4 weeks.

I will leave both types on for at least 2 or 3 months

 

[Philbiker]

Well, I had a string changing party at my house the other day. Changed strings on THREE basses!!! The Elixers on my Tacoma were badly losing intonation so they got replaced. I decided that I didn't like the tone of the Nickel Snarlin' Dogs on my Jazz V so I went back to Fender Super Bass my favorites. And I got back my old white home built franken-P that I had lent to my brother for about 5 years. He hadn't changed the strings and the RotoSounds were ANCIENT and losing intonation so they got replaced with a $3 set of "Musician's Planet" nickels from Mars. Not sure they will be on there long, but for now they sound FANTASTIC.

 

[frankencow150]

i gotta squier in april and they guy said it had been in the store for awhile,and the strings were probably "dead".it was a young salesmen trying to con me to buy some new strings.guess where i bought it from?yes you guessed it,guitar center!always trying to get me to buy stuff.well back to the subject,after a few months though,they did start feeling crappy and and sounding crappy,now i have some fender flatwounds on it.they sound nice and play nice.im keeping them on it as long as i can or until i get another bass.

 

[Amoilbasso]

None of the 4 options for me:
they are ok for the first 2- 3 weeks,then they begin to loose clarity.

 

[I_am_Rage]

I love the sound of new strings just put on my bass. I would change them about every 2-3 months but since i don't have the money to do so...they stay on there for 6 months to a year.

 

[boomerang]

The first bass i bought was an old Vantage, it had flatwounds that were so covered in rust my fingers would bleed after about 10 minutes of playtime, I developed these nasty calluses and about 2 years later thought it was time for a change. I got my bass back from the shop and couldnt stand the sparkling, light touch roundwounds, (didnt mind a straight neck tho). Lace me up some fender flats and they stay for life. I learned as a poor man so ill play as a poor man.

 

[Brendan]

I go till one breaks. When one breaks, a whole new set is put on. Or, is as soon as I can get a new set. i've had whole monthes where my bass has four different string brands on it.

Usually, it's between 3 and 5 monthes when a string breaks, and I can't wait to kill them.

 

[alembicbassist]

I have an ebony fretboard that I schedule for a good lemon oil soaking every 4 months. Since the strings come off for that I put a new set of strings on a few days after the maintenance.

Another bass with rosewood fretboard, I do the same.

However I just changed to TI powerbass strings, so if I like them after 4 months, I may put them back on after the fretboard care.

 

[ChaosGwar]

I got my P bass in 97, and have changed strings once since then. It's on it's second set of strings and they sound perfect, to me.

I got my Yamaha in January, hated the strings on it, switched to Blue Steels. Been on it even since.

My back up P bass (which is being sold) is string less. I bought it from ebay a few months ago, from a guy who had it for about 10 years. The strings felt about that old. I like old strings, but these felt like thay had rusted inside, and just felt dirty on my fingers.

I just ordered some D'addario strings from MF (2 packs for $20, can't beat that) because I'm getting two new basses soon.

I use my new strings as back ups. I only change a set when one breaks.

 

[John K.]

Originally posted by Gallient Knight
Nickles are at their most "ripe" after about 2-3 weeks for me. Stainless at about 4 weeks.

I will leave both types on for at least 2 or 3 months

what he said

 

[luisnovelo]

I prefer the shinny sound of new strings of course.. but I buy a new set each year.. I just boil them and clean them with alchohol very often..

 

[deathbunny]

i only started playing bass in jan 2001, and got my electric a few mths later. haven't changed the strings yet, kind of like the sound them aged ones make.

wats a good cheap string set to get? (if i were to change the strings)

 

[BassMan2000]

Orginal post from 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.


Just curious bassvirtuoso13 but where can you find the money to pay for these strings playing 7 hours a day? You don't have to lie to make friends.......




P.S Every two months I replace strings.

 

[Bigfeet]

Originally posted by BassMan2000
Orginal post from 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.


Just curious bassvirtuoso13 but where can you find the money to pay for these strings playing 7 hours a day?


P.S 2 Months I replace strings.

Uh, I think I have to agree... if you are going to berklee, play seven hours a day, and own so many basses... how do you manage to pay for them? Custom gauged strings cost usually $(US)30-35, at least... assuming you have at least four basses (although you may have more, according to your profile ) that comes to about $(US)120-140 +shipping costs weekly.

...or do they just give them to you there at prestigious berklee?

 

[alexclaber]

I do wonder whether my bass is really unusual because I like a growly midrangey sound with a fair bit of top and bottom and it sounds best with old strings - admittedly they're nice old LaBella S/S rounds - which are now over 2 years old and it still sounds alive and resonant with plenty of treble.

Alex

 

[klocwerk]

Well let's see...
I bought my bass (only one I've owned) used about 12 years ago.
I'm on my second set of strings (flats), which are currently about 5 years old.
I guess you could say that I like my strings old and crusty. ^_^

I started as an upright player, so it makes sense.

(Signed up just to post this. longtime lurker. hi!)

 

[protoz]

Deader the better. I'm changing my strings for the first time in nearly a year not because of the tone but out of curiosity to hear what flats sound like. i hear they are like dead strings out of the bag so I like them already.

I'll keep my Blue Steels in my case just in case a string breaks on me. This is more of an experiment than a permanent switch I think because blue steel growl is about what I am wanting out of my basses.

 

[CJK84]

My perfect set of roundwounds would be:

G - one year old
D - 6 months old
A - 2 weeks old
E - brand new

In other words, I'm never totally satisfied with all of my strings (at the same time).

 

[43apples]

Hey guys!

I love my strings (roundwounds) completely fresh and ultra brigth. The more crystally, chimey and harmonically rich the tone, the better. My theory is that you can easily kill the harmonics you don't want, but it's very hard to add harmonics that doesn't exist!

I use:
Rotosound Piano String Designs on my fretted 5-stringer, and
Optima Gold Plateds on my fretless.

Unfortunately, a pack of rotosound bass strings at my local store is ax expensive as $100, and the Optimas is about $180. Therefore i always wash my hands before i play, wipe off the strings with a cloth and aftershave, and boil them when they get too dirty.

Back to the question: I change my strings every christmas, but if i could i would change them each day

Cheers!
-Erlend

 

[carl-anton]

Erlend, go to Invalid Link Removed to buy your Rotosounds. They're cheap and even if you have to pay taxes (since Norway isn't a member of the EC), I don't think it would be more expensive than what you're allready paying.