My favorite strings, Hi-Beams and Dunlop Super Brites, cost $18-$22.
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The price of strings!!!!!
- Thread starter ThrashingFury
- Start date
What?! Rent a set of strings for $1.62 AUD a week and "return any time after 6 months"! You've got to be kidding!
You live in Ottawa? Why not just go to the local Long and McQuade they will price match any legit retailer in Canada and you don’t have to pay shipping…. I totally don’t understand why you buying them from Amazon.
My DB has a C extension. That low string by itself runs over 100 dollars.
Edit: $151.50 just for a Thomastic Spirocore extended E (C) string.
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When I order my strings from a US-based online dealer, I don't pay any taxes or duties to the Canadian government as long as I order a couple of sets at a time.
I've dealt with Jason at Fret Nation (based in Calif.) for the last 10 yrs, and he's always been good to deal with as he's willing to be flexible with pricing to offset the cost of international shipping. Even with the current crazy exchange rate, I still save money.
I've been working with Jason too and he's great. Very prompt at replying when I have a question or want to order more strings.
i wasn’t one complaining before but i definitely won’t now! Uff Da!, as we scandinavian midwesterners would say when swearing isn’t required or allowed…
devnulljp
Supporting Member
Tax maybe?
I use Thomastiks, which are closer to $100 here, but last forever.
Don't get me started on upright bass strings. I swear I have a downpayment for a house in New Brunswick in spare strings in my case.
I've been on a spree, having placed four orders from Jason in the last 6 wks, not just for myself but for a couple of the other bassists from my church. He's offered me great package deals on all of those orders.
You don't want to know how much cello strings cost. The infuriating thing is that some cello sets cost more than the same brand of upright bass strings.
I typically replace just D and G on my upright when they wear out. E and A tend to last a lot longer.
I typically replace just D and G on my upright when they wear out. E and A tend to last a lot longer.
String prices are ridiculous. A pack of Pure Blues at Steve’s Music cost me $50. A pack of Lo Riders at L&M is $40. A pack a Fender rounds at Cosmo is $30.
I believe it was you who referred me to him in the first place, I owe you a thanks for that.
I've been using Ken Smith Compressors now for a few months on my Yamaha fiver, it's a 4 string set plus an extra B string. The 4 string set is $22, the single B is $11 so the whole set is $33, which is great for a five string set. I just bought some spare sets to stock up on as I sort of can't believe those prices will last...
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Pretty sure a set of Rotosound 66 are about $7 more than they were in the 80s.
Funny you should mention KS Compressors... I've just ordered a set of the light set (40-58-80-102) and a .125 tapered B to try on my Yamaha, along with a set of GHS Pressurewound L7200 today. I'm not going to tell you how much I paid for the KS 5-string set, except to say it was less than $33.
If I need a bunch of sets of strings, I'll look online for a good price. If I just need a set or two, I'll go to my local music store and pay the higher price for them. I like having a local music store where I can walk in a buy a set of strings. Hopefully, me doing that will help allow them to continue to be there.
I'm crying with you! Try looking for flatwounds. I'll have to take out a mortgage just to try them. A friend, years ago, had some nylon (I think) covered flatwounds on his Yamaha Neck Thru. I'd dearly love to find something similar. I can not ask him as he died many years back. That said, AliExpress does seem to have some cheap strings, of course, quality may vary!
Even tho' I don't change strings as much as I used to (live work has gone down dramatically over the last 5 years, also prefer worn strings on some of my basses) I still rely on the old cheap Warwick Reds (NICKEL, discussed here). Try not to hate too much, they're nothing like their crappy Red Label steelsç strings (the most commonly available). 13.50€ per 5-string set from Thomann. They were 11.70€ IIRC back when I started buying them around 2012/2013.
I had an Ernie Ball endorsement deal for a couple years, then had another from Magma for almost 4 years (Argentinean family business, GREAT strings). After that was over and once my stock of strings went critical I tested some sets. Notably, I really liked DR (both loriders and hibeams) but at 40+€/set I can only afford those occasionally. I settled on the aforementioned Warwick Red nickels and haven't looked back. Prefer them to Ernie Balls, D'Addarios. I like DRs, Smiths (one of the brands I've used the most, pre any endorsement) and those Magmas better, but not by far really. I definitely wouldn't be able to tell them apart from other 20-30$/€ strings.
They feel normal, the sound normal, they last normal. They even work in my 35" scale Schecter (good by about 1cm after the nut). They just don't have silk ends and are cheap AF.
I had an Ernie Ball endorsement deal for a couple years, then had another from Magma for almost 4 years (Argentinean family business, GREAT strings). After that was over and once my stock of strings went critical I tested some sets. Notably, I really liked DR (both loriders and hibeams) but at 40+€/set I can only afford those occasionally. I settled on the aforementioned Warwick Red nickels and haven't looked back. Prefer them to Ernie Balls, D'Addarios. I like DRs, Smiths (one of the brands I've used the most, pre any endorsement) and those Magmas better, but not by far really. I definitely wouldn't be able to tell them apart from other 20-30$/€ strings.
They feel normal, the sound normal, they last normal. They even work in my 35" scale Schecter (good by about 1cm after the nut). They just don't have silk ends and are cheap AF.
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