tone deaf & trying to figure out if my strings are dead

One of the big giveaways for me of "New Strings vs Dead Strings" is string noise from your fingers. It is a lot more apparent after you've been playing one set for a long time then switch to a new set. I played a set of Rotosounds for 3 years before I decided to buy a new set of strings. It was like night and day.

 

I don't know how you can't tell the difference between fresh rounds and even one month old rounds. Rounds lose their zing and, in my opinion, your tone suffers. Mind you, I like fresh strings so I change them often. Flats are a different ball game, they sound better as they age.

 

Do you know your intervals? Have you ever worked on singing? Learning your intervals will guarantee improve your ear. You cannot just learn the names, you have to learn to recognize the sonic distance between intervals. Singing will greatly improve your ear.

 

If you can't hear the Very Obvious difference with new strings, are you sure you don't have high frequency hearing loss?

 

It took me a long time to be able to hear pitch well. One of the things that did it for me was playing upright bass with a bow and really straining to hear the overtones. That is a really expensive solution. Try listening to the examples on this page and hearing the differences in intonation.

Here are some ear training exercises. These really helped develop my ear.

Singing is great. Try singing something and then checking whether it is in tune against your bass. Make sure your bass is in tune electronically first. It might also help to get the intonation on your bass checked.

If you know music theory, people usually sing the leading tone sharp. Learning to sing that perfectly in tune would really help you hear.

Try learning some simple songs by ear. Not just the bass parts, try the vocal part. That will get your ear working.

It took me forever to really begin to hear intonation/tone/pitch. I'm still working on it. Try playing with your basses knobs to hear the frequency changes. Can you hear what happens when you turn the tone knob? It is rolling off frequencies until all you have are the low frequencies. Every note has many frequencies, many overtones. Can you hear them? The tone knob might teach you to.

Recording yourself doing these things and then listening to that recording might help you hear better. It is really hard for me to hear well while playing.

Old strings often sound a little out of tune to me even when tuned up. They feel sticky from grime. They buzz a lot less.

If you have any questions, just ask.

 

It 'sounds' like you have pretty profound hearing loss.

 

Your ear is your most important piece of musical equipment. If you don't have an ear, new strings wont help you.

 

Depends on a lot of things, the strings, the bass, the style of music.

Rotosounds swings loose the clear upper register. La Bella flats are what they are until they break.

Some people obsess over things they shouldn't. If you (and those you play with) are happy with your sound, then you are happy. Nuff said.

 

If it sounds round & dead instead of sharp & crisp, the string is dead. This is one of the reasons I detest flatwounds

 

Yes, you'll hear alot more string/finger noise...

 

Same here!! Also why I switched to coated DR's, not *as* bright as I like but they last longer for me..Elixirs are good too

 

Boldly snap your E string (without being plugged in)......
if it goes "plop", you probably have dead stings
if it goes "PING", you probably have fresh strings
if it breaks, you really need new strings

 

From everything you describe your hearing is significantly gone. Its not a matter of you training your ears. Its out of your control and not reversible.