Which bass strings go dead the fastest?...

[GlennRH]

How does one go about "most thoughtfully" installing strings?

1. Uninstall the strings to be replaced one at a time.
2. Pull the new string into place from the bridge or tailpiece to the string post.
3. Put the old string alongside its replacement, then use pliers to bend the new string where it will go into the string post to match that bend in the old string.
4. Use the cutter of your pliers to cut the new string after that bend to match the length of the bit after the bend in the old string.
5. Insert the bent, cut string end into its string post, then tune it to pitch.
6. Repeat for the other strings, one at a time.
7. Tune 'em all to pitch as a set.
8. Check and adjust set-up, aiming for every note on every string to be in tune, plus the harmonics at each 12th fret.

Critical points:
A. You replicate the bend in the old string before cutting the new string to length.
B. A string going dead prematurely often results from the windings loosening around the core. Not following steps 3 and 4 can allow the loosening of windings between string post and bridge.
C. Always keep your strings clean and in tune.

 

[LBS-bass]

To me it's always been that the ones that have the most initial brightness lose it the quickest, and you're left with something that you might either say is dead or broken in.

 

[gigetto]

Rotosound 66 decay very fast. I remember Ernie Ball not for their longevity and Prosteels are aethernal or something near

 

[bassclef04]

Having the same issues with Pure Blues I may just go back to Hi-Beams

I really love the tone of the DR Pure Blues, but they die much much much faster than the Hi-Beams or Lo-Riders.

 

[DwaynieAD]

Ernie balls in my experience

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

D'addario XL.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

+1 for slinky's and boomers.. I Didn't have any luck with Dunlop strings either lasting very long. Daddario xls and Dr Lo-riders are where it's at for me! Elixers also have been great!

See how experience varies I used to be a D'addario XL user, then switched to the Ernie Ball Slinkys because IME the XL dies much quicker.

 

[KevinDBassist]

So far it is Slinkies for me . I just experienced Ernie Ball Slinky nickel rounds going upleasingly tone wise , dead in three weeks . I am now trying Dunlop Super Bright nickel on my Stingray and so far really digging their tone and feel .

 

[gigetto]

I remember that Ernie Ball SLinky Nickel died not fast but didn't last long. The shorter life for me is for 66 roto's. But a wonderful tone....

 

[Gilmourisgod]

No question, Roto Swing 66, sound great for a couple weeks, then pffffftttttttt...........

 

[buldog5151bass]

I try not to make generlizations. Lots of people talk about Rotosounds, but I have had them on a bass for a year, and while they mellowed, ad all strings do, they certainly weren't dead.

 

[Root 5]

For myself, any 80/20 brass strings ( acoustic bass/guitar ) die fastest followed by nickel-plated steel. Pure nickel, stainless steel last a long time for me.

 

[gigetto]

Nickel decay faster than Stainless but Stainless at the end became dull, Nickel decay progressively.

 

[armybass]

Another vote for Dean Markley Blue Steel. It happened in 1989. I changed strings on a Friday afternoon when I got back later that night they were totally dead. Now it could have been the open windows and Louisiana humidity but I never bought another set to find out.

 

[alex1fly]

Didn't read the posts, so this has probably been said.

I wouldn't get too hung up on materials, brands, rules, what works for other people, etc. It's highly dependent on your body chemistry, environment in which your bass lives, playing style, etc. Same goes for guitar strings, woodwind reeds, and any other consumable musical item.

It's a worthy goal to find a set that lasts forever and sounds great... then you can repeat ad nauseum.

 

[ElectricBass72]

Dunlop Super Bright Stainless Steels retain their "zing" longer than any string I've ever used and it's not even close. Back in the 80's, 90's and 00's... I used to boil Dean Markley Blue Steels, GHS Boomers, D'Addarios, Elixirs, Rotosound, etc... after they would lose their zing with a week of rehearsing and playing gigs. I don't have to do that with DSBSS strings. I just wipe them off after I've played them and they sustain the "new string" sound for months. When the Dunlops go dead, I buy another set.

 

[Lesfunk]

Nickel.
I can sometimes ruin a set of nickel rounds In one show.
That's why I play stainless
The best nickels I've used are DR Sunbeams

 

[gigetto]

IMHO Nickels decay progressively some stainless stay good longer but decays instantly.

 

[Bushmaster]

Way back in the 1970s I very much liked the sound of Rotosound Swing Bass when coming fresh out of the package, but they didn't last long (and their finish was way too coarse; apart from quite some dead strings that had escaped quality control). I would not consider buying them ever again. I don't know why that is, maybe the alloy employed -?

There's a couple of other strings that really sound impressive, but they're made of soft materials like bronze or copper which are prone to both mechanical damage and corrosion.

 

[Bob_Ross]

Back before I'd settled once and for all what my go-to string was going to be -- a decision which I mercifully arrived at ~35 years ago and haven't looked back since -- my biggest beef with Rotosounds was how quickly they went dead. Sounded fabulous for the first week they were on the bass; but on the eighth day they turned to poo.