Why does my Jazz Bass eat strings?

[dbsfgyd1]

I’m baffled. I’ve never had a bass do this before. But I’ve only been playing since 1987 so I’m still kinda new. Ha!

I’ve been using my L1000 for all my gigs since I got it at the first of the year. I also host a jam every Monday, and I’ve let plenty of other people play it there. I’m just changing the factory strings today. They’re not totally destroyed yet, but they’re getting there fast. So two months on a set of strings.

My American Elite Jazz eats a set of strings every time I take it to a gig. After 2-3 hours of play time, they’re like old rubber bands. Just totally and completely dead. I’ve tried different brands, different gauges, string through, and top loading, and nothing makes a difference. One gig and the strings are toast.

Is this an issue other people have encountered? Is there a remedy? Or is this bass just a string eater?

If it looks like your are drawing back on a bow to shoot arrows when plucking strings, your technique is a little more than heaven handed. I had this problem in my younger days playing a short scale EB3. Two gigs a set max or I’d snap them off about an inch and a quarter in front of the bridge. Dang expensive habit but boy did that PP-twang sound awesome.

Being exceptionally violent when slapping, like pounding your down strokes and yanking on the up stroke to excess, can be an issue as well.

If you sweat profusely, make sure you are wiping off your strings often. Also, if you eat something like fried chicken before or during the gig, wash your hands before playing.

Seriously, a good set of rounds (excluding Roto Sound Swing Bass that are good for about 20 minutes) should get you 50-100 hours of playing time before getting clunky. If you are using flats, what do you you expect? That deadness means they’re broken in and starting to sound good.

 

[Jakedog]

I'm still trying to figure out what "eats" strings means. (Edited...)

I thought maybe it was breaking them. Nope.

What I got from the first post is that the strings get loose "like old rubber bands." Nope.

In post #12 it's clarified - the strings go dead. I'm wondering how that is diagnosed, and whether they are rounds or flats. Does it mean that the strings no longer have the brightness of new strings? In flats, that would be a feature, not a problem. With rounds, I guess it would be a problem.

As a flats player, I'm not sure how to describe dead strings. I like mine after they've been on the bass a few months. If it's lack of brightness, I get it.

Dick Dale had his bass player install new strings (Ernie Ball brand) every day. I guess he liked the brightest strings possible on the bass.

They feel, and sound, like rubber bands. When you were a kid did you ever stretch rubber bands across a car board box to put together a home-made instrument? That’s what all four strings feel and sound like after 2-3 hours of playing time on this bass. No sustain, no tone, no bounce or spring left at all. All four strings. Done.

I don’t need brand new string sound all the time. I’ll keep a set of strings as long as I can if they’re still useable and working for me. On my other bass, and on every one I’ve ever owned (well north of a hundred instruments) it’s always been a couple months on average. On the Jazz, I never get more than one gig out of a set. And the last set of the night is usually no fun.

 

[bobyoung53]

Thank you!! Edited and corrected...

You should see some of the stuff I type, if I don't re-read my posts before I post them there's all sorts of funny stuff going on.

 

[Jakedog]

If it looks like your are drawing back on a bow to shoot arrows when plucking strings, your technique is a little more than heaven handed. I had this problem in my younger days playing a short scale EB3. Two gigs a set max or I’d snap them off about an inch and a quarter in front of the bridge. Dang expensive habit but boy did that PP-twang sound awesome.

Being exceptionally violent when slapping, like pounding your down strokes and yanking on the up stroke to excess, can be an issue as well.

If you sweat profusely, make sure you are wiping off your strings often. Also, if you eat something like fried chicken before or during the gig, wash your hands before playing.

Seriously, a good set of rounds (excluding Roto Sound Swing Bass that are good for about 20 minutes) should get you 50-100 hours of playing time before getting clunky. If you are using flats, what do you you expect? That deadness means they’re broken in and starting to sound good.

I would never use flats. This is a phenomenon that only applies to this particular bass. No other instrument. I don’t break strings. Ever. I don’t think I’ve broken a string on stage on bass or guitar, or acoustic guitar since maybe the early 90’s?

 

[Titch]

No need to apologize. It’s a legit suggestion. I think if this were the issue however, it wouldn’t just affect one instrument. The technique you’ve laid out here is pretty much dead on with what I’ve been doing for 35 years. Except the three wraps part. As long as I get good/correct break angle over the nut I never go more than two.

I’m also a pretty good bass/guitar mechanic. I’ve been working on stuff for a long time. I am not a noob when it comes to sorting out weird problems and quirks related to stringed instruments. I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve never even heard of anything like this, which is why I was wondering if anyone else had.

When I say rubber bands, I mean DEAD. No life at all. Completely useless and destroyed. I like new strings, it’s true. But I’m not talking about losing that new string zing, here. I mean deader than dead.

No worries Jakedog.

It's definitely something I've never come across before. Very intriguing.
Hope you find the problem and get it sorted.
I'll be following to see how things pan out.
All the best.

 

[bobyoung53]

If it looks like your are drawing back on a bow to shoot arrows when plucking strings, your technique is a little more than heaven handed. I had this problem in my younger days playing a short scale EB3. Two gigs a set max or I’d snap them off about an inch and a quarter in front of the bridge. Dang expensive habit but boy did that PP-twang sound awesome.

Being exceptionally violent when slapping, like pounding your down strokes and yanking on the up stroke to excess, can be an issue as well.

If you sweat profusely, make sure you are wiping off your strings often. Also, if you eat something like fried chicken before or during the gig, wash your hands before playing.

Seriously, a good set of rounds (excluding Roto Sound Swing Bass that are good for about 20 minutes) should get you 50-100 hours of playing time before getting clunky. If you are using flats, what do you you expect? That deadness means they’re broken in and starting to sound good.

Rotosounds last just as long as any other round wound nowadays and still sound as good as they always did. That's all I use again after 30 years of missing their sound.

 

[gmarcus]

Are you stringing through body? Maybe try straight through the back of the bridge? Just guessing maybe the things are binding up and getting a little twisted.

 

[bobyoung53]

They feel, and sound, like rubber bands. When you were a kid did you ever stretch rubber bands across a car board box to put together a home-made instrument? That’s what all four strings feel and sound like after 2-3 hours of playing time on this bass. No sustain, no tone, no bounce or spring left at all. All four strings. Done.

I don’t need brand new string sound all the time. I’ll keep a set of strings as long as I can if they’re still useable and working for me. On my other bass, and on every one I’ve ever owned (well north of a hundred instruments) it’s always been a couple months on average. On the Jazz, I never get more than one gig out of a set. And the last set of the night is usually no fun.

Just a guess but I think you have a problem at your bridge or maybe your nut but doubt it would be the nut. Something has to be pulling on the outer wrap.

 

[Jakedog]

Are you stringing through body? Maybe try straight through the back of the bridge? Just guessing maybe the things are binding up and getting a little twisted.

I’ve tried it both ways. And with different brands and gauges of strings. I wanted to rule everything out before I accused the bass itself.

 

[Lo-E]

I mean deader than dead.

Here’s an interesting experiment to try:
Cut a set of strings a little longer than usual - maybe three wrap’s worth - and string the Jazz top-loaded.
Play it until the strings are deader than dead. Then remove them and install them on the L1000. Are they still deader than dead, or do they just sound like broken-in strings?

This will tell you whether the bass is actually eating strings or if it’s just not getting along well with strings once they’re broken in.

Since strings lose their elasticity as they break in, the latter would support the rubbery neck theory whereas the former would suggest that either the nut or the bridge is somehow damaging the strings.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I would never use flats. This is a phenomenon that only applies to this particular bass. No other instrument. I don’t break strings. Ever. I don’t think I’ve broken a string on stage on bass or guitar, or acoustic guitar since maybe the early 90’s?

A couple of other possible issues are how strings are being installed like the strings getting twisted, no witness point, the nut slots are not the proper dimension, or not cut deep enough. The only other possible cause left is wear due to abuse.

BTW, I have a Fender PJ and have primarily played Fender basses over the last 45 years using round wound strings. I have a fairly wide dynamic range (read a tad heavy handed), And don’t slap much. My band is a Motown review band so bass parts are very involved, not a lot of ridiculous speed but a ton of scales and range. No quarters on the root. I get about 50 hours of gig time on a set. Just putzing around the house, I’ll get about a 100 hours.

We also do a fair amount of recording, so watching out for string degradation is very important. IMO, GHS Bass Boomers give me the longest life. If you are doing a lot of gigs they are the ticket. DR-Lo Riders don’t last quite as long, but have more of a refined sound great for recording.

Being honest, based on my experience of abusing strings, I doubt that your problem is with the bass itself. Best wishes and hope you can work it out. Just be grateful you aren’t addicted to these $75 a set flats. LOL!!

 

[BobKos]

Is the Jazz Bass a strings through body setup? I ask because string twist is really hard to avoid with through body stringing. Normally when I string a bass I get everything secured at the tuner. Then I pinch the still floppy loose string and run my pinch down the length of the string to the bridge. This pushes any twist out and allows the string to be neutral during subsequent tightening / tuning. With through body it is difficult to get the twist out so extra care needs to be taken to avoid twist during stringing. A twisted string will die a quick death.

 

[Ostie]

I left a set of strings on my Jazz for fifteen years. They were pretty dead. I didn’t know how dead till I got the new DR Hi-Beams on.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I’m baffled. I’ve never had a bass do this before. But I’ve only been playing since 1987 so I’m still kinda new. Ha!

I’ve been using my L1000 for all my gigs since I got it at the first of the year. I also host a jam every Monday, and I’ve let plenty of other people play it there. I’m just changing the factory strings today. They’re not totally destroyed yet, but they’re getting there fast. So two months on a set of strings.

My American Elite Jazz eats a set of strings every time I take it to a gig. After 2-3 hours of play time, they’re like old rubber bands. Just totally and completely dead. I’ve tried different brands, different gauges, string through, and top loading, and nothing makes a difference. One gig and the strings are toast.

Is this an issue other people have encountered? Is there a remedy? Or is this bass just a string eater?

Narrow tall frets?

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I'm still trying to figure out what "eats" strings means. (Edited...)

I thought maybe it was breaking them. Nope.

What I got from the first post is that the strings get loose "like old rubber bands." Nope.

In post #12 it's clarified - the strings go dead. I'm wondering how that is diagnosed, and whether they are rounds or flats. Does it mean that the strings no longer have the brightness of new strings? In flats, that would be a feature, not a problem. With rounds, I guess it would be a problem.

As a flats player, I'm not sure how to describe dead strings. I like mine after they've been on the bass a few months. If it's lack of brightness, I get it.

Dick Dale had his bass player install new strings (Ernie Ball brand) every day. I guess he liked the brightest strings possible on the bass.

He means what he said, they make his strings go dead after a couple hours of play. I can't imagine that, but he thinks that's what's happening. I would switch brands, or simply up the treble.

If any of my basses broke in strings in an hour or so, I would be ecstatic. God I hate new strings. They only start getting good after a couple weeks.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

That is an expensive problem... It would helpful and interesting to hear a recording of the same set of strings when they're fresh and then one right when they go Dead. Maybe that could offer more clues as to what might be happening..?

Shouldn't be too hard either, just put them on, press record, and play a 3 hour set. Right?

Erase the middle, have the track start with two songs and end with two songs.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Jazz has more notes?

Everybody knows that jazz is just an excuse to play the wrong notes.

 

[Iristone]

Could be frets? Or leftover finish residues?
I'd try some coated variations of the strings you already use. Elixirs, or DR Bootzillas (but it's stainless steel), can be a good starting point.

 

[BruceWane]

Maybe try installing a set of these "dead" strings on one of your other basses to confirm that they're actually dead and it's not something else going on with the Jazz that is just giving the effect of dead strings.

 

[jamro217]

Titch in post #10 wins.