Why does my Jazz Bass eat strings?

[Yellow Bang66]

I have extremely dry hands. Not greasy, not sweaty. It’s weird that it’s only this particular bass. Doesn’t happen on my G&L. Hasn’t ever happened on any other bass I’ve owned.

Me too! I have very dry hands/fingers, but I believe its bad technique, as heavy handed, too strong( grippy) fretting! I tend to be veryright hand heavy, bashing away, beating strings into submission! I try to lighten up but Its just a bad Habit now ingrained into my playing. I blame my love of more aggressive Music with my technique following suit.So if theres any tips or tricks to help Id appreciate. Sorry for jacking your post.GL

 

[ThudThudThud]

My body chemistry can kill a set of Rotos from fifty paces.
I'd be checking contact points like tuners, and bridge for sharp bits, and/or weird angle breaks.
I think G&L use D'Addario, but couldn't swear to it. Try something with a little less tension?

 

[Jakedog]

When you loosen the old strings to take them off of the tuners, do the strings still lay flat with the coil ready to reattach, or do they want to spin on you?

Always flat.

 

[BarfanyShart]

Jazz has more notes?

And that doesn't even count the notes you don't play ... which I am told are important in Jazz.

 

[bobyoung53]

Me too! I have very dry hands/fingers, but I believe its bad technique, as heavy handed, too strong( grippy) fretting! I tend to be veryright hand heavy, bashing away, beating strings into submission! I try to lighten up but Its just a bad Habit now ingrained into my playing. I blame my love of more aggressive Music with my technique following suit.So if theres any tips or tricks to help Id appreciate. Sorry for jacking your post.GL

When I was a kid I started on a cheap bass with high action and big flatwounds, when I bought my first good Fender in 1970 I had to raise the action I was so used to playing so hard, I destroyed the last couple of frets with flatwounds I beat the poor thing so hard . I'm still not a light player as I feel you can vary your sound with your technique including playing hard and soft but I at least don't kill the poor things anymore. Needless to say I don't like light strings and use regular .105 Rotos on almost everything.

 

[Jakedog]

Me too! I have very dry hands/fingers, but I believe its bad technique, as heavy handed, too strong( grippy) fretting! I tend to be veryright hand heavy, bashing away, beating strings into submission! I try to lighten up but Its just a bad Habit now ingrained into my playing. I blame my love of more aggressive Music with my technique following suit.So if theres any tips or tricks to help Id appreciate. Sorry for jacking your post.GL

I don’t play hard. I’m a firm believer in using plenty of wattage, and letting the amp do all the work. I used to skimp on amp power, and never liked the way my basses sounded because I was playing way too hard to try and subconsciously compensate for it. These days I take a howitzer to a knife fight and my technique is very laid back. I also find it makes it easier to sing and play at the same time if I’m not beating the absolute piss out of my instrument.

 

[Killing Floor]

And that doesn't even count the notes you don't play ... which I am told is important in Jazz.

Or the ones people think you're supposed to play.

 

[bobyoung53]

I don’t play hard. I’m a firm believer in using plenty of wattage, and letting the amp do all the work. I used to skimp on amp power, and never liked the way my basses sounded because I was playing way too hard to try and subconsciously compensate for it. These days I take a howitzer to a knife fight and my technique is very laid back. I also find it makes it easier to sing and play at the same time if I’m not beating the absolute piss out of my instrument.

Yes another reason I beat the things so bad was the lousy amps I had when I was a kid, could never hear myself the way I wanted to so unconsciously played too hard. I still wrench the sound out of basses though sometimes though and sometimes use a lot of vibrato. I'm still a hard rocker at heart.

 

[SirMjac28]

I didn't change strings unless they broke before I joined Talk Bass

 

[Jakedog]

I didn't change strings unless they broke before I joined Talk Bass

Yeah, back before there was an internet I had no idea how much all my gear sucked. Or that I was supposed to have at least seven of everything.

 

[SirMjac28]

Yeah, back before there was an internet I had no idea how much all my gear sucked. Or that I was supposed to have at least seven of everything.

lol same here this site also has turned me into a gear snob I now find myself listening with my eyes more than my ears even though in a blind test I couldn't tell from a MIM, MIA, or MIJ bass I have to do better.

 

[Lava]

Active preamp on one and not the other?
Different value of tone pot on one vs the other?

 

[Darrell Vachon]

It's probably pickups they put recently in fender jazz basses. I had am.pro 2017.which sounded dull and dead, sold it in a week. On the other hand my Music Man Sting Ray tolerate even much more older strings and still sounds more lively than the particular j bass.

Crazy thought. Could the pickups be off? I like the idea of trying your older L1000 strings on it

 

[nickpc]

*With strings tuned to pitch, slacken neck bolts to allow neck to fully-engage pocket. Re-tighten!

I'm starting to think along these lines as well - that the neck isn't seated quite right in the pocket. Removing strings lets it shift a bit, but then the tension of the new set pulls it into a position where you lose the life of the strings. It would happen to each new set, which would start out OK and playing the bass would hasten the deadness along.

Could also be the nut shifting or even the bridge losing contact with the body. Might be a good idea to check all of those connection/contact points just to be safe.

 

[chadds]

I've had new case out-gassing cause string death in 24hrs. Was it just tuned up and the tech waxed the finger board? That can be done before winter and causes string death.
Lastly are you playing music the jazz just doesn't like? ABBA, Punk Swing, Post Industrial Polka Funk, Rap Country, Country Rap, Early Bubblegum, Late Bubblegum, Mid Period Bubblegum, Folk Polka, Folk Funk, Neo Revisionist SciFi Western Theme Soundtracks?

 

[Zooberwerx]

I'm starting to think along these lines as well - that the neck isn't seated quite right in the pocket. Removing strings lets it shift a bit, but then the tension of the new set pulls it into a position where you lose the life of the strings. It would happen to each new set, which would start out OK and playing the bass would hasten the deadness along.

Could also be the nut shifting or even the bridge losing contact with the body. Might be a good idea to check all of those connection/contact points just to be safe.

This is actually a G&L suggested maneuver to enhance coupling between the neck and body. It’s done with strings to pitch.

Riis

 

[Rick_Bass]

Weight?

 

[StudioGC]

Try turning it off and then turn it on again?

 

[Mosfed]

Is this a feel thing or a sound thing?

I'm suspecting that the strings aren't shot; you may just not like the sound of the pickup once the strings have lost that fresh metallic zing. Almost every pickup sounds great with that fresh punch, but once the strings settle you hear their true voice.

If you love the feel of the bass, maybe try a (reversible) drop-in pickup replacement, see if they sound dead after that.

this.

The issue can’t be that the bass effects how the strings age but rather that the pickups on that bass particularly expose something about strings aging that you don’t like.

 

[Mosfed]

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.

It’s the pickups in that bass. It has to be.