Anyone else not like the sound of completely new strings?

[antispatula]

I find strings, when first played, straight out of the box, sound kind of thin and tinny. I find that once I "break them in" so they are now "broken in," yet still new strings, they sound the best.

Does anyone else share my feelings? I know that lots of people like the fresh brightness of completely new strings.....

Russell

 

[rory]

I find strings, when first played, straight out of the box, sound kind of thin and tinny. I find that once I "break them in" so they are now "broken in," yet still new strings, they sound the best.

Does anyone else share my feelings? I know that lots of people like the fresh brightness of completely new strings.....

Russell

They definitely have a distinct sound. I'm a fan of strings that have been played a little, maybe about 5 minutes straight. My sweat is pretty acidic though, so strings don't last very long on my guitars.

 

[ez_willis]

Does anyone else share my feelings?

Not me.

Particularly with bass strings.

 

[eyeteeth]

I love fresh strings on my guitars, not so much on my basses. I like bass strings "broken in", but not too much.

 

[Anfontan]

I definitely like a bit of wear on the strings, especially the wound strings. I could never figure out why people would change strings just before a gig then wonder why they have tuning problems!
Playing chords on a new set of strings just have no bottom end to me...

 

[mikey@thecave]

i just had a guy tell me that he didn't like the sound of new strings.Without giving his name,let me just say he has worked with one of the top female artist of our time for 15 years and is a studio guy in nashville.i was kinda shocked to hear that.I thought new strings were supose to sound better
he gets a great sound

 

[Zed10R]

new strings have a breaking in period. String it up, jam for 10min, re-tune, jam for 10more, retune, and PRESTO!! GREAT sound....as long as your geat is set to use the full range os new strings. Some aren't....IMO....

brand new strings just wound on your guitar are not going to be stable or sound good. They need breaking in. Bass and guit both.

 

[legionserial]

I like fresh strings for clean and dirty sounds. Prefer them a little played in for heavy distortion. Either way I prefer them played or stretched in for an hours or so to solve tuning issues.

I much prefer completely new, fresh out of the packet strings for bass. However I generally make do with bass strings until they are completely dead, because they are so fuckin expensive.

 

[eyeteeth]

For me... on the bass... my rig... Fresh strings are just a smidgen too bright for me. I like a lot of punch and definition, but I hate clicks and clacks. It takes about on hour to get the strings tone calmed down to where I like it. I have however a technique of stretching the strings when I first put them on that takes just a couple extra minutes, but my basses will stay in tune right off the bat.

 

[metalhead28]

Well, sometimes I leave my strings on for way too long, so when I put new ones on they sound really bright and kind of satisfying. When I was gigging I changed them constantly and I would stretch them out maniacally before I tried to play on them and I never noticed that new ones really sounded any different.

I like new strings on a bass.

 

[cusebassman]

I play with the dreaded Elixir polyweb, so putting a new set on doesn't sound the way a new, non-coated set sounds... the bottom strings don't need any time to build up gunk between the windings to deaden the sound, so they sound good (to me) straight out of the box/bag.

Haven't changed the strings on my bass in years but that's because I pull the thing out once every... 3 or 4 months just to record bass tracks to songs, or to play a small gig that doesn't need much more than a thick bottom end, which even pretty dead bass strings will provide.

 

[Jouni]

Depends from the strings to me...

Some sound overly bright at start. But!!!... It could be that the high-end of my rig is EQ:d with old strings.

 

[andyhix]

On my electric - I'm not too particular. But If I could hire someone to change my acoustic strings every day or two, I would. I love the sound of new strings on acoustics.

 

[Zaphod B]

Does anyone else share my feelings?

Not me. The fresher the better.

 

[castlerock]

i like new strings (once stretched) on clean electric and acoustic, and a day or two of break-in on distorted electric.

 

[crazydoc]

I love acoustic strings right out of the package, but then I'm old and have high frequency hearing loss. I don't think new strings have any less bottom end - just that the treble brightness is overwhelming for a period of time.

I'd like to be able to change the strings on my double bass every couple of years, but at $100-$200 a pop that ain't gonna happen. I just wipe them down with alcohol periodically to get the dead skin cells out.

 

[Zaphod B]

I love the way my Martin reacts to new strings. It just feels vibrant and alive. It still surprises me, after all these years, when I've let a set stay on a bit too long and replace them - the brightness just jumps out at me.

 

[killthepixelnow]

Nothing like fresh new strings!

 

[Thurgood]

Fresh like fruit. Yummy.

 

[Tadpui]

I love new electric strings, mainly for the spot-on intonation and ease of tuning. The tone sounds "metallic" and somehow inorganic compared to strings that have been on the instrument for a while. But once they start to deaden, they get difficult to keep in tune.

On acoustic though, I hate the sound of brand-spanking-new strings. It definitely sounds metallic to me. Give them a day or so and they sound much better to me. But within a week or so they start to deaden and sound boxy. It's a fine line!