Bassists I need some help

[Toki987]

friggin strings.....
I used nothing but Rotosound through the 70`s with the exception of a few packs of GHS Boomers. Something happened in the 80`s to the Rotosounds, probably due to cost cutting techniques, that made them lose their harmonics faster and die faster, even with cleaning. I tried D'Ads, DR's, Cryo`s, Earth's, Ernie Balls, and a couple others through the 90`s up to and after I started playing a V string regularly. Nothing lasted long at all until I tried some Ken Smith`s. They had done pretty well but latley I have been playing very regularly live lately (every weekend with an ocassional off week after about 5, and these aren`t lasting very long at all before going as dead as a clay pot. It seems the metal composite just sucks these days. I like to get about 3 months at least from a set and them keep their harmonics resonance up to snuff before they start to clam up. I clean my hands before I play and wipe my strings after each gig before it goes in the case. I don`t have a "sweat salts" problem.
What are you guys using and what kind of mileage are you getting out of them?
Thanks,
Ken

 

[joro]

Hi kenny ....How goes man?


I can't realy help....just wanted to say "hi" man....the strings on my 4 year old bass....well...they were on the bass when I bought it.....


still sounds ok to me......then again...all I use it for is recording.....gotta love compression....

 

[Toki987]

Hi keeny ....How goes man?


I can't realy help....just wanted to say "hi" man....the strings on my 4 year old bass....well...they were on the bass when I bought it.....


still sounds ok to me......then again...all I use it for is recording.....gotta love compression....

I'm going good Joro, love ya man.
4 yrs is good, my kinda good

but 4 hrs a night in smoky, cheap perfume, humidity filled club 2 nights a week it would be different.

 

[joro]

I'm going good Joro, love ya man.
4 yrs is good, my kinda good

but 4 hrs a night in smoky, cheap perfume, humidity filled club 2 nights a week it would be different.

you can smoke in the clubs were you live?







damn....

 

[Toki987]

and pee in the parking lot without worrying about going to jail...

 

[Toki987]

come on guys, give us some input here, I dont trust commercial advertising anymore.

Tell me what you are using and how long they last...

 

[lbanks]

Maxima Golds last about 3-5 month, or longer. Very expensive and hard to find. TI Jazz Rounds start out at 'half-dead' (by SS standards) and stay there a long time. TI Superalloy are much brighter, but I've only used them a week. But, being TI's I expect long life. TI's are as expensive as the Maxima's but easier to find. I get mine from The Dude...
Vintagebass

 

[Rokket]

I'm still using D'Addario XL's. They last pretty long for me, gigging or not. 2 years ago, I was in a cover band in a few small (less than 20 people seating) clubs here in Sasebo (you name it: cigarette smoke, cheap perfume, vomit), and they would last more than a few months. I kept them clean like you: clean hands, wipe everything down...

Maybe you play harder on your strings than I do, but the last set (I changed them out about a month ago) of D'Add's I had on my bass were there for a year (no gigging, only recording)...

 

[Kryptik]

I just use Fender strings on my 60's reissue. I don't know all the specifics on them, but they last for 3-5 months at three practices and a show a week. At least they did a while back. I've actually last changed them back last September and they're just recently going dead.

What kind of bass do you play? Do you have intonation problems or a nut that holds the strings too tight? The action or neck adjustment may be a problem too. I'm not really a bass tech, but those would be the places where I would look. I'm guessing that the tension is too tight causing metal fatigue to come in sooner than normal. Also if the strings are too big you'll have to put more tension on the strings to get them in tune. Look at the strings at the bridge, if the coils are pulling apart the problem is probably down there. Hopefully there is some sign of deterioration somewhere to give you a clue about what the problem could be.

If you are playing for hours every day, figure about a month between replacements though.

I'd like to be able to guide you better, but I hope this helps.

 

[zed32]

i've tried lots of different strings (including rotosound) and have stuck to using D'Ads on most of my guitars and basses and they work pretty well for me. but i did notice that after gigging regularly, they tended to die out pretty quickly, but then again back in those days i just used to grab the bass and play (no washing hands or wiping strings afterwards ). but nowadays that i'm doing music mostly out of my home, i get some decent mileage out of them.

 

[Track Rat]

GHS Boomers and to a lesser extent GHS Contact Cores. I get a good 3 months out of a set.

 

[AGCurry]

TI Jazz Flats. A set lasts me at least a coupla years. Something tells me they're not your style, though...

 

[Halion]

Elixers! They will last you alot long than by far most other strings. I use D'Addario's now because I don't like the sound of brand new strings that much, but if you want clean, fresh, bright sound for a long time, there's nothing like Elixers.

Dude, I can't belief no one has mentioned these yet.

 

[bbocaner]

You're absolutely right...

Rotosounds sound good, but you can play them for about an hour before they immediately go off and sound bad.

Ken smith strings, to me, don't sound wonderful to start with, and don't last very long either.

I don't like d'ad at all for bass, although I dig their guitar strings.

I always thought that GHS "boomers" bass strings sounded pretty good when I heard them on other people's instruments, but I could never get them to sound good on mine.

DR makes a decent sounding and fairly long lasting string. Make sure you get the stainless and not the nickel, and I prefer sound of the hi-beams to the low-riders. They sound good for about a week, and sound passable for another couple of weeks after that. These are also easy to find in lots of gauges locally, at least for me.

I like the sound of the labella hard rockin' steels a lot, and they last about as long as the DRs, but you very often get a bad string in a package.

My favorites used to be R. Cocco -- but several years ago they stopped making them and I started using other strings. I see they are back in production now, but I haven't tried them again yet. Rumor is they aren't as good as they once were.

The guy who makes my instruments recommends picato -- i haven't tried them myself yet.

Good luck.

Barry

 

[mjareo]

Like someone said above, I'm not sure they are your style, but I always play Fender black nylon strings on my fretless. Gives a pretty cool (but softer and gentler) sound.

Like I said though, that may not fit your style....

 

[Zed10R]

Elixers! They will last you alot long than by far most other strings. I use D'Addario's now because I don't like the sound of brand new strings that much, but if you want clean, fresh, bright sound for a long time, there's nothing like Elixers.

Dude, I can't belief no one has mentioned these yet.

Yup. Elixers will last longer than any other string I know of. I just don't like the sound of 'em...

I've only been playing bass for 17 years, but in that time I have NEVER found a string that sounded good AND lasted a long time. It seems that the better the sound the shorter the life. Working within that compromise, I like to use DR, Ernie Ball, or Ken Smith strings. DR = decent all around string, EB = brighter snappier string, less deep lows, but tighter. KS = balanced sound, nice mids, nice lows, not a lot of snap and sizzle.

 

[IronFlippy]

I use Dean Markley SR2000s on my bass. I don't have the greatest bass in the world, but I'm fixing it up slowly (i.e. replacing almost everything). The DMs sound great to me, but I'm really a guitarist and only play bass for recording. Give them a shot though, you might like them.

 

[EddieRay]

Wow, ya'll have such good habits. I use GHS Boomers, Long Scale Plus Medium Lights and change them every couple of years. I don't wipe 'em down very often. Once I boiled 'em. Okay the current set has been on for more like 3 years, about, roughly, um, maybe more. Still, the thump hits you like a baseball bat and that's what I like.

I've been thinking about going with flatwounds for the next set. Has anyone gone from rounds or skimmed rounds to flats and regretted it?

 

[scrubs]

Wow, ya'll have such good habits. I use GHS Boomers, Long Scale Plus Medium Lights and change them every couple of years. I don't wipe 'em down very often. Once I boiled 'em. Okay the current set has been on for more like 3 years, about, roughly, um, maybe more. Still, the thump hits you like a baseball bat and that's what I like.

I've been thinking about going with flatwounds for the next set. Has anyone gone from rounds or skimmed rounds to flats and regretted it?

Well, I'm not a bassist by any means, but I have flats on one of my basses and think it is a really useful sound. Much duller sounding with little sustain. Probably not good for aggressive rock, but they fit mellower music well. You can get that Carol Kaye style plunk easier with flats. I love the fact that you get almost no string noise (cuz I'm a sloppy player anyway). Of course, if you leave your strings on for 3 years, that's quite a commitment if you don't like the sound.

 

[Toki987]

Thank you guys.
bassed on what you stated...
I think I'll pick up a pack or two of the GHS 44-126 Infinities, and try a pack of the Elixers next. Both say they are polymer coating the string windings to preserve the tone life of them much longer, we`ll see.

I have been using 45-130 gauges for a good while, for the fat lowend pressure they give, but I don`t like to get a muddy sound. That`s why I get so aggrevated with strings gettin dull. I play a Fender V most the time, and play pretty much all the time with my fingers, so the strings get pretty costant skin contact.
Anyways, I appreciate it fellas...