D
Dubickisbro
Member
Ive had the same strings on my bass for over a year now, how do I know when to replace them?
guitaristic
prophet of Dave
Well...how often do you play?
Have they lost their color? Are they getting black? Do they sound lifeless?
All of these things must be taken into account
Armistice
Son of Yoda
I can't remember... maybe 5 years ago? But I don't play bass except on recordings, so they don't get a lot of action. Let your ears be the guide....
kcearl
I see deaf people
I think my strings were last changed in the mid 90's 
G
Greg_L
Banned
I went about ten years on a set of bass strings. They sounded like ass for about the last 7 of those 10 years.
Steenamaroo
...
snus
Banned
When they lose their brilliance in sound, time to replace. How long that takes depends on many factors. A good indication is if you find you need to adjust your intonation for perfect tuning.
witzendoz
Senior Member
I used to replace my strings every 2 weeks back in the 80's but then again I was doing 6 x 4 hour shows a week in some pretty dirty smoke filled venues.
I now use elixir bass strings on 2 of the 3 basses I use, the other one has flat wounds as it's a hollow body fretless and it does not matter if the strings are a bit dead (it sounds like a double bass) if elixir had flat wounds I would by them. I have one bass that I play a lot and the elixir's sound as good now as they did 4 years ago and not changing them yet. Elixir strings cost a bit more but they outlast the others by a mile, If I did not use elixirs I would be changing them at least every 6 months, on a studio bass one set would last a lifetime.
By the way the Guitar player in the band also only uses elixir's.
Cheers
Alan.
I now use elixir bass strings on 2 of the 3 basses I use, the other one has flat wounds as it's a hollow body fretless and it does not matter if the strings are a bit dead (it sounds like a double bass) if elixir had flat wounds I would by them. I have one bass that I play a lot and the elixir's sound as good now as they did 4 years ago and not changing them yet. Elixir strings cost a bit more but they outlast the others by a mile, If I did not use elixirs I would be changing them at least every 6 months, on a studio bass one set would last a lifetime.
By the way the Guitar player in the band also only uses elixir's.
Cheers
Alan.
M
moresound
Loud Sun Studios
Replace! My bass is still factory tuned.
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Greg_L
Banned
I respect your commitment, like they were gona pull through or something.
Bass is just a dumb guitar for dumb people, so I don't care.
Armistice
Son of Yoda
Seeing everyone seemed very happy with the bass on my track in the Mix This forum, I reckon I have a few years left to go...
R
RAMI
Guest
Bass strings can be changed?
M
moresound
Loud Sun Studios
That's what I was saying Rami ..... They are to big and dangerous to be messing with!
You'll poke an eye out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
+1 on the Elixir strings...
That said --
When I was doing studio bass work, I'd change the E and A strings about once every hour or so. With Elixirs, maybe every 90 minutes. I'd probably go through 3 or 4 sets of E/A's and rotate them (they "come back" to some extent after several hours of no tension).
Once that "piano ping" is gone, I didn't want 'em anymore.
That said --
When I was doing studio bass work, I'd change the E and A strings about once every hour or so. With Elixirs, maybe every 90 minutes. I'd probably go through 3 or 4 sets of E/A's and rotate them (they "come back" to some extent after several hours of no tension).
Once that "piano ping" is gone, I didn't want 'em anymore.
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
I'm the opposite. When they lose that bright brilliance is when they're at their best, most expressive and pliable for me. I didn't restring my last bass in 12 years {and it hadn't been strung in the 3 years prior to that}, only the G string when it broke. I boiled them once but I can't say I noticed any difference {just after, that's when the G broke}.
I bought my present 5 string back in 2005 and by the start of this year the strings were cooking. But the intonation of the bass needed a slight resetting so I got it reset up and the guy doing it recommended a new set of strings. I said, OK, but since I restrung it, it's been too bright and brilliant, even when I'm going for the bright picky sound.
One unintended consequence of this though, is that when put it through the Behringer BD121 with all the knobs up full, I get a great sound for lead guitar ! That said, I look forward to the strings getting somewhat 'duller'. With treble, bass and mid knobs on the amp and the tone knobs on the bass {not to mention pedals and DAW settings}, you can still get a good variety of tones.
guitaristic
prophet of Dave
I once snapped the low-E string on my bass mid-gig one time. I'm still not sure how.
It almost cut my drummer in half
kcearl
I see deaf people
I once snapped the low-E string on my bass mid-gig one time. I'm still not sure how.
It almost cut my drummer in half
I went through a pack on my shortscale before i realised i hadnt changed the tuner to bass from guitar
Farview
Well-known member
It depends on the sound you are looking for. If you want that bright, piano string-type sound, you will need to change more often. If you want the not so bright bass sound, you can go until the intonation becomes a problem.
JG96
Active member
I go for a somewhat bright sound so I use steel strings. I replace them about twice a year. I find DR Hi beams to sound best on my bass.
Lt. Bob
Spread the Daf!
that borders on psychotic but yes, they will lose that initial 'ping' very rapidly ..... at which point they finally start sounding decent unless you're doing Yes.