New bass strings are WAAAY too bright...

Kelly Holdridge

Kelly Holdridge

New member
I had money burnin' a hole in my pocket and bought new stings for my bass. Now it sounds like SHIT, all buzzy and bright and such, I USED to have that fretless jazz bass sound, now I'm EQing my rig to kill the squeaks and high-end...

What did I do wrong? Was it the type of metal in the strings? I mean, I HATE the tone now. Is there a way to "age" them faster?

Thx, -K.
 
Well, you're right about that... to an extent. I've had them on for about 3 weeks, I have noticed that they're getting "tamer", but SHEEIT. I think I ended up with nickel instead of those other metal types, which gives it that "hot" sound. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to change the battery...

:D
 
if it really irrtates the shit out of you you can wax 'm. litteraly put grease on them. that's what happens in time; fingergrease getting on the strings.

guhlenn

ps use green grease for a warmer and punchier tone...LOL;) ...it will never stop...
 
That's why I change my bass strings once every 10 years.


Actually, I'm just really too cheap to change them more frequently.

:D
 
Sounds to me like you got some Stainless Steel strings on there.Stainless is way brighter than Nickel plated at first,but they will smooth out after a while.
 
I use stainless roundwounds on my bass and they are indeed very bright when i first put them on. A couple of weeks of playing normally breaks them in though. I would think you could tweak some treble out of the tone maybe? That might take the edge off the strings til they settle down?

I actually quite like the brightness of new strings myself...
 
Tweedville is correct, flat or groundwounds do sound duller brand new. However, they also produce a hell of a lot more tension on the neck and I'd recommend getting your bass set up by your local Guitar Tech (your music shop SHOULD have one!). I guarantee after a good set up your bass will play like a dream.
DO NOT WAX YOUR STRINGS! This can and probably will damage your fret board over time, that is one of the stupidest suggestions I've heard of in a very long time.
 
sorry???

why is it so stupid?

please explain your self so i can learn from your infinite wisdom... and oh why is it bad for your fretboard?

guhlenn
 
Not to cause any offence, but why would anyone want to put goop on strings? There's enough crud coming off your fingers and clogging up the string windings already. I certainly wouldn't want a buildup of wax or any other substance on the fretboard. Whether wax causes damage I don't know but apart from the occasional oiling of the fretboard to keep it drying out (using the right oils) I wouldn't want anything else on my strings.

The good thing about bright strings is they really show any sloppiness in playing technique and it's a good exercise to try to practice with them and make them sound clean while they're new. Your technique will improve for it.

The brightness of new strings will most definitely wear off over 10-20 hours of playing. Promise.
 
well... they would want that because they think that their strings sound too bright. and yes your right the same effect comes from finger grease. if your not willing to wait for that you take wax or whatever grease you want to use and you rub it in to a towel and then rub the towel over the strings. this way the grease will be caught in the little grooves of the strings and therefor will dampen te strings a bit which will sund less bright and more bassy.
i WAS NOT suggesting to put a nice layer of wax on it ...
oh and BTW how can wax or grease hurt your fretboard? it may be the stupidest suggestion Opus heard in a long while but, Opus, please let me know.

;)guhlenn
 
strings for da bass

Have you tried "DR" strings???They are hand made strings,they last a long time.they do't stain like other strings.i've tried em all,and "DR" rules.By the way you might want to get your bass set-up by a professional,sounds like you got some serious "fret buzz" problems.One more comment,DR's sustain like no other strings i've put on my guitar....good luck
 
No offence intended guhlenn, I know from experience that any type of wax or grease can soak into the fret board and soften the wood. Obviously the softer the wood the more prone to damage it is. This will happen over time anyway (except in the case of a lacquered finger board) from the oil, grease and sweat from your fingers. The type of oil used to put on finger boards is used specifically to treat wood, this is usually something along the line of Danish Teak Oil or even some brands of Cedar oil. It is a myth that lemon oil will treat yor finger board, it is great for "cleaning" due to the fact that citric acid breaks down grease and the like, but as far as treating it goes....you may as well use a piece of used toilet paper 'cause it'll have the same effect. NOTHING!
 
Oh, and FYI guhlenn. Getting matter jammed in between the little grooves on your strings is the last thing you'd want. This unevenly increases the "mass" of the string and this is when you'll start getting problems with intonation (i.e. the string won't produce a true note all the way along the frets).
I know I sound like a blow ass but I work as the inhouse guitar tech for the Ibanez & Yamaha importers and I deal with this kind of crap everyday.
 
your right, but the thing is that i don't think that the amount of grease that i ment to be put on the strings will damage the fretboard. it's a temporary solution.
The fingergrease will do the same in 2-4 weeks or so. Although you make a good point about the softening of the wood... but shouldn't that be hard enough so it is not affected by that? i mean i sweat like a pig during shows... that would mean my fretboard should have been eaten away by now (over three years).
and about not wanting to fill up the grooves, sorry man but apart from the intonation issue (never thought about that) i like the sound of my strings when they're a little "choked". And that is a problem which seems inevitable unless you're willing to change strings every week. But you made me curious now. Please explain yourself a little more as you made some good points.

greetz guhlenn;)
 
Yeah, this is good reading!

A question for Opus: My acoustic (the cheapo Fender ones) has "checked" along the sides of the fretboard, and I picked up the guitar yesterday and a piece of it fell off! AAAUGH! I wanted to just glue it back on, but hesitated because I didn't know if there was a "right" way to do this. I'm not worried about the cosmetics of the guitar (I'd just as soon not put it back on, except it's where a fret lies, and so my thumb would get eaten in a heartbeat). Any suggestions? I was about to use "Liquid Nails", and kind of smear it all along the checked sides so no more pieces would just decide to fall off...

Thanks! (I've never used flatwounds, sounds like fun. What would I compromise if I used them instead? And will this approach that Cello sound?)
 
First to Guhlenn: You're right, the wood "should" be hard enough on the fret board and yes the "softening" will happen over time anyway. The point I'm trying to get across is that it's probably not a good idea to use products that may speed up this process. You could be looking at a replacement fret board way before it's due and it's not a cheap repair.

To the other guy who I've completely forgotten because I can't bring up that page while I'm writing this post: When you say "checked" are you referring to the binding either side of the fret board? Whatever bit has fallen off I wouldn't use any other product except PVA glue or cyanoacrylate (think that's how it's spelt) otherwise known as superglue or crazyglue. If you don't have a steady hand use PVA, the excess can be wiped off with water later. If you can avoid gluing your fingers together as I do on a daily basis use the superglue. Apply it with an old guitar string or something similar, DO NOT use the applicator on the bottle! Oh and make sure it's the really runny stuff (almost like water). This is also cool for fixing up hairline cracks.
 
Sorry Kelly, forgot about your last question. When you use flatwounds the compromise is mostly to do with sound. Obviously they're going to sound duller when picked, they're not going to have that same attack. Sustain can sometimes become shorter unless you buy good quality flatwounds (rotosound are OK). But with flatwounds comes a hell of a lot more tension on your instruments neck, I can't stress enough that people should get their basses set up for flatwounds!
As far as sounding like a cello the short answer is "maybe". The closest you're going to get to it is if your bass is fretless, or better still an electric upright. Their are no frets on a cello so obviously you're not going to get the sound you want from a stock standard fretted model.
 
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