hitchy64 Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Hello to you all out there. I have a quick question about strings. I am now in a band and we are reheresing once a week for 4 hours, and i practice at home about 1 hour per day. I bought this Fender Jazz in July with new Rotosounds on, and i play finger style. How long does a set of strings last?? Cheers Hitchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 (edited) That depends an a huge number of rather personal factors like taste, feel, sound preference, how rich you are etc ... Some people only change their strings if they break (James Jamerson was famous for that) others change them every gig .... There's an article about strings in the forum WIKI (look top left of the forum pages, up above the picture of the jazz bass) Here's a link, have a trawl through there. [url="http://wiki.basschat.co.uk/info:buying:strings"]Basschat forum WIKI article on strings[/url] Edited December 5, 2008 by OldGit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassMunkee Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 As the venerable Mr Git says - it's such a personal thing. There's no golden rule to be honest, it pretty much comes down to what you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 When I used to play Rotosounds I played them 'til the twang declined below my personal twang threshold, then boiled them gently in vinegar solution, then stuck them back on ... Repeat 'til the strings died totally or broke... The Elixirs I use now I keep on 'til the hairy bits that come out when I use a pick get too much or the twang goes (usually about 2 years/60 gigs). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 (edited) I played Rotos for years, and I usually swapped them out when the note started sounding too thick/muddy to tune reliably by ear. Sometimes that would take a couple of months, or a week, or even just a couple of nights, depending on how and where I played them, how well I cleaned them, etc. My fingers sweat more than most though, I think. Edited December 6, 2008 by thisnameistaken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alun Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 [quote name='OldGit' post='346923' date='Dec 6 2008, 12:15 AM']When I used to play Rotosounds I played them 'til the twang declined below my personal twang threshold, then boiled them gently in vinegar solution, then stuck them back on ... Repeat 'til the strings died totally or broke... The Elixirs I use now I keep on 'til the hairy bits that come out when I use a pick get too much or the twang goes (usually about 2 years/60 gigs).[/quote] I've gone from Rotos to Elixirs too - Rotosounds would get too dead for me after about a month ( usually6-8 gigs at the time, all sweaty ). Elixirs tend to last me about 6 months. Even after they go hairy, they still tend to sound OK. If anything, the tension seems to go a bit first, making them feel too floppy - weird! Cheers Alun PS I should probably mention I am an Elixir endorsee, but would use them even if I wasn't , so there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 [quote name='Alun' post='347268' date='Dec 6 2008, 02:54 PM']I've gone from Rotos to Elixirs too - Rotosounds would get too dead for me after about a month ( usually6-8 gigs at the time, all sweaty ). Elixirs tend to last me about 6 months. Even after they go hairy, they still tend to sound OK. If anything, the tension seems to go a bit first, making them feel too floppy - weird! Cheers Alun PS I should probably mention I am an Elixir endorsee, but would use them even if I wasn't , so there [/quote] They feel oddly "wet" sometimes too .. it's weird but that is how they feel .. I like them a lot though, so do my soft sothern wuss fingertips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashevans09 Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Again as everyone said before it's all about taste. I prefer a new set for gigs though a completely dead set for recording...again, all personal taste and how much you use them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 [quote name='ashevans09' post='347317' date='Dec 6 2008, 04:20 PM']I prefer a new set for gigs[/quote] I always found Rotos a bit too bright to gig straight away. Sometimes I'd drop lucky and have a set that were "just right" on one my basses, so I started trying to rotate basses for gigs and always have ideal strings on one of them, but it never really worked out and it got really expensive when we were playing 5 nights a week. In the end I switched to Lo-Riders which weren't quite so snappy-sounding when fresh and seemed to stay fresh a bit longer than the Rotos. But they always felt a bit weird, like a fatter gauge string. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitchy64 Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 Cheers for the comments guys, theirs nowt wrong with these, i'll keep em on for a while. I will get a spare set with my Christmas money to keep in my bag. Do any of you guys clean your strings, and what with?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 I wipe my strings over with fast fret & a cloth before & after playing. I use Thomastik Jazz flats which take a couple of months to get played in then then just sound perfect pretty much forever. In the dim & distant past (20yrs ago) I used to use rotosound roundwounds, but I recall I really couldn't stand the sound of new ones - If I wanted to sound like a harpsichord I'd be playing one instead of a bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 I'm all for the clean bright and zingy sound of new strings. I had a set of DR MM Fatbeams for my MM Jazz & the difference was stunning! They were a much softer and fuller sounding string as well. I've used either Rotosounds or Elites for a long time, but am currently using Rotodsound 35-90's on my Warwick & Status Hotwires on my Status basses. I didn't like the hotwires at first, but they grow on you. I won't use anything else on my headless basses now. Especially on my walnut S2, they seem to get better with age. They don't lose a lot of the top end clarity, but do gain more "body" and thickness to the sound as you go on. So if I'm on Rotos I'll change them once a month or every 3-4 gigs, but the Hotwires are lasting a lot longer. They're very cheap as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MythSte Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Elixers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Splayer Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 [quote name='hitchy64' post='347331' date='Dec 6 2008, 04:47 PM']Cheers for the comments guys, theirs nowt wrong with these, i'll keep em on for a while. I will get a spare set with my Christmas money to keep in my bag. Do any of you guys clean your strings, and what with??[/quote] leave them in methylated spirit for 12-24 hours, you will get a much better result than if you boil them... imo. this link will explain, the yanks call it DENATURED ALCOHOL but we call it METHYLATED SPIRIT [url="http://www.tunemybass.com/strings/how_to_clean_bass_strings.html"]http://www.tunemybass.com/strings/how_to_c...ss_strings.html[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 [quote name='uptonmark' post='347912' date='Dec 7 2008, 03:15 PM']this link will explain, the yanks call it DENATURED ALCOHOL but we call it METHYLATED SPIRIT[/quote] The Yanks don't even know what it's called, let alone whether it goes best with red meat or white. Remember, meths with red meat, white spirit with white/fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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