Low Down Dave Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I just took delivery of a used 6 string bass I bought online, and the Roundwound strings sounded a bit dead (they sounded pretty much like flat wound), so I changed the E string for one I took off a cheap new bass I had setup and kept as a spare (the new string was a slightly higher/thicker gauge), to see if it brightened the sound. But the remarkable thing was the difference in volume between the original strings and the one I just put on... the new string was around 6db quieter! I changed the string again this time for a new unbranded made in the USA Nickel wound one, and the volume went back up. I was wondering if anybody else has had a similar experience. We all know that those really cheap basses sound weak, but I always thought it was because… well weak pickups, but also the pickups tend to be set to low. But maybe the strings are a bigger part of low output than I realised. Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crez5150 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Strings vary quite a bit..... It's amazing how much more volume you get with new strings... I'd suggest changing the whole set as changing individual strings at a time will pretty much keep giving you different variations in volume and tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low Down Dave Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 [quote name='crez5150' post='430507' date='Mar 10 2009, 02:10 PM']Strings vary quite a bit..... It's amazing how much more volume you get with new strings... I'd suggest changing the whole set as changing individual strings at a time will pretty much keep giving you different variations in volume and tone.[/quote] Well the thing was the string from the cheap bass was actually newer and brighter sounding than the strings that were alreday on there, although it had been taken off a new bass it was nice and shiny not covered in gunk as they sometimes are. And Yes I pretty much always change a full set of strings rather than just one (unless its an emergency mid gig), I have a couple of sets on order from Overwater but they won’t be here until tomorrow, so this was just to see if a new string brighten the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crez5150 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 May have been a dud string..... happens.... broken inner core or something similar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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