Are there any other bass players who never change their bass strings?

Joerox

New member
Yes, it's damned random.

I've changed 3 basses and am still on the same pack of Ernie balls.

Yes, flame me now! =D
 
the strings on my bass, its been around at least 7 years since it was last changed...

still surviving, in fact, out lasting some of the pots on the instrument itself.
 
This will never happend to me, I got sweaty hands... rust is my enemy... even if I use anti rust liquids :(
 
My hands get sweaty too, but I just can't stand the sound of fresh strings if you ask me.

This either came from utter laziness or my upright playing.

@ PatheinRaindropMoe: I on about 3 years now. Had to change set cuz I bust a G string. =(
 
James Jamerson never changed his strings once his entire lifetime and he had one of the most epic tones heard.
 
me too, I hate the sound of fresh ones, so I try to wear them down as soon as possible before they really become usable hehe, usually takes me 1 week to do.

rusty strings busts my fingers, thats why I had to replace them...

@scylla019, hey man this is a great link! I might do it some day. I still have a bunch of old rusted strings at home hehehe.
 
I'm guilty of this! Been using the same strings since day one (the day i got my bass), and the strings already withstand thru a lot of gigs with me, been thru 3 genres with me, flew once with me.

i never bought a spare set of strings before coz they are a bit ex. maybe i should, just in case. . .

any good and reliable strings to recommend? preferably roundwounds cos I've been using roundwounds since day one, never touched a flatwound one b4.
 
same pack wth. but depends lah. you know that strings become dead when they are dirty. as much as strings wear out the frets, the frets also wear out the strings. this will affect tone.

a dead tone is not necessarily bad. its just dead. so if you were playing reggae it could work. if you were playing funk it would not.

but trebles are important to me so i change. looking for the justin chancellor/juan alderete kind of tone. something like that.
 
a zillion hits.....

Well maybe not but James Jamerson (P-bass user) and Joe Osborne (J-bass user) shared an impressive string of monster hits among them, always cut through the mix in spite of using flatwounds and only changed strings if they broke (and we are talking decades). I don't think acoustic bass players change their strings too often either.

Roundwounds are a different story. Mine rust when trapping sweat and the gooye stuff from your fingers. Just before they die completely I extend their life by boiling them in water with a bit of dishwater added. It works brilliantly, almost back to new, you can do it more than once.
 
you can also soak in methylated spirit, no need to boil.

@spartacusx

i don't like changing strings cos i cant afford to change a set simply cos i dont like them. now using stainless steel sadowsky blues
 
@tkt_hansen yeah, we doublers are SUPPOSED to change strings once every year at most.
Then again, one pack of strings will set us back by a S$100 or more.

@Shinobi I think we have to agree to disagree. I tend to play in pop, jazz and chamber / choral settings. I favour a rounder sound with lesser highs as I find they get in the way of the vocals and piano a bit too much for my liking.
Besides, the whole idea for me on my electric p bass is to cop an upright sound in places that are too small to fit in a double bass, or when I just want the sustain that electric instruments have over acoustic ones.
My go to tones on bass guitar are Lee Alexandar and Bosco Mann.

That being said, I'll probably check back with you on what strings to put on a nice active bass if I actually get a funk gig. =D

@dudelove JJ rocks, in fact he is SO good that I don't dare say I'm trying to cop his tone. Apparently he came from a doubler background.
 
we don't even have to disagree; i was emphasizing how mellow and bright tones have their strengths. if you used fresh strings with alot of high end it would sound awful in a genre such as reggae. probably other genres too, maybe like rnb, electronica, triphop (this is where i start to pull out examples from my ass)

my bass has a rather bright tone and i use steel rounds to make it sing. i could never make it sound something like a warwick no matter what mods i make. my dream to to have a bass made of much denser wood, possibly hollowbody, fretless and strung with flats. that will give me something completely different. but then i also dream of owning a rickenbacker which is completely maple. i have many unrealistic and conflicting dreams :mrgreen:
 
@Shinobi
Allow me this instance to impose. If you want a dense wood, a reaallly hollow body, fretless and strung with flats, JOIN ME AND BECOME A DOUBLER! Then I will have someone to share the shipping with for a nice french grip black haired bow ><
 
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