How Often Should You Change Bass Strings?

How often should you change your strings as a bass player?

It's going to be different for everyone, based on a number of factors that could include budget, time spent playing your instrument, the luxury of a bass tech on tour, and whether or not you like the sound and feel of new or old ones.

On one hand, with my main Janek Gwizdala Mattisson signature bass, I'm pretty aggressive with how often I change strings, but then on the other end of the spectrum I have basses I haven't changed strings on in 15 years!



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[crashvanier]

Yeah, Cuz. Please send me your 3 day old strings.

[tylerwmbass]

With the round core strings it’s more important to crimp the end of the string before you cut it, so the wrap does t slip from the core - if you’ve had dead strings from DR round core strings that could be why. Less important but still a habit I do with hex core too.

[zechariahfrink]

Elixir strings were a game changer for me. They keep they're brightness for so long, and I don't have to worry or think about when they're gonna die and sound like crap. I can just play and connect with the music. Plus the coating they use make them feel so smooth and playing faster is easy. I can get about 4-5 months of use out of set and that's playing almost everyday. In all honesty they still don't sound that dead in that time it's just they are so pitted from the frets by that amount of time. I know that a string will probably break since I tend to play on the harder side. Not all the time, but I like that growl from a more aggressive touch when I need it.

[nickpicc]

I use DR Hi Beams and DR Pure Blues. I used to change every 1-3 months depending on how much I played, but recently have been changing closer to 1 month for the reasons you mentioned. Fresh strings definitely inspire me and the harmonic content is richer

[fretlessman]

9:25 - Sure, you're stretching the strings, but more importantly, you're creating the break angle over the bridge - if that stays rounded, the action feels high and the string loses some of its fundamental tone.

[kbrakai]

I haven't changed my strings for 4 years. And they still sound good ! Stainless steel strings they are and I always wash my hands/strings before/after practicing

[MilianMalivukMusic]

I play guitar and what's funny is that I kinda don't like the sound of super fresh strings. I'm speaking of when you literally JUST put them on. I noticed that - even though I stretch them out - they feel like they don't know yet what to do. It takes a couple of hours until intonation sounds best, which is weird, but that's my experience.

[mMerboc]

From the title alone, i thought this vid was superfluous. The double stops in that loop though we're inspiring! Thank you for pursuing your musicianship and sharing it with us.

[fretlessman]

What do you do with the OLD strings? Seems like someone could make use of them (not me; I'm a Low B guy)... Miracle Max says that bass strings only ever get MOSTLY dead...

[audibletapehiss]

I've never thought about this, as I'm a 3 year old flatwounds kind of guy, but I usually have to tune my bass every 5 minutes the first night I put new strings on. Which really sucks on a gig! I always stretch the strings out, and try my best to make sure everything is seated right, but it's always been a thing. Wonder what I'm doing wrong. Seeing you immediately launch into such perfectly intonated music on fresh strings made me do a double take!

[Ryan_TheBold]

I’ve played DR high beams for 14yrs and they’ve never ever let me down. The tension acclimates to the bass real quick and they seem to rarely drop too far out of tune for me when the weather shifts.

[Sebassplayer]

One year with the same fender 7250 roundwounds and l'm still enjoying the sound, l play at least 3 hours a day...

[GuillermoCarrasco]

"Inspiration from a fresh set of strings"... it is a mental thing. If you are that busy, every week is more that enough, unless you do have an agreement with some manufacturer...

[markjames]

I've not changed my string for about 2 years on the 2 basses that I own. But part of that is not knowing the process of HOW to do it (which is something that I should work on!)

But the point you made Janek of finding that part they gives you the motivation to enjoy the work made me think of how I keep the engines going when I dont have motivation to practice or sit for an hour or two. Personally, It helps tremendously when I switch instruments. Not sure why, but going from flats on my pbass then a week or month later, playing my acoustic bass really helps!

[MartinCliffe]

I change my bass strings 4 times a year, with the seasons. I have 2 main basses. I'm not a big fan of how they sound for the first day or two. From week 2 to about week 12, they stay remarkably consistent. After that, I can feel and hear them go off. But it's humid here in HK, so they'd probably last longer in a drier climate.

[MrLouisianaHayride]

And this is why I finally decided to use flats on my main bass lol. Never have to change them.

[BurntMcgurnt]

The reason people say to change one at a time is you're way less likely to have to reset your action I always do one at a time tune it up to pitch move on to the next one and its exactly the same as it was before I changed strings

[ivankornmusic]

I haven't change my flatwound in P bass in 8 years. I play on that bass 40 gigs a year, I practice daily. They sound awesome for me😊

[martinbassss]

My G string has just snapped on my electro acoustic bass after 20 years I'm devastated have to buy some new ones now 😁

[oliplaysbass]

I agree with the 1 string at a time thing. Always taken all off then put them all on, starting from E-G. Never had any issues with this in 16 years.