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Bought new strings yesterday!


saxofunk

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I threatened to do it. It had to be done. I posted a new topic just so I could tell the story of replacing the strings on my G&L. If your bored, offended, or simply not amused by this sort of thread you may return to normal forum activity. Before you hit the back button, remember that I rarely start a topic and, odds are, one day I will start one worth reading... this just may be the one. :cool:

 

Long story: January last year I picked up a lovely G&L Tribute SB-2, used, from eBay. The strings that came on it sounded great so I left them on, though I was immediately put off by "shoddy" installation. They had been put on with only 1 - 2 complete wraps around the tuning posts. There was never any trouble with them staying in tune, but that poor installation is simply not acceptable (or I'm OCD) and they sounded so good I hesitated to change them. Also, I had no idea what brand they were and didn't want to spend a mint on strings before finding similar or identical tone. Sometime last fall I posted elsewhere (another forum :eek:) that I had unidentified strings with yellow silk, the only reply suggested they could be Fender Original Bass 7150s and confirmed they were not the SIT strings G&L uses at the factory. So, after much hesitation and contemplation, and a diagnosis that the old strings were nearing the end of useful life, I drove 25 miles last night and visited three stores.

 

Plan A was to try Knucklehead strings, but the one dealer in the area was sold out. Plan B was to find Fender Originals, which accounts for the other two stops, the largest Fender dealer in town doesn't carry Fender bass strings. (See why people shop online ;))

 

Short Story:In the end I took home a set of Fender 7150s, medium, .045-.105. These are bright when new, very bright. Almost harsh twangy kind of bright. I am sure they are the same type that came with the bass; they look identical and the sound should mellow into the punchy, growly, yummy sound I enjoyed so much. Guess I have to spend less time on the forum and more time breaking them in. ;)

 

The End

 

I'm sorry, was that ending abrupt? Did you expect some kind of Zen insight? Um, my cats enjoy chasing discarded bass strings.

 

PS: To satisfy my OCD there are three full wraps per string, four on the E because I don't like the way it tapers against the post. I like these strings, they'll be on for a while.

 

 

 

- Matt W.
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For five string sets I don't even pretend to shop local; the blank stares freak me out.

 

And since my dog has fleas, I don't even need a guitar tuner.

 

And it's not OCD. It's 'Attention to detail', and it's good.

Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse.

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Haha..

I just put new strings on my MM Stingray.

I went with the DR Marcus Miller strings simply because they were there at the store when I was. No other reason. I'm not even a big Marcus Miller fan or anything. I just thought I'd try 'em.

 

Putting these strings on that bass (along with a fresh battery) reminded me of how truly amazing this instrument sounds when everything is in place... it's a great bass with killer tone. The new strings really made it speak, and DAMN! That bass is sooo much louder than my passive P-basses.

 

But I think the MM bass is gonna start living at my condo full time, and the P-basses are gonna live at rehearsal. The MM will basically be a recording and home practice bass, I think... mainly because I totally have to readjust my amp when I plug it in, and that's a pain in the butt at shows.

 

Also... this bass just got its first major gig blemish--our drummer managed to drop it while he helped me take it offstage after a show... It lost a nice little chunk of finish near the bridge on that excursion. I don't mind damage, but... Eh, when you consider that it's a great bass that doesn't exactly NEED to come to shows (as I have the carbon-copy twin P-basses now), I'm just gonna let it stay at home most of the time.

 

But man... those new strings sound kick-ass.

\m/

Erik

"To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."

--Sun Tzu

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I need to put new strings on the Spector- I bled on it last night at rehearsal. I have extremely dry skin; my left hand pinky was dry and cracking. A few too many far reaches and slides and I notice some large red drops forming. Not to mention a little bit of pain. Playing three-fingered for the next few songs wasn't much fun; so I just went back to four and tried not to wince.

 

I could use 4 of the 5 strings from the Hartke set I got for free the other year; I didn't like the other set of Hartkes on the Les Paul, so who knows what they'll sound like here. Or I could just use this as an excuse to stop in a music store. Oh, and maybe try a new make of strings.

"Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion)

NEW band Old band

 

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I was buying a gigbag in a major independent music store in Devon yesterday, and I asked about Groundwound or Halfround strings, as I fancy a set for the 5.

 

Blank stares. Ah well, back to the Internet.........

 

G.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the World will know Peace": Jimi Hendrix

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=738517&content=music

The Geoff - blame Caevan!!!

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I just got my new Brice HXB-405 5 string fretless last night. I spent the night setting it up because it came from the factory with the truss rod adjusted so loose the neck was a little curved backward. The saddles were all the way lowered so the strings were laying on the fingerboard, and they were adjusted fully forward so nothing was even remotely close to being intonated correctly.

 

The strings that came on it are absolutely horrible. They are some cheap version of flatwounds. The low B string is smaller than the E strings on my 4's and flops more than it vibrates.

 

The electronics are horrible. When the active electronics are engaged all the lows drop completely out and it sounds thin and useless. The B string is only percussive. There is no sustain or note sound when you hit it.

 

On the flip side, when you turn off the active electronics and run passive it actually gets much louder and sounds halfway decent.

 

So, this weekend I'm going hunting for a new set of strings.. I'll play with it some more tonight. I'm kinda hoping the battery they shipped in it is dead as a hammer or something to explain the horrifyingly bad tone the electronics yield when active.

 

I'm seriously thinking they shipped it stringed with extra light E-C and not B-G judging by the string gauges. The next fun part will be finding a 5 string set of compression or ground wound strings at a store.. I'm guessing I'll be ordering online again..

 

 

Feel free to visit my band's site

Delusional Mind

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The old "dead" strings that are on my P bass now still sound really good. They have a nice broken in warm kind of "muah" that sounds really good with the stuff I'm playing these days.

 

Did I happen upon a magical set of strings or will they eventually die?

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Just last night I was thinking that I should really change the strings on my Ibanez BTB406, and since I have a few packs of Elixirs waiting (thanks Maury) I have no excuses to delay any further. Maybe I should change the strings on the Peavey Cirrus too (thanks Maury), I dig the Dean Markley SR2000 "Will Lee" variety on that particular bass. Luckily I have a few sets of those too waiting on the shelf (thanks Maury). :D

 

I really love the way a fresh set of strings brings a bass back into life, it's almost like getting a totally new bass. :)

 

-P

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Hah.. the twins are fantastic.

I'm putting a white pickguard on the Squier tonight, as a matter of fact. It's not the exact, perfect white pearloid pickguard that I want (it's the white guard that used to be on the black P-bass), but it'll do for now for the proper "opposite" effect until I can get the one I want.

 

I have not played out with the Squier yet, but I've done a few rehearsals with it, and it sounds excellent... stands up nicely alongside the Fender. There are a few differences. The Squier is a bit brighter, but I attribute that to brand new strings and the top-loaded (as opposed to through-body) stringing for the bridge. The tone is very close between the pair (definitely close enough for live stuff) and the Squier basically just needs to be worn in and beaten on a bit to really be a total contender. It's got a nifty growl for a cheapo bass, it looks great and plays well.

 

I'll be doing a lot of shows in a row in April, so it'll get a chance to be worn in properly very shortly.

\m/

Erik

"To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."

--Sun Tzu

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I was buying a gigbag in a major independent music store in Devon yesterday, and I asked about Groundwound or Halfround strings, as I fancy a set for the 5.

 

Blank stares. Ah well, back to the Internet.........

 

G.

 

Well, imagine me asking for Fender Bass VI strings. The chappie smiles delightedly and goes, "Yes, sir, we carry a range of strings for six-string bass!" And I reply, with a touch of disappointment, "No, not six string bass, strings for Bass VI..!" and so on. And they didn't have any, of course.

 

And I don't have a Bass VI to put them on (some hope!), but when I put the strings on my baritone I get a pretty neat sound.

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This is odd. Last night I put some DR Sunbeams on my fretless Jazz. The outgoing Pedulla strings were OK but I needed to raise the action a tad as the Pedulla strings are very light gauge.

 

Davo

"We will make you bob your head whether you want to or not". - David Sisk
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Last night I got out a set of SIT strings to put on my G&L. Didnt get to it, got sidetracked with dog training.

Now is the time:)

 

Anyone ever do a before and after recording? Another reason I didnt last night is because I wanted to record the bass direct first adn compair the change in tone.

 

Jonathan

 

 

 

 

 

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Anyone ever do a before and after recording?

 

Wish I had, but I have yet to get the few odds & ends it takes to get it done. This string change made an obvious difference, but an honest A/B comparison of some projects like changing pickups or a bridge would be nice.

- Matt W.
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I have been wanting to try a set of the TI jazz flats. Are they smooth feeling? I like a string so smooth that you can't feel any of the outer winding.

Rocky

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote."

Benjamin Franklin

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My last string change was on the Jazz bass- DR Black Beauties changed to D'Addario Chromes. Big change, and a good one, lots more vibe and groovyness. Dug the BBs at first, but hated the coating after a short while, and the G broke rather quickly.

Plus, I just don't like coated strings. At all.

 

Still rockin' fairly new DR LoRiders (Thanks, Rosa!) on the fretted 5, and they are still OK since I've been mostly playing the Jazz, and the fretless 5 still has Chromes as well.

What can I say, they Chromes just work; additionally, it was so hard to find a 5 string set locally I may never take 'em off.

I eventually asked a factory rep at a trade show. (Thanks, Ken!)

 

Peace,

 

wraub

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm a lot more like I am now than I was when I got here.

 

 

 

 

 

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I don't change strings very often. That's a good thing for my wallet, but a bad thing for my experimental side. I probably need to have more basses so I can do more side-by-side comparions :rolleyes:

 

I have tried two different sets of D'Addario strings, though not the Chromes. There is something very different in the "EQ mix" of those that just doesn't do it for me. And I've had 3 types of DRs and liked them all. My current set is DR nickel low-riders (also a shout out to Rosa at DR for recommending them), and they've been quite nice.

 

For my Gibson, I've used TI Jazz Rounds - smaller gauge but quite sweet. I've been using Markley strings since - mostly because I have been getting them for free at trade shows (and since I don't play it much, it's a loooong time between changes).

 

One of these days I'll have to try SIT or a Markley 5 set...

 

Tom

www.stoneflyrocks.com

Acoustic Color

 

Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt

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I have some D'Addario Chromes somewhere. I keep meaning to put them on my fretless. I think I got them for free at a BP mag event.

 

This, of course, contradicts my statement in the other thread about strings. I do have this one set of strings around the house. However, I don't have any back-up Sunbeams for the Nordstrand -- and I'd like some.

 

Peace.

--s-uu

 

spreadluv

 

Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars.

Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk.

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