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Old 06-06-2014, 01:28 AM
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Ken Smith Ken Smith is offline
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Lightbulb How long do your strings last?

Today, I changed strings on one of my basses or actually swapped them from another bass that had a new set put on recently. I had some well played-in Belcanto's on my Italian Marconcini and while practicing the last couple of days I felt they had become scratchy with the bow. After putting on the set for the other bass that were quite new, I noticed three main differences.

1, They has less tension which was welcomed as the old set felt tight.

2, They bowed easier with and with much less effort.

3, They sounded smoother under the bow with the scratchy sound gone.

Now, I seem to recall that I have been through this before with other string brands as well. When the strings get old or past their playing prime, they start to sound scratchy with the bow from slight to extreme depending on what you are playing as well as feeling tighter.

The two things that usually hold ME back from changing strings when I 'know' they need changing are the time and effort it takes putting strings on and off as well as their cost which is not so cheap to say the least. I don't know what bothers me more, the money of the pain.. lol

So, how long do your 'Orchestra' strings usually last before they get tight and scratchy?
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Old 07-22-2014, 07:59 PM
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Bin Hire Bin Hire is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Smith View Post
So, how long do your 'Orchestra' strings usually last before they get tight and scratchy?
My EP weichs have been back and forth on two basses. They must be at least three years old. I didn't like them on the last bass but they bow (and sound) fantastic on this bass. I do quite a lot of playing (bowing). This is the bass I recently had re-glued.
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Old 01-30-2015, 01:52 PM
Dave Whitla Dave Whitla is offline
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Default EP/Olive

I had Olive G&D (with EP A&E) on for a year. I have no idea whether i should expect more or less out of them. Anyone have any experience there?

On my other bass I've had EP weichs for at least two years, and although part of me thinks they must be getting well past their prime they still sound pretty good. Not making any fast moves to change them...
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