Removing Strings

thegummy

Previously I'd quite often remove flatwound strings (even sometimes roundwounds) and keep them to re-use on the same bass or even other basses.

But then I did it with a set of expensive flats and when I put them back on, one of the strings was totally dead, just sounded terrible.

So currently got a different set of flats on my P bass but wanting to have another try of rounds for a while (to see if I really should get a second P or not) but don't want to ruin the strings that are on at the moment as I definitely want to put them back on after a while.

Any tips on removing and/or storing them to avoid killing the strings?

fretmeister

Nope.

Often refitting kills them because it’s impossible to get them back on in the identical way as originally fitted. Slightly different twist or stretch in the string anywhere and they are dead, especially when using a BBOT bridge or anything else that needs the string threading through.

Its always worth a try before binning them, but success is probably only about 20% 

thegummy

fretmeister said:

Its always worth a try before binning them, but success is probably only about 20% 

If that statistic is true I've been unbelievably lucky!

fretmeister

Just my own experience. Some brands are a little better than others.

And of course if someone likes 5 year old dead flats then there won't be any difference in the first place. To quote the Bass Whisperer himself "Change your strings every 10 years whether they need it or not!"

I feel your pain though - I have one P bass and I'm forever swapping between flats and rounds. If I find another American Special that weighs no more than 8lb then I'm having it!

ICBM

It can be tricky if it's a bass with a feed-through tailpiece rather than a hook-in one, but if you're careful to fully unwind and rewind the string off and on the machinehead using the key, and avoid kinking it anywhere, then I would say the success rate is about 90%. Patience is important, don't be tempted to drag a stuck string through the hole or wrap it onto the post by hand - what generally kills them is if the core breaks where it's bent sharply at the post hole, or if the wrap comes loose somewhere due to the core having twisted - that will cause bad tone or intonation problems.

Funkfingers

fretmeister said:

To quote the Bass Whisperer himself "Change your strings every 10 years, whether they need it or not!"

I reckon he stole that idea. I once bought my brother a set of bass strings for his birthday. They were still in the packet, in the case seven or eight years later because, "the current ones had not worn out yet." 

thegummy

fretmeister said:

Just my own experience. Some brands are a little better than others.

And of course if someone likes 5 year old dead flats then there won't be any difference in the first place. To quote the Bass Whisperer himself "Change your strings every 10 years whether they need it or not!"

I feel your pain though - I have one P bass and I'm forever swapping between flats and rounds. If I find another American Special that weighs no more than 8lb then I'm having it!

I fancy a second precision so I have one for rounds and one for flats but I'm weary of getting that then a year down the line, after having plenty of experience swapping between the two, I prefer one to the other's exclusion and am left having wasted money on the second bass.

fretmeister

thegummy said:

fretmeister said:

Just my own experience. Some brands are a little better than others.

And of course if someone likes 5 year old dead flats then there won't be any difference in the first place. To quote the Bass Whisperer himself "Change your strings every 10 years whether they need it or not!"

I feel your pain though - I have one P bass and I'm forever swapping between flats and rounds. If I find another American Special that weighs no more than 8lb then I'm having it!

I fancy a second precision so I have one for rounds and one for flats but I'm weary of getting that then a year down the line, after having plenty of experience swapping between the two, I prefer one to the other's exclusion and am left having wasted money on the second bass.

I like rock music with rounds and flats with my big band. I play far more big band stuff than anything else so the flats tend to stay on. When we occasionally get more funky stuff then I play my Sandberg jazz with rounds as there's a bit of slap and back pickup tightness.

I never take 2 basses though. Cannot be arsed to look like the eijit who swaps instruments each song!

thegummy

ICBM said:

It can be tricky if it's a bass with a feed-through tailpiece rather than a hook-in one, but if you're careful to fully unwind and rewind the string off and on the machinehead using the key, and avoid kinking it anywhere, then I would say the success rate is about 90%. Patience is important, don't be tempted to drag a stuck string through the hole or wrap it onto the post by hand - what generally kills them is if the core breaks where it's bent sharply at the post hole, or if the wrap comes loose somewhere due to the core having twisted - that will cause bad tone or intonation problems.

Cheers man, followed this advice (would definitely have been tempted to just pull the strings off the post by hand if you didn't mention that) and hopefully the strings have been preserved.

mbe

I heard stories of bass players in the 60s and 70s boiling their strings in a large pan of water before refitting them.

thegummy

mbe said:

I heard stories of bass players in the 60s and 70s boiling their strings in a large pan of water before refitting them.

Aye I've heard of loads of people who still do that.

I wouldn't bother with that personally. For me it's not about pennypinching, it's that I only have one Precision at the moment and want to try it out with rounds with a new band setup but don't want to waste the relatively new 45 quid flats that are on it.

To be honest I don't think I'll ever be satisfied until I have a Precision with each. Even if I end up rarely using one of them in the future, I really want a period of being able to swap between the two string types to try out in different scenarios.