How to Change the Strings on a Double Bass
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มิ.ย. 2024
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In this video, I teach you a quick, easy and painless method which you can use to change your double bass strings.
Changing strings can be a real headache when you don't know how to. If your sound post falls down or the bridge is knocked out of alignment it can be a real pain to put right and you may end up taking it to a luthier to get sorted. Both of these things have happened to me over the years and as a self-confessed 'string addict' I have changed them more times than I remember. This makes me the perfect person to let you know the best way to do it so you don't make the same mistakes!
The method I use included some great tips which I picked up from my teachers, colleagues, luthiers and friends from the Discover Double Bass Facebook Page, / discoverdoublebass which I outline in this tutorial video.
I hope you enjoy the video and if you have any tips of your own we would love to hear them. Any ideas to make this job easier are very welcome, so please leave a comment and share them with the upright bass playing community.
Best of luck with your string changing!
Cheers, Geoff
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Just moved from bass guitar to double bass, and this has been tremendously helpful! Thanks!
Thanks Doug and best of luck with your new upright :-)
this helped so much. One of my strings snapped and I didn’t what to do
Very practical tip on the use of a string winder plus the coments on the order of changing the strings. Thank you so much.
A video that clearly shows the technique of winding on the headstock, very helpful. Thank you!
Great video thanks Geoff. Followed it to the letter with the tutorial on my phone. Will follow this method in future. New strings on, bass sounds great. Good job.
Thank you so much Geff for all your help you give from Discover Double Bass. I find all your videos so easily explained and I’ve learned so much from you, so many thanks once again.
Thank you for your kind words Colin and best of luck with all of your practice. Cheers Geoff
Thanks, Geoff. I’m new to the double bass. Just discovered your channel and I’m finding it very helpful. Cheers.
Hey Leroy, thanks, it's great to hear you're enjoying the lessons and best of luck with your practice. I'm sure you will love learning more about the double bass. Cheers Geoff :-)
All your videos are excellent. This is a particularly difficult subject to find a good demonstration of the process and yours is very well done. Thanks!
Steve Hanson Thanks Steve, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Cheers Geoff
THANK YOU. I've changed my strings before but you have added a few tips I was unaware of. Cheers!
Great stuff, I'm glad it was useful :-)
I've changed loads of strings but still learnt a few new things from the video. Thank you!
Happy to help :-)
Followed your instrux and great result!!!! Thank you.
Just what I needed.
I was about to cut a new set of Spiros like I do on my bass guitar but thought I'd better check first! 🤦.
Thanks Geoff and thank you DDB!
Phew! Happy to help :-)
Excellent video! Thank you very much.
Great Job, Great video!
great video,thank you for your help and your time
boki77 My pleasure, thanks for checking it out.
Great Method Geoff Very helpful tips
Thanks, I'm glad it helped :-)
Excellent. Many thanks
Thanks, great advice
thank you Geoff, this was very helpful, especially the wrapping of the string end before winding it in. and the fact that you've put on the Zyex because I am thinking of buying these. but at around £100 per set of anything one has to choose carefully. Thanks again for all of you help. Steve Wilson music teacher, Durham uk.
+Stephen P Wilson Thanks Steve, it's great to hear you enjoy the video. It's such a shame strings are so expensive so I'm really cautious! :-)
Stephen P Wilson agreed they are pricey. I hope you get what you pay for. I just picked up a set of eurosonics for 140 bucks.
Awesome, Geoff! Thanks!
+Scott Lynch My pleasure, have a great weekend!
Thanks. Yes, this helped. No need of changing strings, yet. This video gives me the idea to work around in my mind before the time comes, though. I have a question about the bridge. My bridge has adjusting wheels. I don't really like them there. Is there any superiority to a bridge not having those adjusting wheels?
IMO they are worth having as it makes finding your perfect string height a lot easier. I've added them to many basses and never been able to hear any change in tone, however if I had a bass with a regular bridge that had a set up I loved, I wouldn't add them.
Hi Geoff, I have been having quite a bit of a trouble with rattling/buzzing on my E string around 1st and 2nd positions. I was wondering if you could do a video on general setting up of the bass or problem solving for this or other common issues which can be fixed by a player?
***** Hey Tom, great idea. I do have plans for some lessons on this in future. I know it's a pain when you get buzz in that area of the fingerboard. Cheers Geoff
This helped a lot, my orchestra got a bunch of new equipment and now i've got four basses to restring
You'll be a master at it by the end.
I've subscribed a few days ago and I love your videos, very helpful! I am just about to order my first DB (Strunal semi-carved, 3/4). I will be probably changing the strings right after upboxing it since it comes with D'adario orchestral and I plan to put on Spirocore medium.
I am also looking into pickups, what is the one you have on your bass?
Sails at Dawn Congrats on the new bass! I really like D'Addario hellicore hybrid, but the orchestra ones are hard work for jazz pizz. I also like their Zyex brand. I use Pirastro Evah Pirazzi Weich, which are a light gauge hybrid string which I love.
Excellent instruction, Geoff. Thank you!
A couple questions (not sure if they've already been asked; I didn't see them): The felt washers for the string ends... what are these called and where can we get them? Second, what are your thoughts on boiling strings? It's a tactic employed by electric bass players and it's always sounded a bit old wives tale to me.
Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed the video. The felt washers come with some brands of strings, but not with all of them. I don't think they make any difference so only use them if they are already on the string.
RE: Boiling. I've not heard of that being done with upright strings. With electric it can work, but then the string dies more quickly than before. I guess the reason it's not normally done on upright is that the strings which loose their brightness quickly tend to be synthetic core and I'm not sure how they would fair with boiling. Steel strings tend to hold their brightness so it's probably not needed.
@@DiscoverDoubleBass My experience has taught me that cleaning the strings with a mild solvent is the best way to retain the brightness. Boiling all metal strings , like electric bass, might be ok...but upright strings are not all metal.
Very helpful video!!! Can you tell me the make of the strings you are removing from your bass!
I think they are Evah Pirazzi Weich.
New video lesson just out, 'How to Change Your Strings on a Double Bass'. I hope you enjoy it, cheers Geoff :-)
Interested that with the wire cutter....never done it with double bass strings (mainly as they're too expensive to risk cutting wrong) but I always thought with bass guitar it helped hold the tension in the strings better so they don't go out of tune as often!
I do use one on electric, but with upright strings there's a chance that they can unravel, especially if you have to take them off for any reason so I would avoid it if possible. Cheers Geoff
Hi Geoff. I’m primarily a guitarist and have a question about strings. For guitar, a pack of strings is no more than 8 dollars. But for double bass, I’m learning that it’s easy to get into the hundreds. When you take strings off of a guitar, you can’t really put them back on again because of the way they wind around the tuning pegs. For double bass, is the same true, or can you take strings off and put them back on? I’ve seen a few videos where people talk about experimenting with strings, and I was just wondering if I can go back and forth, or if like guitar, once they are on they are on until I need to change strings. Thanks, love your videos
Hey Zack, I hear you about the cost of strings.. it's a nightmare! Especially as they all sound so different so we tend to have to experiment to find the right set for us. It's possible to change the several times without any issues so I wouldn't hold back if you wanted to experiment as they should go back on fine. If you did it a lot then you would probably find they got damaged over time and the string wraps may become frayed. If they are gut strings I don't recommend doing it regularly. I hope that helps, good luck with your string search! :-)
thank you for this helpful video! just asking: why did you wrap the D string on the upper side of the screen, despite being on the other (on the machine side) before replacing it? didn't you recommend to keep the "layout" as it is? (sorry for my english! I hope you get what I mean! :D )
Great point and I hadn't even spotted I had done that. The strings that I replaced I was trying to do everything to avoid making contact with the G, so moved it across a bit. I think for that string there's not much I can do to stop that so either would probably have had the same effect...but you're completely right that it is slightly different from where I started. If your strings are already set well and not rubbing then it's important to try to use the same layout, but for me I was just trying to do a few different approaches, but neither was better, just different....but I can see it might seem a bit confusing on the video. The main thing is that my layout is only really correct for my bass and that each instrument is different so you may need to alter your approach. I hope that helps and thanks for the heads up :-)
Nice video sir, how often should the strings be changed, considering a weekly 1h30 of playing ?
Ryman Yamami Hey Ryman, that's a hard one to answer, but probably don't consider changing them unless they are over 2 years old. Metal core strings like Spirocore can last many years and I wouldn't change them unless they were broken. Synthetic core strings like Evah Pirazzi tend to loose their brightness and if that's important to you then probably every couple of years...I play daily and the ones I have on now have been on for over 2 years with regular use and are now a bit too dull for my taste so I'm due to change them.
Hey those were great infos! I didn't knew that knot you do on the upperside of the string, i already do something similar on my viola da gamba but that will surely help me with my doublebass strings. i noticed by the way, if im not wrong, that you had evah pirazzis on your bass before. Did they sounded good on that bass? I just bought a set for my bass (5strings) and im not completely happy since their pizz doesnt sound as lively as i would have hoped. Arco is otherwise fine but i need a good sound for both ways! Greetings from Bremen!
elobos1 thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I did have the Evah weich on and really like them, in fact I've put them back on. I do think the weich gauge Evahs are a bit brighter, but sometimes they can sound a bit too dark. The D'Addario Zyex are worth considering as they are a touch brighter...both really nice strings, but for me I've used the Evah weich in all of my videos. Cheers Geoff
Nice job! Love the English accent too
Where do you order the strings? Brand? Model number?
Ive had piastro evah pirazi on my bass for 6 months, is it okay to change just two strings (E and A) or should i change them all at once so they have an even break in?
+Christopher Eyde You can change individual strings, or just the E&A, but you might find that if you replace them with new versions of the same string that they are a bit brighter. To keep everything uniform it could be a good move to do the full set, but I wouldn't rush to change them unless they are noticeably dull.... So there may be a difference in tone with the new strings, but it won't harm the bass at all to mix them.
hello I got some daddario electric upright bass string. Can I use this on my acustic doublebass? thanks a lot
I'm afraid I don't know that specific set so can't say for sure. The main thing is that you can't use any kind of electric bass guitar string on a regular upright bass, and that the strings on your EUB may be too short to use on your upright. It's probably worth checking with D'Addario as I don't know why they would have a set specifically for EUBs and how they would vary.
What strings were on the bass before you changed them? I just bought a bass with those on them, would love to know what they are
Evah Pirazzi (mine are weich gague)
geez man... you saved me xd
Hi side stepping from electric bass to upright bass. I have a budget of 5-£600. Can you recommend a bass for me please?ive been looking at lots of basses, new and used and there’s a lot to consider with a small budget
I would aim to look for a 2nd hand bass that's already been set up well and has decent strings. Any new bass at that price will likely need a good set up and new strings which could double your budget. A good place to look is on Basschat.co.uk and also to ask around local bass teachers who may know of a student selling one. You do very occasionally find basses in the £500 region that are well set up and with a decent set of strings, most instruments sound good.
Double basses have such big bridges! :p
Hi there! This is off topic but I play the bass guitar and Im looking to get a double bass. I don't have a lot of money (only about £500-750) so would a gedo musik bass be good? Do you know anything about those basses?
OneWithJah I've heard good things and played one I liked by Gedo. Thomman are also getting good reviews. The main thing is to make sure you get one that's set up as that makes a huge difference. I hope that helps, cheers Geoff
Discover Double Bass Alright thank you!
Is it normal to hear a very metallic sound and bright sound after changing strings? I have the Helicores, and my D string is very metallic.
Yes, they do tend to be a lot brighter at the start and take a bit of playing before they loose their brightness.
Discover Double Bass so a very metallic sound is okay. And the threading at the top, it is okay if that gets a little messed up. When twisting my D, the threading exposed some of the string, is they okay?
I’m afraid I can’t tell if the wrap is ok. It’s really hard to say without seeing it in person. It’s the same with the metallic sound, it’s possible it’s not the string as it could be an odd rattle causing it or something else. . . But I can say that new strings are always brighter than old ones.
@@samuelcaldwell1375 The threading is probably ok, but I couldn't say for sure without seeing it. If the string is holding it's pitch and you can tune it normally then it's probably fine....it's so hard to know without seeing it in person though.
RE: Brightness. New strings are brighter....I don't know if the metallic sound is that the string is new or if it's somehow faulty, but if it's a new string it will be brighter than when played in. If you changed all the strings at once and one string sounds different from the others, then that could be a problem, but again I couldn't say without seeing/hearing it. Sorry I can't be more help, it really is one of those things where unless you can see/hear the problem we will be guessing.
Discover Double Bass Thank you for the help. I did one at a time, I am going to wait a couple of weeks, it may just need to settle in. But thank you so much!
Be honest, I afraid changing my strings lol , I afraid of screwing it up and damaging the bridge. I am having Double Bass repair because the fingerboard and bridge fell off, I got destress. The finger board was warped, and there was gaps in it.I am having new strings put on it, because thoses strings been on there since 1989 or 1990. They didn't feel right anymore.
Yes, it might well be worth getting the strings changed by a luthier and having the instrument set up. It's expensive but can make a huge difference to playability.
@@DiscoverDoubleBass Yes it worth it, and it be worked on as of this moment. This bass is about 80 or 90 years old, It's a Kluson MGF Chicago Company double upright plywood bass. The gentleman I bought it from bought in 1938 or 1940, and played in swing band in the city. I got for $ 200 American dollars, The Kluson MGF Company open it's doors 1925 and closed it's doors in 1981 in Chicago and moved to the state of Florida.
Is the string winder imperative?
No, but it does make it a bit quicker/easier and it's not too expensive.
can i use electric double bass strings on an acoustic bass? thanks
It depends on what the brand of strings is, but it sounds like it might be possible. Most strings can be used on both, but some pickups require a steel string core. So, I couldn’t say without knowing the brand.
They could also be a different size so may not fit.
@@DiscoverDoubleBass thanks a lot. The brand is D'addario. I wonder if they can do damage to the finger board since they are not as smooth as acoustic bass strings
Can you repair a warped bride without having it replaced ?
It would depend on how wrapped it is, but I think it's unlikely you could save it. If possible I would recommend getting it looked at by a luthier and if it needs a new bridge then they can also fit it properly to stop that happening again. A set up is also well worth doing.
So, when are we going to learn about this bass? It looks like a nice, old and very large instrument; the finish seems much darker than any I've seen.
WQuietHawk I think I might do a video to explain and I'm glad you like it. It's actually not that big, but the camera angle makes it look bigger, or perhaps me smaller :-) it's a German fallback which is about 100 years old and has an awesome new neck made by Martyn Bailey who's a superb luthier. The varnish isn't original so it's a bit darker than it would have been originally. It's a lot of fun to play and works great for jazz particularly. :-)
how much does it cost to buy a string
+DaEpicGamer (epicgamer24610) They can be expensive and a full set costs about $200. I'm sure you could buy individual replacements though if you needed one.
seems to be way more complex than changing guitar strings. I would love to put some new strings on but I am rather scared of damaging my instrument
How about changing the strings on a Yamaha Silent Bass?..That's a nightmare
I've not tried it but I can imagine the small peg box must make it really hard!
@@DiscoverDoubleBass It's the weird floating tail piece that makes it difficult. It's attached to the endpin by a free moving steel cable.
"Most painless way to change the strings on your double bass" -ask for them for Christmas. The cost is quite agonizing.
I do have a question. About a month ago, I was given a cello from an old friend who never played it anymore and wanted it out of their house. It had not been played in nearly a decade. The strings were so loose that the bridge was completely fallen off. Needless to say, in order to change the strings, I had to completely remove the strings, realign the bridge and tail piece, then carefully hold everything together as I put on the new strings. My question is this: is it wrong or bad for the instrument in anyway to completely remove all the strings to do a replacement, or is the one string at a time method just to spare yourself the work of setting up the instrument entirely?
I'm not sure about cellos, but for double bassists it's not a good idea to release all the tension from the strings as the sound post which is inside the instrument could fall.
...why not use wire cutters ?...that was very confusing !
wildwood valleyboy depending on the string type you may find they start to unravel if you cut the after length, certain brands are worse than others so you need to be careful as strings are so expensive.
It's also great to keep the old strings that you remove in your gig bag for emergency changes and cut strings are more likely to fray if kept in the gig bag pocket.
The last reason is user error, it's very easy to make a mistake and cut too short, e.g. sometimes as you pull the string tight to cut it the string has fallen and it's not over the bridge and you are looking at the wrap as you cut the string...then it's too short....
However I'm not saying it's not possible to trim the strings, but rather that I don't recommend it and it's worth mentioning in the video as it's so common to trim strings on bass guitar/guitar.
Put masking tape on your old strings to know the difference.
Good idea.
0e,, 1e,,, 2e,,, no tunings shown
So you don't just ignore all of this video and cut the strings off as fast as you can with wire cutters?
Lol, you could do :-)
all it takes is some common sense to change the srings. Why didnt u loosen the D STRING FIRST to take the G string out?
Picco bow he did