Streamer $$ Sustain questions.

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Owdkasd

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After jamming on my Streamer $$ today for a while, I realized I think, That it lacks a bit of sustain. It may also be my rig which is a Carvin BX500 and 2 Cabinets(one Avatar 2x10 w / Neodymium's and a 1x15 Avatar Neodymium). I would love to get a bit more sustain because the lack of it seems to be hurting my playing a bit. Please offer any advice or suggestions if you have any. I will experiment with EQ settings etc... And post any findings. As always, Thanks for the advice I get.

OK
 
I'm honestly not sure. They were on it when I got it. I got as new old stock and probably have about 50 hours playing time. I guess that's the first thing I should do is to see how new strings sound.
 
Yep, you're due. And I'd be suprised if that didn't make a big difference...
 
No Doubt. Now I get to research the best choice for strings. I may just go with Rotosounds.
 
cant go wrong with rotos, bright, blunt and bottomy. I dont think there is much that can be done with your amp to increase the sustain. that is just up to how long the strings ring out and hold the note. but fresh strings and a good setup can help.if you are using roundwound strings and they sound thumpy and flat they are definitley due for a change, particularly of you got it NOS. anything you get that is off a shop floor get it re-srtung (if you are a good negotiator try and bargain the shop to chuck in a restring for free/cheep)
 
How hard do you play? A lighter touch = longer sustain.
 
Florin said:
How hard do you play? A lighter touch = longer sustain.
Click to expand...
I definitely play hard. I know it's probably wrong but I always have. Instead of slapping down with my thumb, I use my pointer & index and "Smack" the strings into the frets. Kind of like a Hybrid Slap technique. Anyway, I should of thought of strings right off the bat. I believe these are WW Black Labels that came new with the bass. I am very happy overall with them. I will see what choices I have at the 2 local music stores today. Whatever I get, I'll post the results. Right now I am just Jamming to CD's/Mp3's so I'm not too worried but I want to be ready when I get a chance to play with a band again.
 
With all due respect to Warwick, Black Labels suck.
 
Not sure if mine were Black Labels but they have been real good for me and I really just started to notice the Lack of Sustain. They have about 50 hours on them whatever they are. I ended up picking up the only 5 string set available at my local Guitar store. They are EB Slinky Customs and I actually had to buy the 4 string set and add a 125 B string. Gonna restring and Jam tomorrow. Hopefully the sustain will be back to 100%. TBH, I Only notice the sustain problem when using compression. I like to use the compression in conjunction with the Overdrive on my Head. This gives me some real nice growl.
 
They are a bit harsh on the fingers. They feel a bit "dull". And I realized that EMP's are, TO ME, the same. That's why I've switched (back) to Elixirs.
 
I agree that Black Labels and EMPs feel like that out of the box Yann, but after a week or so I find they settle in beautifully, begin to feel really nice and sound great for a long time. I never liked Stainless Strings much - was really a DR Sunbeam guy ( I still love those ), but I love Black Labels and EMPs.

To me they're the same, but EMPs last longer.

;)

@ Owdkasd... I agree with Florin - the new strings will help you in the sustain department... NOS basses often come with dead strings when you get them, and you've played them a bit too. More importantly tough... if you want sustain, play with a lighter touch and let your amp do the work. You'll get much nicer dynamics, better tone and sustain.

:d
 
I am a big EMP fan, and Black labels are the same strings.
 
Actually, EMP's sound good when the bass is amplified. But when the bass is played unplugged, which I do a lot at home, they sound dull. Elixirs on the other side keep their brightness even unplugged, for a long time.
 
Ian said:
Actually, EMP's sound good when the bass is amplified. But when the bass is played unplugged, which I do a lot at home, they sound dull. Elixirs on the other side keep their brightness even unplugged, for a long time.
Click to expand...

actually to me Elixirs sound and feel dull all the time:-)

I think this is a matter of individual perception.

E.g. EMPs and Black labels feel very different to me even though they are the same:-)
 
Most good quality round-wound Stainless Steel strings are harsh at first. Sadowsky, Rotosounds, Slinkies etc... They settle right down as well as your callouses thickening. No big deal in fact I actually like it. The difference is how quickly the tone "drops off" on some versus others. Roto's used to be notorious for a quick drop in brightness. Slinkies IMO, seem to hold on for a good long time. If the strings I am replacing are in fact Black Labels, They sounded great for a good 50 hours until the sustain issue started.
 
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