Is it normal for new bass strings to sound bad and need breaking in? I just bought myself a brand new Mustang PJ bass for my birthday and it sounded like crap out of the box, so I got it properly set up with new strings and the E string especially sounds twangy. Here’s a link to me playing it. Please excuse my crappy playing. 
Watch IMG_6032 | Streamable
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A lot of unanswered questions here. To me honestly It doesn’t sound like a string issue.
Well your plugging and fretting technique is a bit heavy handed it gave out the “tapping” effect. Keep at it you’ll settle down.
As for break in periods, it depends on the brands and models TI Jazz flats usually takes 6 months or so to wear them in some Fender or Ernie Balls may be a month or so.
I’ll give you 2 extreme examples, I used to love the zing which goes away in about 2 weeks so I’d changed them out every time I record.
The other end, ABBA Bassist would change the string and give that bass to his buddy and take them out on tour for a couple of years by the time he got it back it’s full of soul, 
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I’m playing a little heavy on purpose so it would read on the video, but yeah, my technique is still lacking quite a bit. On my Squire I recall having the same issue when I first got it, but chalked it up me being inexperienced and getting better. But it could be the strings being new and me needing to break them in. The set up was done at a very reputable place and the guy there tested it out and said it felt great to him.
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What can I answer for you? And what kind of issue do you think it is? Or are you saying it’s a non-issue? TIA!
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Its probably just the zing you get from a new set of roundwounds. Not the tone you want for “Born Under A Bad Sign” but it will mellow out after a few hours of playing, until then you can roll the treble knob down.
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No this is normal, you should be good. If you don’t like too much of the string noise just roll off the tone knob a bit it should be ok. It sounded like your tone is all the way open.
hey you are my neighbor-ish. Cool.
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This and you are fretting too far away from the frets when fretting.
And depending on gain settings on amp, etc. you may be amplifying the effect.
Instead of playing heavy on purpose, play normally so we would evaluate better - I can probably make any bass I have with rounds make these noises. Also, ambient noises mean nothing, only what gets recorded. Folks forget that when playing alone you hear more noises than you normally would.
Also depends on what strings you are using - the brighter the strings the more pronounced, or, if cheaper strings, you might get, well, less clean sound.
You may be a flats guy in the end as well. When I first started playing I hated rounds cause they made so much noise, but as I got better I played better and rounds sounded better.
There is no ‘break-in’ for sound per se. Beginners however - have a long breakin time for sound 
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Let’s look at the facts:
2 basses, 3 sets of strings, 1 common denominator. Did you ever get the squier to sound like you wanted it to?
Have you heard the said bass played by anyone else, perhaps the luthier that set it up?
Tone control knobs, to ME (I’m hard of hearing though) it sounds as if TREBLE is maxed and everything else is cut, try rolling each ( I’m not sure what you preamp looks like) and see what happens.
Amp settings, show a picture of how you have that set. You’ve also been given great advice from some very knowledgeable people in their reply’s, listen to what they say. You’re going to have to try other variables as mentioned and I feel your problem may be rectified. Good luck, post your findings.
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New strings sound a lot brighter and zingier. It can often seem harsh, especially if you’ve gotten used to dead strings.
However, what I’m seeing and hearing most are technique issues that are being highlighted and amplified by the zingy strings, not being caused by them.
First: Relax your hand and lay your fingers flat against the strings instead of clawing them over on top.
I made a quick video for someone else a while back, but I’ll link to where I was talking about finger position that will help you to:
Once you relax and flatten your fingers - you want to fret as close to directly on top of the frets as you can, and micro-shift your hand in position to make this as easy as possible.
For most of this song, that’s pretty easy. You can play Simandl style with your index finger direction over the 2nd fret. With your hand relaxed, your pinky should then fall about where you want it, or maybe shift it less than 1cm to get your pinky right over fret 4.
When you do the chromatic walk up/down, keep your fingers relaxed and microshift our hand 1-finger-per-fret style.
These adjustments will tamp down the sound of the clack from your frets, and the buzz of your open strings. These are the sounds you are hearing that are amplified by the greater highs of the new strings.
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Awesome! Thank you!
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Man, me a few years ago would’ve loved to have found all these responses in one post. I was always overthinking the excess noise when I first started!
Some great advice here, as always 
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You know - perhaps unpopular opinion but I don’t think the original audio link of strings sound bad at all - just like new bright rounds and some technique issues people noted above.
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