What gauge strings do you use?

[King Tut]

[quote name='mr pablo' post='162618' date='Mar 24 2008, 01:23 PM']I used to be the same until I was reading and article somewhere about building up fret hand stamina or something like that and it basicaly said to string up a spare bass with heavier strings so if you practiced using the spare and went back to your main bass you would be able to play it easier. I tried it and after a wee while I decided that the heavier strings felt better and went with that ever since[/quote]

Think I'm gonna try that. It's usually roto swing bass 105's for me, fingerstyle rock and funk. Do most of you slappers prefer lighter strings?

[Pedro1020]

[quote name='King Tut' post='162645' date='Mar 24 2008, 02:24 PM']Think I'm gonna try that. It's usually roto swing bass 105's for me, fingerstyle rock and funk. Do most of you slappers prefer lighter strings?[/quote]

*nods* Indeed, plus the loose tension too. I have my strings quite low, so theres the occasional buzz..I don't mind, but others who have a go on my bass don't like the feel, find it annoying..tho I love it!

Only annoying thing is I slap ridiculously hard & pop vigerously, so the G string always breaks...argh!

[mr_russ]

I'm finding this quite interesting- I was under the impression most people used 45-105 (125 or 130 B for 5s) but it doesn't seem to be the case.

I'd been using 40-100/125 for years, almost since I started playing- I've only recently changed both my basses to 45-105/130 and I've found it to make a huge difference.

Set up with a pretty low action I don't really notice needing any extra effort but the overall tone is far better to my ears and the strings don't buzz out as easily when you get into it and start playing harder ;D

I don't slap at all in my current band but do loads at home so both my jazz and SR5 are setup to be slap friendly.

I've got roto steels on both at the moment, I remember why I stopped using them in the first place- higher tension than Elites- plus about 1 in 3 sets die really bloody quickly.

R

[alexclaber]

I'm surprised how people are leaning towards even less balanced tensions than usual sets. 45-105 is pretty uneven but 45-100 or 50-105 is worse. To get near balanced tension on a five you need 40-55-75-100-130. I have 45-105 on my 34" scale Warwick, 44-134 on my 36" scale RIM Custom 5 but I've ordered some 38-58-78-104-134 as the top three strings are crazy tight at the moment.

Alex

Edited March 24, 2008 by alexclaber

[bass_ferret]

I have often wondered whether you need different guages for four up that you would for two aside to balance tension.

[bass_ferret]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='162590' date='Mar 24 2008, 12:28 PM']TI Jazz flats only come as one standard set (JF344), so I use: .043, .056, .070, .0100[/quote]


[quote name='alexclaber' post='162871' date='Mar 24 2008, 10:06 PM']I'm surprised how people are leaning towards even less balanced tensions than usual sets. 45-105 is pretty uneven but 45-100 or 50-105 is worse. To get near balanced tension on a five you need 40-55-75-100-130. I have 45-105 on my 34" scale Warwick, 44-134 on my 36" scale RIM Custom 5 but I've ordered some 38-58-78-104-134 as the top three strings are crazy tight at the moment.

Alex[/quote]
The TI's are not far off then. Are you getting the 38-58-78-104-134 set custom wound?

[alexclaber]

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='162880' date='Mar 24 2008, 10:20 PM']The TI's are not far off then. Are you getting the 38-58-78-104-134 set custom wound?[/quote]

Indeed they're not, though I believe the gaps between the winding on the thicker strings makes the mass per unit length and thus the tension less than expected. I did get a 40-55-75-100-130 set from Ken Smith but the low B was too short for the 36" scale. The set I'm now getting are the light gauge Overwater nickel rounds on G, D and A, and medium gauge on E and B (currently have medium gauge on all strings). I can't speak highly enough of the positive effects of that extra scale length on tone, it is quite magical.

Alex

[Adrenochrome]

I use 40-100 or 45-105 for rock music, 50/50 pick and fingerstyle. For more even tension my preference would be 40-105 but generally I buy what I can afford . My fretless has 40-60-80-110 flats which are from 2 different packs of strings and I never change those.

[Merton]

I mainly use 45-105, my fretless has 40-100 on it and my 5 string has a 135 bottom B (I think). Normally Status Hotwires with hex core, my fretless currenty sports Rotos, and will soon have some TE strings unless I put them on my J...

Rob - interesting point about higher tension practice bass, I've done the same thing with my acoustic bass whch I use for practicing at home. Certaily seems ot help a little bit...

Alex, re. tension, surely each different string make has different tension inherent, so the "unbalanced" 45-105 depends on strings? Or am I a sucker for the marketing guff?

[alexclaber]

[quote name='Merton' post='163619' date='Mar 26 2008, 10:35 AM']Alex, re. tension, surely each different string make has different tension inherent, so the "unbalanced" 45-105 depends on strings? Or am I a sucker for the marketing guff?[/quote]

It does depend on the strings but within a given type of string (round, flat, etc) there's not that much variation in tension. There is more variance in stiffness which is a key contributory factor to feel. D'Addario have an excellent pdf document with tons of data on tension vs scale, gauge and tuning.

Alex

[Merton]

Cool, will check it out. Cheers :-)

This thread has just made me go buy 4 more sets of 40-100 gauge TE strings off ebay.

Oh, and I've just remembered I have a set of DR Black Beauties to put on my Retroactive at some point.

[clauster]

I tend to swap about a bit, but I always seem to come back to stainless steel Elites in 45-105. I love the tone (both on my old Precisions and on my Warwick Corvette), price and they last a reasonable time.

Rotosounds I love the tone of when they're new but they go dead too quick and I find them really rough on the fingers.

I've had Elixirs on the Warwick since last Summer and they still sound good as new (although the coating is really shredded and looks awful), but they don't give me "my tone".


Mostly punk/rock played fingerstyle but occasional pick and (very poor) slapping.

Edited March 26, 2008 by clauster

[Jono Bolton]

Strung up my Jazz with a set of D' Addario XLs yesterday to try and adjust the string break angle on the E. Went for a set of 45-100s instead of the 50-105 Ernie Balls I had on there, much nicer to play now, comfortable and the XLs sound nicer than the EBs, and they were a quid less Plus you get the added novelty of the multicoloured ball ends. Think a set of Chromes or halfs for the Precision may be in order.

[nick]

I solely used Elites steels for the last 15 or so years, quite happy with them, still think they're good. However, now I like to experiment a bit, so I use allsorts. I like differing tones & feel, with varying tensions that I get from different brands.

Tokai PBass : Ernie Ball 45-100 flats. Nice thump
Maya Rickenfaker : Elites Nickel 45-105 rounds. Warmer than steels,not too zingy.
Commodore semi : d'Addario Chromes Flats (32") 45-100. Quite bright sounding, counterbalances a woolly bass.
Ibanez Blazer : Elites steels 45-105. Gives bass a real growl

I'm going to continue trying more different ones in the future too.

Edited March 28, 2008 by nick

[OutToPlayJazz]

On my Status basses I use the hotwire 30-90 double ball sets. The Warwick & Fender have Rotosound 35-90's & the Yamaha TRB-6 is running on Roto 30-125's.

Only exception is the Hofner which is currently running on Rotosound 40-100 jazz bass 77 flats.

If I get around to getting a Precision in the near future, I'll start on 45's & maybe drop to 40's. Love the sound of thicker strings on a Precision

So all in all, yes, "Oi 'as mainly been using girl's strings!"

[Kev]

[quote name='BassManKev' post='162415' date='Mar 23 2008, 10:13 PM']iv been using 40-100 trace elliots on my precision, sound brilliant[/quote]
btw i 90% play fingering, 9% slapping and the rest picking

[Mr. Foxen]

Currently: 0.070, 0.085, 0.115, 0.145, Newtone tapered.

[mr pablo]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='168739' date='Apr 2 2008, 08:45 PM']Currently: 0.070, 0.085, 0.115, 0.145, Newtone tapered.[/quote]

thems some seriusly manly strings strung BEAD by any chance?

[WarPig]

45-65-85-105 although i want to go heavier.

[geilerbass]

My Warwick is strung 40-60-80-100, my fretless Bass Collection is 45-65-85-105 (flatwounds), my 5 string Ibanez is 45-65-85-105-128 and my 6 String is 30-45-65-85-105-128.... I think....

[Ray]

45-65-85-105

[bremen]

[quote name='clauster' post='163648' date='Mar 26 2008, 12:24 PM']I tend to swap about a bit, but I always seem to come back to stainless steel Elites in 45-105. I love the tone (both on my old Precisions and on my Warwick Corvette), price and they last a reasonable time.

Rotosounds I love the tone of when they're new but they go dead too quick and I find them really rough on the fingers.

I've had Elixirs on the Warwick since last Summer and they still sound good as new (although the coating is really shredded and looks awful), but they don't give me "my tone".


Mostly punk/rock played fingerstyle but occasional pick and (very poor) slapping.[/quote]

I too love the sound of new Roto 45-105 on my PJ, and 'Mostly punk/rock played fingerstyle but occasional pick and (very poor) slapping' describes what I do pretty well. Have you tried Fast Fret? makes them a lot more comfortable and probably extends the life. I've never found strings that keep their tone for long. Are rotos known for going off quickly?

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='mr pablo' post='168770' date='Apr 2 2008, 10:53 PM']thems some seriusly manly strings strung BEAD by any chance?[/quote]

ADGC

[tauzero]

40-60-80-100 (+125) for me, except for the 7-string. Normally Elites, but there's a set of Warwicks (red label IIRC) on the fretless. All sorts of music and styles.

[mr pablo]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='169061' date='Apr 3 2008, 01:08 PM']ADGC[/quote]

wow thats low ^_^ NICE