String Gauges - A change is as good as a rest

[Guest MoJo]

When I started down the bass playing road financial restrictions meant I seldom changed my strings. When I did the choice at my local musical instrument emporium was basically 'take it, or leave it'. As things progressed and the variety of bass strings available grew, I used to buy a hybrid set 40-100. Apart from one brief moment when I tried a 30-95 set, the hybrid set has been my choice for more than 15 years. About 2 years ago, I stepped up to 45-105 and stuck with that until last week.

On a whim of experimentation I bought some d'Addario XL singles from Stringsdirect. Using the very useful string tension chart on the d'Addario site [url="http://www.daddario.com/Resources/JDCDAD/images/tension_chart.pdf"]here[/url] , I went for 50,70,90 and 110 gauges. I fitted the strings to my bass, tweaked the truss rod a little and...WOW what a difference. I love the extra tension in the strings. Because the strings tend to flap about less, I can lower the action a little. The feel through the fingers of my right hand as I play is more positive, tighter, more controlled. I wish I'd switched to these heavier strings years ago. Now I'm going to do the same with my other basses.

If you haven't tried it already, next time you need some new strings, why not take it up a notch?

Edited November 15, 2007 by bassman2790

[El_JimBob]

Good point on the D'addario string guide - it's also really useful for working out what gauges you might need if you wanted a set all at equal tension. 'D's and 'G's always tend to feel a little tighter in most pre-packed sets.