uncle psychosis Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 Hey folks. My bass currently has .45 round wounds on it. Thinking about going to .40 flats - do you think this will merit a truss rod tweak? Would I be better sticking with .45? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 (edited) [quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1346000176' post='1783954'] Hey folks. My bass currently has .45 round wounds on it. Thinking about going to .40 flats - do you think this will merit a truss rod tweak? Would I be better sticking with .45? [/quote] What kind of rounds, what kind of flats? Even if the round and the flat G strings are both .40 or both .45, they are unlikely to be the same tension. Gauge alone can't tell you the tension. Expect to tweak the truss rod. Edited August 26, 2012 by EssentialTension Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBollock Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 Whether or not you will have to tweak the truss rod shouldn't be part of the decision process. If it does require a tweak it will be a very good opportunity to learn how to do it and gain a little confidence. It's not the dark art that people have been led to believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1346001143' post='1783968'] What kind of rounds, what kind of flats? Even if the round and the flat G strings are both .40 or both .45, they are unlikely to be the same tension. Gauge alone can't tell you the tension. Expect to tweak the truss rod. [/quote] The rounds are DR--- lo-riders, I think, and the flats are Status. I know its not a particularly tricky job, but it just makes me nervous and I'd prefer not to do it! I'm kind of torn between .40s and .45s anyway, not sure which to go for... how different from .45 rounds will .40 flats feel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 (edited) [quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1346010498' post='1784122'] The rounds are DR--- lo-riders, I think, and the flats are Status. I know its not a particularly tricky job, but it just makes me nervous and I'd prefer not to do it! I'm kind of torn between .40s and .45s anyway, not sure which to go for... how different from .45 rounds will .40 flats feel? [/quote] They'll feel very different because one set are rounds and the other set are flats. Most of the difference in feel will not be because of the difference in gauge but will be because of the difference in construction of the strings. I've never worried about or even much thought about gauges. Also, I've never used DR nor Status strings so I can't help you on the difference between them. But tweaking a truss rod is easy, there are lots of guides to doing it on youtube and elsewhere. Edited August 26, 2012 by EssentialTension Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1346012112' post='1784151'] They'll feel very different because one set are rounds and the other set are flats. Most of the difference in feel will not be because of the difference in gauge but will be because of the difference in construction of the strings. I've never worried about or even much thought about gauges. Also, I've never used DR nor Status strings so I can't help you on the difference between them. But tweaking a truss rod is easy, there are lots of guides to doing it on youtube and elsewhere. [/quote] Sorry, I wasn't very clear. I know flats and rounds physically feel different under the fingers---what I meant was more "in terms of tension and effort to play, how different will they be?". Bah, I hate buying bass strings. For guitars I'm happy trying stuff out 'cos the strings are only £5 a pop, at £20+ a time for bass strings I'm a bit more circumspect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Trying bass strings can be an expensive business but if you don't like them they can usually be sold on here to recoup a good proportion of your expense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero9 Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 If you're happy with the truss rod setting at the moment, it's unlikely to need tweaking after putting new strings on. I've regularly swopped string gauges, types and manufacturers, but only once needed a tweak. That was when I put Roto James Jamerson flats on which were very heavy and high tension. Just stick the new strings on, tune up and play. See how it feels and make any tweaks to action / truss if you need to afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 I`ve found that when trying flats of the same gauge, I`ve had to adjust the truss rod, as the flats had a bit more tension, so it`s possible that going to a gauge down, the truss may not need adjusting. But, as others have said, it really isn`t that daunting a task. The main thing is make small adjustments, and write down what you did. So that if it`s too much, you don`t panic, just simply undo what you just did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 Thanks guys. I think I'm gonna go with the .40s and see what happens. Its weird how you get nervous about stupid little things. I used to make high power lasers for a living---a process that was far more complicated and definitely more dangerous than turning an allen key a fraction of a turn---but somehow adjusting my bass is scarier!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 if you do tweak the neck..give it 24 hrs to settle...but I doubt a decent neck will worry about it, tbh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 DR lo-riders are designed to need quite a high tension anyway - so the difference may be very small... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdowner Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 put 50 to 110's on my bass which has 45 to 105's on before and the neck definitely needed a truss rod adjustment, the additional bow was visible. but no hassle, a very small turn and all was back to great action... definitely worth learning to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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