Owencf Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Evening all, Just a random question yet again from me, How does on work out the overall tension on the neck of the Double bass when in tune. Undoubtedly it will involve some physics and algebra, im ready to melt my mind. Cheers Owencf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael J Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Add the individual string tensions. Job done. Decent string manufacturers will have that information available, often on the packaging, usually for a given reference scale length and often at more than one tuned pitch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owencf Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 That seems too easy... But cheers for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassace Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 The tailpiece and tail wire will be in tension roughly as above but the neck will be in compression as a result of the forces exerted by the strings. There will also be a bending moment where the neck joins the body. It will be acting as a cantilever. Sorry to be a tad pedantic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael J Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 (edited) It is easy, sometimes that's just how things are. E.g. from the back of a pack of D'Addario classical guitar strings that I happen to have here: 1 E 15.3 lbs / 6.94 kg 2 B 11.6 lbs / 5.26 kg 3 G 12.1 lbs / 5.49 kg 4 D 15.6 lbs / 7.08 kg 5 A 15.0 lbs / 6.80 kg 6 E 14.0 lbs / 6.35 kg 25.5" (648mm) scale length used for tension measurements. There is a total of 83.6 lbs tension trying to haul the bridge off the face of the guitar. I seem to remember the phosphor-bronze wound steel strings on my archtop with floating bridge gave tensions for at least two pitches. The physics difference is that instead of hauling the bridge off the pressure tries to crush it through the face and yank the anchor out of the tail. Both attempt to make the guitar fold up into a V. Ed: pedantry above is quite correct. Edited January 9, 2015 by Michael J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owencf Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Ok so going with Daddario Orchestral Mediums the strings pull a grand total of 266.9lbs...thats kinda worrying when its only a few inches off my face. Naaaahhhhh, was more a curiosity as i was working with some Hydraulic cylinders n got to thinking about retained pressure and what would happen if it was charged Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael J Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I think the total on my archtop is a little more than the classicals, about 95 lbs, and the stainless steels on my bass guitar are around 40-45 lbs per string. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iiipopes Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Unfortunately, most manufacturers have not published their tension specs. The notable exception is Thomastik-Infeld, which have become the standard by which all manufacturers should publish their specs. Yes, if you know the tension of each string, you just add them together for the tension for the set. The T-I string catalog is online as a downloadable pdf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero9 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 If you're worried about too much 'cantilever effect', you could always lower the action Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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