String tension - fact or fiction.

[paddy109]

Last night at band practice myself and the guitarist spent some time adjusting my EQ and getting a new chorus pedal sounding right. The result of which was less bass EQ, more mids and a better tighter sound in the band mix.

Following this my strings felt different (more tension a little more abrasive on my fingers). Now this has happened on a couple of occasions before.

Have others found this or are my ears somehow effecting what I am feeling - am I just imaging this or is there some science behind it.

I play with D'addarios roundwound nickel light and have had these on for a number of months.

Paddy.

[gjones]

I remember trying to get a better live sound at a gig a couple of years ago by adjusting the EQ.

 

It took me a while but in the end I felt there was a big improvement and I got the sound I wanted.

 

At the end of the gig, I looked at the settings on my amp and realised the EQ IN button on my amp was set at OFF. All my knob twiddling was useless, as the EQ section hadn't been switched on. Yet I had been convinced I could hear a big difference.

 

The mind is a strange thing......

Edited June 21, 2024 by gjones

[Supernaut]

How does changing the EQ increase or decrease string tension? It's impossible. 

[paddy109]

Must just be a psychological thing then. Tighter (only way I can describe it) sound making me imagine tighter/stiff feeling strings. 

[Baloney Balderdash]

Yes, this is totally a thing.

 

Tone affects the way the strings feels, the way we perceive them.

 

Not that strange really, playing music, an instrument, is to a large extend about adjusting our playing to what we hear, and in order to do so we need to be able to physically feel the sound.

 

Obviously that doesn't mean that the actual physical properties of the strings changes with EQ adjustments, but the way we perceive those physical properties does indeed.

 

The subjective reality is, surprise, surprise, not objective.

 

Edited June 21, 2024 by Baloney Balderdash

[Jack]

It really wouldn't surprise me, the power of of the mind to affect things that it shouldn't is super, super strong. Not like in a woo-woo, you only use 10% of your brain type thing, just in terms of expectation, bias and placebo.