franzbassist Posted January 29 Posted January 29 (edited) My recent purchase of a Dingwall made me revisit balanced tension sets for my regular (i.e. non multiscale) basses, which led me in turn to the D’Addario BT sets. I went for the 45-107 set, as that’s closest to what I normally use, and then used their calculator to work out the best low B to add on, which is a .145! The result is a really even feel across all the strings. I’m pleased with how this has turned out 👍🏻 Edited January 29 by franzbassist 4 Quote
Dood Posted January 29 Posted January 29 They are brilliant, I'm a big fan of D'Addario and use these mostly too. All of my guitars have D'Addario strings, I really rate the XS coated for electrics. (I do however grab the '2-pack' versions of the standard bass XL's as they are often cheaper, but prefer these and Pro Steels.) 2 Quote
Sean Posted February 15 Posted February 15 On 29/01/2025 at 12:26, franzbassist said: My recent purchase of a Dingwall made me revisit balanced tension sets for my regular (i.e. non multiscale) basses, which led me in turn to the D’Addario BT sets. I went for the 45-107 set, as that’s closest to what I normally use, and then used their calculator to work out the best low B to add on, which is a .145! The result is a really even feel across all the strings. I’m pleased with how this has turned out 👍🏻 This is a revelation for me, thanks for posting. What bass have you put these on? What's the scale? Thanks. 1 Quote
franzbassist Posted February 15 Author Posted February 15 10 minutes ago, Sean said: This is a revelation for me, thanks for posting. What bass have you put these on? What's the scale? Glad to be of help. They are on a 34.5" scale custom bass from Germany. Funnily enough I have since put together a custom set of 42/55/75/100/135 D'Addario singles for another bass, and they are even better! Quote
Sean Posted February 15 Posted February 15 11 minutes ago, franzbassist said: Glad to be of help. They are on a 34.5" scale custom bass from Germany. Funnily enough I have since put together a custom set of 42/55/75/100/135 D'Addario singles for another bass, and they are even better! I bought a D'addario .135 and a .145 recently. This is for my 34" Yam BBP35. I used a set of Legacy 45, 65, 85, 105 and added the .135 and it's really good but it got me thinking about how I could refine it more. One band I play in does a lot of songs in drop B and I'm on the B string much more than say, what I was in a function band playing a 5 string where there's songs in Eb, the odd low D and hammering a low C makes the crescendo more dramatic. My SRMS805 35.5" B is fab but I'd like to have a similar punch with the Yam. What did you put the 42/55/75/100/135 on? Quote
franzbassist Posted February 15 Author Posted February 15 8 minutes ago, Sean said: What did you put the 42/55/75/100/135 on? Another 34.5" custom bass! 8 minutes ago, Sean said: I used a set of Legacy 45, 65, 85, 105 and added the .135 and it's really good but it got me thinking about how I could refine it more. Check out the D'Addario string tension calculator. It really helps work out what gauges you need according to scale and tuning. 1 Quote
Sean Posted February 15 Posted February 15 15 minutes ago, franzbassist said: Another 34.5" custom bass! Check out the D'Addario string tension calculator. It really helps work out what gauges you need according to scale and tuning. This has to be worth a go. Thank you. 1 Quote
Sean Posted February 16 Posted February 16 These just arrived. I'll probably add the .145 and get them on tomorrow. 1 Quote
Rodders Posted February 17 Posted February 17 I put the medium set (120-50) on a P bass over the weekend, its amazing how much of a difference the balanced tension makes. I ordered a custom balanced tension set for my Dingwall from Newtone after using another tension calculator online, enjoying those too. 1 Quote
Dood Posted February 17 Posted February 17 The @D'Addario UK 120-50 are also brilliant for those who like to play in Drop D, but will give a similar feel to a standard set in Drop D, when the 120's are tuned down to Drop C#. If you're lucky, and have a bass with a generally 'tight' feel, these will even do Drop C as well! Love 'em! 1 Quote
Dood Posted February 17 Posted February 17 Just now, Dood said: The @D'Addario UK 120-50 are also brilliant for those who like to play in Drop D, but will give a similar feel to a standard set in Drop D, when the 120's are tuned down to Drop C#. If you're lucky, and have a bass with a generally 'tight' feel, these will even do Drop C as well! Love 'em! I forgot to mention that I'm reallly pelased to see the D'Addario string tension calculator is back online again as @franzbassist mentions above. 1 Quote
franzbassist Posted February 17 Author Posted February 17 2 hours ago, Rodders said: I ordered a custom balanced tension set for my Dingwall from Newtone after using another tension calculator online, enjoying those too. What did you go for? I looked at the Dingwall strings on my NG and this is what the calculator came out with. Quote
Rodders Posted February 19 Posted February 19 On 17/02/2025 at 12:00, franzbassist said: What did you go for? I looked at the Dingwall strings on my NG and this is what the calculator came out with. I went for 110, 82, 63, 47, for an ABZ 4, aiming for circa 50-51 lbs tension on each string. Quote
franzbassist Posted February 19 Author Posted February 19 3 hours ago, Rodders said: I went for 110, 82, 63, 47, for an ABZ 4, aiming for circa 50-51 lbs tension on each string. Wow that’s some high tension! Quote
Rodders Posted February 20 Posted February 20 20 hours ago, franzbassist said: Wow that’s some high tension! Haha! They work well for me, I found the heaviest gauge in the Dingwall set with the .100 E too floppy. So I worked my way up through 105, 108 to 110 and altered the rest to match as close as possible. For reference I was used to 109-49 and 110-52 La Bella flats before moving to the Dingwall. Quote
Sean Posted February 21 Posted February 21 I've done it! I used the D'Addario set with a .145 B on my BBP35. I'm completely converted. The B is a revelation, it's huge. The E is lovely too. I wound the P pickup back a bit to give the string some room and it sounds so clear. Brilliant. Very happy. 2 Quote
franzbassist Posted February 21 Author Posted February 21 54 minutes ago, Sean said: I've done it! I used the D'Addario set with a .145 B on my BBP35. I'm completely converted. The B is a revelation, it's huge. The E is lovely too. I wound the P pickup back a bit to give the string some room and it sounds so clear. Brilliant. Very happy. My work is done 👍🏻 1 Quote
Sean Posted February 21 Posted February 21 After playing for a while, it just makes sense. I've switched back and forth between a 34" with D'Addario 45,65,80,100 and it's a world of difference. 1 Quote
Sean Posted February 23 Posted February 23 (edited) Uffff. I've had a couple of fabulous 35" string basses that I've moved on because of the high tension principally on the D and G. If I'd have known about balanced tension and string tension calculators, those basses might still be here today. The NS5-XL anyway. She was a stunner, even by US Spector standards. Edited February 23 by Sean 1 Quote
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