Effect of string gauge on bass tone & overall sound ?

[Nostromo]

Hi everyone,

Anybody got any first hand experience on what difference it makes to your tone / overall sound when you change the gauge of your strings from lighter to heavier or visa versa ?

I play blues and rock and I guess I’m aiming for that 70’s blues / Rock deep bass sound with not too much top on it. Sometimes I'm finding my current sound a little "thin" for want of a better description - and so I was wondering if I could beef up my sound by using heavier strings ?

I do in any event need to put new strings on my Fender Jazz and have for a while now, been contemplating the effect it could have on the sound if I used strings of a heavier gauge than the standard set supplied with the instrument from new ?

Is the subject as simple as Im thinking it appears to be ? . . . ie . . heavier strings = deeper sound with more “bottom end” in the tone ? . .

That’s sort of what my intuition tells me should be the case . . . but thinking about it a bit more, it comes to mind, that presumably, if you install a replacement heavier gauge string for an existing lighter gauge one, then to get the same pitch out of that heavier string you will have to tune to a slightly higher string tension ? . . So is that actually going to change the tone to any noticable extent or deliver a “Bassier” tone ? . . .

I’m sort of thinking through all this on the basis that the heavier the gauge of a string then the lower the pitch it will delivers for a given tension ? is that correct ?

Well . . I don’t know if any of this makes much sense out there ? . . . but I’m intrigued to know what effect heavier v lighter strings actually has on overall tone ? . .

Unfortunately I cant afford to buy umpteen sets at different gauges just to experiment on one guitar ! . . .

Any guidance much appreciated

[WonderHorse]

Sorry I have no answer, but I'm also looking for this answer as I'm looking to put some flats on my Jazz maybe.

[EssentialTension]

I'd say, on average, heavier strings will do what you say but there are so many other variables - e.g. flats versus rounds, hand position, pickup selection - that the gauge of string is not the only thing to consider.

If I was playing 70s blues/rock I'd probably be using flats on a P bass with the treble rolled off and playing with fingers over the pickup or even at the end of the fingerboard.

[Bilbo]

Heavier strings are generally believed to provide more overtones and sound subjectively 'better' (fuller, warmer, more sophisticated etc). String height has an impact on this as well but, in general terms there is an equation between heaviness of strings/tone vs playability. The compromise is a personal thing. A general example is that rock guitarists tend to use lighter strings (.09 guage on the high E) for speed/shredding whereas jazz guitarists use 0.12s or 0.13s for tone. Bass strings are so much heavier that the differences between guages are greater but the principles are the same, heavier string better tone, lighter string easier to play.

The optimum equation is personal and established through experimentation over time. I hace 0.45 guage (G) Rotosound Solo Bass on my Wal and have long since found that to be my 'best fit'. I tried 0.40s but found the tone to be lacking. My guitars are all 0.12s.

[Linus27]

I have always found 45 - 105 gauge suits me better tonally.

[OutToPlayJazz]

So many variables here...

Yes, on some wooden basses you'll experience a loss of tone. Less so on an active bass. I use 30-90 guage strings on my Status basses and there's no loss of tone at all. But that's a graphite-based instrument with a seriously powerful preamp.

On my wooden basses, I tend to use DR Fatbeams in 40-100 guage. The DR strings are a softer feeling string and the 40-100 guage feels more like a 35 set, but the tone is huge.

The other variable is what kind of player you are. If you like to be able to do fast runs and lots of soloing, then thinner strings make the bass a lot quicker to play & much easier on the fingers. Whereas if you're just going to be playing simpler bass lines, then you're not going to need the extra litheness in the bass. Keep to thicker strings.

Keeping to the usual 45-105 type strings also allows you to get a much lower action compared with thinner guages. But again, dependant on the quality of the neck, you can usually get very thin strings to go very low as well.

Hope some of this helps.

Edited October 28, 2009 by OutToPlayJazz

[Thunderthumbs]

[quote name='Linus27' post='638988' date='Oct 28 2009, 12:33 PM']I have always found 45 - 105 gauge suits me better tonally.[/quote]
Same with me. Used to play 30s years ago, but I just can't get on with them now.

After various gauges I've settled on 45/65/85/105 as my preferred set.

[thisnameistaken]

I spent ages using Rotos 100-40 and thinking the D and G sounded weak, but I didn't like 105-45 either I thought the bass strings were too heavy. I've since switched to Ernie Ball 100-80-65-45 and I find the tonal balance across the set is much better, treble strings more useful, and they still feel like a set.

But yeah there's always flats. The La Bellas I'm using on my Jazz are somewhere around 105-45 but they feel a lot stiffer than roundwounds and sound massive.

[4000]

Different makes of string can make a huge difference, even in the same gauges. Of course some of this will depend on your ear.

[velvetkevorkian]

I found that going to a lighter gauge (all else being equal) significantly sweetened the sound of the top strings, particularly above the 12th fret, without sacrificing the low end.

Edited October 28, 2009 by velvetkevorkian

[doctor_of_the_bass]

Hallo

I'm another advocate of light gauge strings - mainly due to most work being done through a rather large PA system - I don't have to play that hard and contrary to popular belief, there is, in my opinion, just as much bottom end with light gauges as with heavier sets. However, when playing in the rock band, I use 40-100 on the StingRay basses because I'm playing much harder and these respond better with a pick (heavier strings are more tense of course and hence, can be played much harder)! On saying that, I used the prototype E Basses Valiant with 30's on it for the same band and it coped admirably.

[OldGit]

Fist thing I'd do is stick a piece of foam under the strings at the bridge and play 2 cms further up towards the neck.

You can also try turning up and playing softer, raising the neck pickup a little, buying a P bass

But if you are changing your strings anyway give it a go and see what happens. Just change one string variable though - so use the same make and model of string but up a gauge.
Too may variables changing at once will mean you won't be able to pin down whatever it is that makes the change.

[deathpanda]

I can't offer you an exact answer to the question, but I know some things that might help. I play quite close to the neck, so that automatically gives me a warm and deep sound. As for gauge, I think you could have really heavy strings, and still get a thin tone by playing near the bridge. But I gotta say, recently I changed my standard strings for flats and the tone is so noticeably thicker which a perfect top end. For me, gauge has always been to do with what feels right for you.

[Nostromo]

Have had the opportunity to do an experiment on this subject. Not claiming it was particularly "controlled" or scientific, but did shine some light on the questions I rased at the start of this thread.

Anyway . . . had two mexican Jazz bass guitars temporarily at my disposal, very similar models, both with rosewood necks one was 2004 and the other 2006. Hardware looked for all intents and purposes the same on both guitars.

Got a couple of sets of DAddario pro steel round wounds. A standard 45 - 100 set on one bass and a made up set from new singles, exactly the same model strings, 60 -120 gauge on the other bass. (yes . . . the nuts only just took this large E string ! . . but it just went in) . . . Listened to the various tones from each guitar, then swapped the strings over to the other bass and did the same listening tests all over again. So both sets of strings were listened to on both basses.

Bass set ups were very much the same, and I set the pickup heights so that they were the same on both guitars.

Listening tests conducted useing SWR SM500 head and Eden 4 x 10 cab.

Outcome . . . . . . . . ?

Well . . . on both guitars, the heavier gauge strings were slightly louder and had very slightly more bass and mid in the sound than the lighter set - this was the same on both bass guitars. So I think I can say that heavier strings deliver a slightly louder sound with a touch more bottom end all other things being about equal ?

However, things were not so black and white as I thought . . . . . first thing to say, the strings did have a noticable effect on the tone, but the guitars themselves had a bigger effect. The guitars, even though they were the same model with what should be more or less the same spec stock pickups fitted, had a more marked effect on the sound than the strings did. One of the two jazz's sounded considerably mellower than the other one (especially in the neck position). but then again, changes in playing style, attack and playing position along the string could be employed to make the brighter guitar sound like the mellow one, or visa-versa in eith pickup combination - so, no big surprise there I guess !

So . . at the end of the day I've decided that slightly heavier strings do "do it" for me . . . . and I've now up'd a couple of my regular players from 100's to 110's and I think Im liking the results of that.

But I guess, more than anything, it really highlghts how important it is to try/play a bass before you buy. If you thought a Mex Jazz bass sounded like a Mex Jazz Bass . . . . well maybe it does . . but there was a lot of difference between these two stock guitars . . more than the difference the strings made ! ! . . I never really expected that !

Hope this might be of interest to those who have followed or contributed to this thread.

Cheers all,

Edited August 31, 2010 by Nostromo

[JTUK]

I am using or trying Daddarios XL in 40 and I find these somewhat unbalanced across the strings.
IIRC, I am using a taper 125 and the thicker strings sound fuller... and not as thin as the D and G. I think this is just a tad too much variation here so I'll not use them again.
It would make more sense to me if all these model of strings were either all full or all thin.. then EQ'ing would be a tad easier.
It has pretty much ruled out these strings as a usable option for me. Also, the feel is a bit off as well...
I don't want slinky strings anymore, but these just don't feel right.

I also think they will go off pretty quickly...but since I have only used them for a few days, that might be a premature conclusion.

Funnily enough I liked other Daddarios...must find out waht they were..

Still prefer DR but am after a lighter, taper....

..unless I go to 45..then that might work better across the strings.