String tension

[thedontcarebear]

I am not sure about this. I love my Sandberg, mainly because the tension is low still down near the bridge, which is where I am comfortable playing. I used my new Shuker last night, and even though its the same scale, with 40-95 on it, the tension is too high (and its always like this on other basses I've used, and my Valenti), can I adjust the neck to change this? And if so, what way do I turn it?

[zero9]

Sometimes the tension can seem more if the action is higher. The tension should be identical for the same string gauges when applied to the same scale length even on different basses.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='thedontcarebear' post='935856' date='Aug 25 2010, 12:35 PM']I am not sure about this. I love my Sandberg, mainly because the tension is low still down near the bridge, which is where I am comfortable playing. I used my new Shuker last night, and even though its the same scale, with 40-95 on it, the tension is too high (and its always like this on other basses I've used, and my Valenti), can I adjust the neck to change this? And if so, what way do I turn it?[/quote]
You say 40-95, but do you mean they are exactly the same make of string or just that they happen to be the same gauge? Gauge does not itself affect tension. Tension is affected only by three things: (1) scale length, (2) mass per unit length of the string, and (3) the pitch to which the string is tuned. You can read about it [url="http://liutaiomottola.com/myth/perception.htm"]here[/url]. If it's a different type of string (i.e. different mass per unit length), even if the gauge is the same, then the tension may be different.

If the strings are exactly the same then what you (and many others) are referring to as tension is, strictly speaking, not tension at all but compliance or elasticity - the link above explains this. Compliance can vary due to where the string is played, due to differences in string construction, and, some people claim, due to distance between bridge/nut and string fixing points.

What strings are you using? How do the different basses you refer to differ in relation to stringing?

[Guest]

Any bass I get is always the same 34" scale, and I always use either of my favourite brands (GHS or Ernie Ball), but just cannot get it like the Sandberg. They are all strung through the bridge too and not body.