JellyKnees Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I recently bought a second-hand Ibanez SR505 from crack convertors. I've never had a 5 string before, but I've been thinking about it for a while and this was a real bargain...£300, and apart from a couple of very minor scratches it looked like it had never been played! Anyhow, it came strung with what I'm guessing were the factory fitted elixirs, which I didn't particuarly like the tone of, so I order a set of Elite roundwounds (40-125). I've been using DBE Elites (40-100) on my headless KGB bass for 20 odd years, so this seemed like a sensible starting point... They sound great and are very similar to the DBEs, however they feel lower in tension, particularly on the E/A strings, which I'm guessing is possible due to the differences in construction between standard and DBE strings (the action/setup is pretty similar on the 2 basses). Has anyone got any suggestions for an alternative 5 string set of roundwounds in the same guage which have a little more tension than elites? I know I could go up a guage to get more tension, but I don't particularly like the feel of thicker strings (I've been down that road with my fretless...) Thanks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.I. Joe Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 A higher gauge may be the way forward, I think strings feel a little more loose on 5-strings anyway. I used Rotosound 66s 45-105/130 on all my basses at one point and the tension fealt lower on my 5er Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 Sorry to be pedantic (again) but ... Tension is affected only by three things: (1) mass per unit length of the string, (2) the vibrating length of the string, (3) the pitch to which the string is tuned. So same make strings, same gauge, same scale length, same pitch means the tension must, by definition, remain the same. The 'feel' of the strings under the fingers is called elasticity or compliance and varies with the ways in which different makes of strings are put together (as the OP noted). Some people believe that elasticity or compliance also varies with: (1) length of the string between the string anchor and the saddle of the bridge, (2) length of the string between the tuning machine and the nut, (3) the break angle of the string at the bridge and/or the nut. Even if those latter three are true, it's very small IMO. However , it might explain why DBE strings 'feel' different i.e. are less compliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettsguitars Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 (edited) Scale length of the bass? Edited June 3, 2012 by lettsguitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 [quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1338751700' post='1678897'] Scale length of the bass? [/quote] The SR505 is 34". I was assuming the KGB was also 34" (I'd never actually heard of them before), is it not 34"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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