throwoff Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Bloody loads it seems. I have always used .105 - .045 rounds on all my basses since ever, and even with regular practice and gigging my fingers used to hate me after a gig or a 4 hour rehearsal. I always had it in my head that they gave a fatter sound and that for my rock style it was the best bet. When I got the new P bass I put on a set of Nickel plated Fender .100 to .40 (all I could get on a moments notice) and bloody hell, no more pain, feels nicer, sounds no different to the .105s either... I am a convert. If I had gone for my normal strings I would probably have found I didn't love the bass as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Go one step further and try 035 - 095 suddenly, it's jazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cameltoe Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 just stuck a set of Balanced Tension D'Addario's on, and managed to drop the action to the floor! Bit of a tighter feel, but the strings all feel even- no floppy E, and the action is where I want it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Yup, although the European Parliament would prefer you to rename the thread "What difference can 0.127mm make!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skej21 Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 [quote name='throwoff' timestamp='1385657983' post='2290814'] Bloody loads it seems. I have always used .105 - .045 rounds on all my basses since ever, and even with regular practice and gigging my fingers used to hate me after a gig or a 4 hour rehearsal. I always had it in my head that they gave a fatter sound and that for my rock style it was the best bet. When I got the new P bass I put on a set of Nickel plated Fender .100 to .40 (all I could get on a moments notice) and bloody hell, no more pain, feels nicer, sounds no different to the .105s either... I am a convert. If I had gone for my normal strings I would probably have found I didn't love the bass as much. [/quote] I had exactly the same thing! I used to use .100 to .45 but although the action was nice, I wanted more movemet in the strings for expression. Now I use D'Addario EXL180 which are .95 to .35... You can imagine how much of a breeze they are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 [quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1385659304' post='2290836'] Go one step further and try 035 - 095 suddenly, it's jazz [/quote] You've gone too far again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 [quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1385659304' post='2290836'] Go one step further and try 035 - 095 suddenly, it's jazz [/quote] Nice..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 I just switched from using a .130 B-string to a .125 (Elixir) and I'm loving it! It sounds less boomy, more defined and feels great. I feared it would be sloppy, especially compared to the E-string, but it doesnt! Even though I'm still using a .105 E! Maybe next time I'll try an overall lighter set with a .100, who knows, I might actually like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolo Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 (edited) I went from 125-100-85-60-45 to 135-105-90-70-50 (DR ddt) and love it. More even tonality and can drop the low b to a when I feel like it with no loss of definition in my sound. Bass/setup/make of strings/ears make all the difference. Edited November 29, 2013 by Bolo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 I found that Fender 45-105's had a lower tension than the same gauge D'Adario strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 I`m not overkeen on them for live use, but the best recorded sound I`ve ever had was I think, 90s or 100s on a Precision. It was our producers bass and he said he picked up the tip of using lighter gauge strings from Trevor Bolder (of Ziggy/Bowie fame). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlungerModerno Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 [quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1385661378' post='2290870'] just stuck a set of Balanced Tension D'Addario's on, and managed to drop the action to the floor! Bit of a tighter feel, but the strings all feel even- no floppy E, and the action is where I want it now. [/quote] I'm keen to give a more balanced tension set a try on my 5'er - currently 135 - 45 D'Addario XL nickels... I love them except the D & G (65 & 45?) feel tighter than the rest, which get's annoying - so when I switch them out I'm keen to get a lighter set... but would like to keep around 105 for the E and 135 for the B string... I'll have to see what's out there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenitram Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Hang on, aren't narrower strings less compliant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Bass 65 Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 (edited) I use 135s on my 5 string basses but I always use a .055 instead of the.045s supplied for the G string, prior to this I always found that the standard .045s left the G string a bit thin and weak. I have a mid 60s Fender Catalogue which shows that their standard gauge G string was .054. Edited December 4, 2013 by Jazz Bass 65 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Yeah, I was surprised - I've always used .045 to .105 myself, so I got a bit of a surprise when I used my friend's bass at a rehearsal, which he'd strung with .050 to .110s. Nothing too alarming...until it came to taking a solo and realising I couldn't get my bends on pitch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badboy1984 Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 I use 45-107 on my 4 string Bongo. It suits that bass better in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hookys6stringbass Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Im quite fond of 50-100.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntLockyer Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 [quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1386118105' post='2296183'] Hang on, aren't narrower strings less compliant? [/quote] oh really? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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