Bass string gauges.

[Al Nico]

Hi. I am now the lucky owner of two, albeit budget, bass guitars. A Harley Benton TB-70, the thunderbird derived instrument with a set neck, and a Spector with a spangly bolt on.

The HB has noticeably thicker strings on it and produces a strong sound, where the lighter stringed Spector is more articulate with a lower fundamental. It takes noticeably more effort to pluck the thick HB strings, hence the strong sound.

I realise it's a dodgy comparison in terms of tone, since they are different constructions, materials and electronics.

I expect someone must have been here before and decided to change string gauge?

If I put thicker strings on the Spector to get a louder fundamental, will it stop being articulate?

Also, my son gifted me some very light gauge strings which I'm not sure if I'd like? Packet says they are funky?

I'd be interested to hear about any experience you have of changing string gauges.

[Lozz196]

The pickups will make a huge difference in the sound, with each bass type rather famed for how you’re describing the sound. Putting heavier gauge strings on the Spector will make it beefier but you should retain the articulation.

[Norris]

It's actually a fairly complicated bit of physics. The thicker the string, the more metal mass vibrating in a magnetic field -> higher output -> louder. But the thicker the string, the more tension required to achieve a given pitch for the scale length.

 

Some people prefer a lighter, hence lower tension string, which has a bit more "compliance". They may be slightly lower output but you can adjust your pickup height, and after all amplifiers have volume controls.

 

It's actually more down to personal preference. I usually play with a medium/heavy set of strings. However it's good fun playing my son's Hofner violin bass with short scale and light gauge sometimes - very bendy strings. It's really down to what you like. Try the skinny strings.

 

"Articulate" is more down to your technique.

[Mykesbass]

4 hours ago, Norris said:

 

"Articulate" is more down to your technique.

Agree completely with the first couple of points, but articulate when used about bass tone is one of those words like heft, it is a subjective description.

 

I'd say strings can have a lot to do with this, having switched from laBella flats to d'addario  Chromes. The laBellas give a lovely warm thunderstorm, but the chromes have a bit more crispness to them, which to me sounds more articulate.

 

@Al Nico have fun experimenting - one of the cheaper versions of Gas 😀

[Al Nico]

@Lozz196 @Norris @Mykesbass

Hi. Thank you for the replies. You seem you understand my ambiguous reporting. It's a tricky one. As you mentioned, the experience of changing from playing heavy to playing light stings, is a delightful experience.

While I'm learning I like the higher effort needed for the heavy strings, to develop strength in my little finger. I think I've done that now and gone past sore fingers a few months ago.

Just left with a tingly left index finger tip, I think that is permanent nerve damage, so should never feel sore again.

Ultimately, I will have to experiment to find what I like, but thank you for passing on your thoughts.

 

[Mykesbass]

28 minutes ago, Al Nico said:

@Lozz196 

While I'm learning I like the higher effort needed for the heavy strings, to develop strength in my little finger. 

 

Sorry, Lozz, can't seem to delete your tag, and this is not responding directly to you.

 

Al, you have raised another very important point here. Your right hand technique does not want to be too strong. This is something I am guilty of - digging in. It really doesn't help your tone. You need to let the pickups and amplifier do the heavy lifting. Turn up, play lighter. You get a more even vibration this way. I was always a bit sceptical about this until I saw Nick Fyffe playing with the Temperance Movement. He had the biggest, most driving sound you could wish for, and was hardly touching the strings. Stupidly, I STILL can't do it (left it too late).

[Reggaebass]

I don’t know the physics of this but years ago I used to think bigger fatter strings would give me more bass but I don’t think this is the case , I went through so many different ones trying to find the right ones for me, I only use 2 now which are labella LTF’s and labella 760FL , I wouldn’t say I got a stronger sound from the heavier gauge ones just a different sound, I play with a very light touch and never dig in, the hardest ones I found were the Jamerson flats, nice sound but pretty high tension, try as many different ones as you can and you’ll find the right ones for you 

[HeadlessBassist]

13 hours ago, Al Nico said:

Hi. I am now the lucky owner of two, albeit budget, bass guitars. A Harley Benton TB-70, the thunderbird derived instrument with a set neck, and a Spector with a spangly bolt on.

The HB has noticeably thicker strings on it and produces a strong sound, where the lighter stringed Spector is more articulate with a lower fundamental. It takes noticeably more effort to pluck the thick HB strings, hence the strong sound.

I realise it's a dodgy comparison in terms of tone, since they are different constructions, materials and electronics.

I expect someone must have been here before and decided to change string gauge?

If I put thicker strings on the Spector to get a louder fundamental, will it stop being articulate?

Also, my son gifted me some very light gauge strings which I'm not sure if I'd like? Packet says they are funky?

I'd be interested to hear about any experience you have of changing string gauges.

 

Sounds like your son has given you some Rotosound 'Funkmeister' strings. They'll likely be ultra light Mark King spec 30-90 set, or similar. In order to run these, you'll need a very stable (full graphite neck or wooden with graphite support poles) and solid neck.

 

I'm going to second Reggaebass here. I use 30-90 gauge on two of my basses, and 40-95 Elixirs on all of the others. I find the Elixirs light enough to have decent flexibility, but also plenty of tension. The tone at the end of the day comes mainly from the pickups (some body wood resonance) and the density of the fingerboard material, which gives the percussive quality. I generally like a bass to work with me, and not against me. I shouldn't have to work hard to play it. I did a two hour live show with no interval last night. Hands and fingers were fresh as a daisy even by the end of the show. So the 40-95 Elixirs are a very good compromise, last 30-40 shows at a time and are highly recommended.  

Edited 5 hours ago by HeadlessBassist

[HeadlessBassist]

2 hours ago, Mykesbass said:

Al, you have raised another very important point here. Your right hand technique does not want to be too strong. This is something I am guilty of - digging in. It really doesn't help your tone. You need to let the pickups and amplifier do the heavy lifting. Turn up, play lighter. You get a more even vibration this way. I was always a bit sceptical about this until I saw Nick Fyffe playing with the Temperance Movement. He had the biggest, most driving sound you could wish for, and was hardly touching the strings. Stupidly, I STILL can't do it (left it too late).

 

Very true, Mykesbass - you can't articulate or play with dynamics if you're constantly beating the thing to death!

[Al Nico]

@Mykesbass Yes I agree. I have no intention of bashing the instruments or playing hard, apart from the odd bit. I've been conscious of longevity while practicing.

I've played in bands doing two 1.5 hour sets with a guitar. That's physically easy, but with the 12kg HB-70 with big strings, I last four songs standing before back cramp sets in.

It's partly why I got the Spector, to see if I can stand an play it without back cramp, and I can.

 

@Reggaebass Thank you for that. Assuming your username reflects a style you aim at, you would likely have considered, and tested how much bass you get from any sort of string, so I'm putting that advice directly into my scrap book.

 

@HeadlessBassist Funkmeister sounds familiar. The've got packed away for now, so can't check. What I find is the lighter strings with their increased dynamics or articulation, need a bit more even playing to stay even sounding, where the bigger ones are a bit easier to keep even.

 

I've already started to prefer a particular bass for particular songs I'm practicing. In the end, I want a bass guitar that does it all.

Which one shall I get for that, and which strings?

[bertbass]

When I started playing, early 60s, there were no such thing as wire wound / round wound strings, only tape wound strings, now called flats and I hated them.  No brightness at all but then bass was not supposed to sound bright, only bassy.  

 

Then wire wound strings appeared and suddenly there was tone and I used them straight away but still wasn't totally happy, the bottom E always seemed to have too many overtones and was always floppy in that the note would be slightly sharp and then settle down to the right note.  This was with the most heavy string available, 45-105. I suspected that the second problem was me 'digging in' but if you're getting into it and performing it's impossible not to play hard, for me anyway and still is. 

 

A few years ago I discovered heavier gauge strings, 50-110 and gave them a try and suddenly I had a proper note and no floppiness on the E string and here I've stayed.  Newtone strings are now my string of choice, 50-110, and I'm a happy chappie and it's far to late to try to change my style and how can you possibly do a windmill lightly.

 

I still hate tape wound strings / flats with a vengeance and just can't understand why anyone would choose them but that's just me.

 

Sorry for the ramble but that's my string story. 

[HeadlessBassist]

52 minutes ago, Al Nico said:

@Mykesbass Yes I agree. I have no intention of bashing the instruments or playing hard, apart from the odd bit. I've been conscious of longevity while practicing.

I've played in bands doing two 1.5 hour sets with a guitar. That's physically easy, but with the 12kg HB-70 with big strings, I last four songs standing before back cramp sets in.

It's partly why I got the Spector, to see if I can stand an play it without back cramp, and I can.

 

@Reggaebass Thank you for that. Assuming your username reflects a style you aim at, you would likely have considered, and tested how much bass you get from any sort of string, so I'm putting that advice directly into my scrap book.

 

@HeadlessBassist Funkmeister sounds familiar. The've got packed away for now, so can't check. What I find is the lighter strings with their increased dynamics or articulation, need a bit more even playing to stay even sounding, where the bigger ones are a bit easier to keep even.

 

I've already started to prefer a particular bass for particular songs I'm practicing. In the end, I want a bass guitar that does it all.

Which one shall I get for that, and which strings?

 

As for what makes a good all rounder bass, there are many variables. What sound do you like best? Which players do you wish to emulate (slightly), and what's the budget? Also, the type of music you're playing counts for a lot, too.

 

Generally, I'd say that by the sounds of your mention of articulation, I'd go for a Fender Jazz. (Boring choice, I know!) American if you can afford it, Mexicans are very good these days if not. It's the one that can do literally everything. Make sure you try before you buy if you can, so you can assess the feel of the instrument in your hands and actually hear it. Some of them just hit the spot sound-wise. If you like that active punch of the Spector, I'd have a look at a few Spector Euro LX's. They're great basses, and very accessible on the used market.

[Al Nico]

2 minutes ago, HeadlessBassist said:

 

As for what makes a good all rounder bass, there are many variables. What sound do you like best? Which players do you wish to emulate (slightly), and what's the budget? Also, the type of music you're playing counts for a lot, too.

 

Generally, I'd say that by the sounds of your mention of articulation, I'd go for a Fender Jazz. (Boring choice, I know!) American if you can afford it, Mexicans are very good these days if not. It's the one that can do literally everything. Make sure you try before you buy if you can, so you can assess the feel of the instrument in your hands and actually hear it. Some of them just hit the spot sound-wise. If you like that active punch of the Spector, I'd have a look at a few Spector Euro LX's. They're great basses, and very accessible on the used market.

The Fender Jazz is a good choice. I borrowed an active one a long time ago to record with and liked the sound. I do seem to like the twangy bass guitars, like the Spector. Mine is a passive EMG thing and the HB is active. 

I'm not after endless tone shaping, just good sounding pickups to select. The EMGs on the Spector sound nice when the string clanks the frets, I end up doing it on purpose, slapping the string with finger tips, but the HB sounds bad like that.

 

The challenge is to play an instrument before buying. I've introduced myself at the local guitar shop and they might be able to help a bit in that respect. They have a billion guitars, and half a dozen basses, two are acoustic, one fretless. Tricky.

[Al Nico]

46 minutes ago, bertbass said:

Sorry for the ramble but that's my string story. 

Thank you. Please, no apology needed. It's interesting to me.

[HeadlessBassist]

18 minutes ago, Al Nico said:

The Fender Jazz is a good choice. I borrowed an active one a long time ago to record with and liked the sound. I do seem to like the twangy bass guitars, like the Spector. Mine is a passive EMG thing and the HB is active. 

I'm not after endless tone shaping, just good sounding pickups to select. The EMGs on the Spector sound nice when the string clanks the frets, I end up doing it on purpose, slapping the string with finger tips, but the HB sounds bad like that.

 

The challenge is to play an instrument before buying. I've introduced myself at the local guitar shop and they might be able to help a bit in that respect. They have a billion guitars, and half a dozen basses, two are acoustic, one fretless. Tricky.

 

Yes, I used my Jazz Elite last night. Sadly, my newly acquired Nate Mendel Precision didn't get a look in. The Elite at full chat with the preamp on was potent and powerful for most numbers, and palm muted and passive with half passive tone for the quieter ballads. Even my "vintage" passive American Original can do any job on its own. Full 50s-60s tribute show, or technical power trios. I'd have a trawl through the marketplace on here. You can find some good instruments for very little money.  

Edited 2 hours ago by HeadlessBassist