.145 B String on Modulus

Angus · #1 08-04-2000, 01:40 PM

Ok, i posted about this in another thread, but nobody is really helping me with it, so ill ask it more in a more specific thread here. Will this string have too much tension? Ive heard of people using them before. Any thoughts? Id like a .135 B in D'addrio XLs, but the only one they make in long scale is tapered, which i dont want. Remember that my bass is 35" scale, and a graphite neck, so it wont warp or anything. I dont want to use another brand, because i really like these. Any thoughts please?

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"Watch out, im gonna throw another duck at you!"

~Prez. Biski

BassIsBest · #2 08-04-2000, 07:02 PM

If your going to stick with that brand of string no matter what, and a tapered .135 B is all they make, then you are S.O.L. Unless you wanna fork over the CA$H to get a custom string. That is, if you really don't want the tapered string. I had to get a custom made .150 low B string made and I hated it. Strings CAN be TOO big.

peace M.A.

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There ain't no moral to this story at all, and anything I tell you very well could be a lie. I been away from the livin', I don't need to be forgiven, I'm just waitin for that cold, black, sun-cracked, numb inside, soul-of-mine to come alive - los Refreshments

Angus · #3 08-11-2000, 04:24 PM

Just bumping back to top, as i still need more help! JT, if youre there, what would YOU say?

**john turner** · #4 08-11-2000, 05:13 PM

hey

you know, i bet your .145" would be fine, tensionwise. i mean, think about it, you can use a .80 - .85 for an A, so an A an octave lower would be .160", with the same tension.

i think a .145" for a b would be fine. especially with a graphite neck.

oh, and dean markley makes a .150" taper wound, they have for a couple of years. it is big, i use it as a low F#.

btw, angus i really think you oughta consider the tapers - they last longer, they sound better, and they intonate much better, especially when the strings are that big.

Angus · #5 08-11-2000, 08:18 PM

Thanks JT! One post took said everything i needed! Thanks! Anyway, i will...TRY the taperwound again...I know they intonate better, but the feel is just weird to me. When i order the .145, ill order taper and non taper...even though they feel weird! Thanks again, and ill tell you how it works in the end.

**john turner** · #6 08-12-2000, 12:31 AM

they shouldn't feel any different, but you may need to raise the bridge saddle a bit to compensate for the change in string contact point. tapers are going to be closer to the board since they are sitting in the saddle lower.

so try raising your action, just about 1/16" of an inch. that might help.

Angus · #7 08-12-2000, 12:50 AM

Yeah, i figured. Ive used then before, the Conklin Snake Skins, which are basically your strings. SUPER tapered. They felt mucho different. You could tell it was tapered by the feel. Hard to describe. It just felt less stable. But ill try!

**john turner** · #8 08-12-2000, 10:29 PM

another reason it might feel less stable is that your bridge saddle might have a bigger groove in it than is necessary, to accomodate non-tappered strings. some bridge saddles are filed down to accomodate strings, in which case if yours was filed down, it might feel a little "wobbly" at the saddle. you might need to get a new saddle - real cheap. if it's that kind of bridge, some bridges are, some aren't

Angus · #9 08-12-2000, 11:17 PM

Well, its the exact bridge youve got! ABM, i believe.

**john turner** · #10 08-13-2000, 09:01 AM

well, check the saddles, the ones on my conklins are brass that have been filed down a bit to provide a good seat for the string, with a special detent at the bottom for taper strings, so that they don't move around in the larger groove. the saddle grooves don't look exactly like a U, but sorta, with a little downward dent at the bottom - this way both tapered and non-tapered strings will sit in the saddles snugly, and all i have to do is adjust the action (and intonation of course) when i change what kind of string i am using.

Angus · #11 08-13-2000, 11:07 AM

Yeah, mine is the same, with exception for the extra stuff you had done to it, and mine isnt brass. Well, ill be going to GC today, i think, to order them. Two sets, 50-70-85-110-145, and 50-75-95-110-145. Im experimental! The lighter set will probably have the tapered. Man, i hate setting intonation! Ggggrrr...

BUT, the grooves are small enough to handle any taper winding, because they are VERY small grooves, but the strings hold perfectly. So yeah, its all set for taperwounds, if i want them. But man, setting intonation! argh.

**john turner** · #12 08-13-2000, 12:31 PM

it's a good idea to re-set your intonation every time you change strings, even with the same gauge, but definitely with different gauges.

i know it sucks, but just be glad you don't have to do it on 7 or 8 strings.

Angus · #13 08-13-2000, 06:46 PM

Hehe, yeah. I do check intonation, but usually only when i change gauges or string brand/types. It tends to stay perfect otherwise it would be too much of a pain, because i change sets almost every week, because i kill my B, E, and A, and usually D, in a couple of days because i play so much. And theyre NICKEL! boiling doesnt help them at all.