I tune to drop c in my current band. i was wondering what everyones suggestions would be for strings in this tuning. i have tried ernie ball heavy's that were alright and dunlop meds that are just plain bad. any suggestions?
I am currently using ernie ball Power Slinkies, the 110 gauge (I tune drop c as well). I really like them, but due to the size my action is really high. If I had the guts to do some major modifications to my bass like filing the nut and whatnot I would keep using heavy strings, but 105's work just fine for me.
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Traben Club #51 Praise & Worship #617 AZ Bands #3
Well it depends on what bass you have, the 110's might work nicely. They definitely have great tension, much better than the 105's overall, but the C is going to feel looser than the others by comparison in any case. Intonation is a nightmare unless you know how to do a good set up (which I don't ). I would suggest going to 110's before trying 115's, just to get a feel for them. Plus you might run into issues like I did, as in one of the strings being too big for the nut.
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Traben Club #51 Praise & Worship #617 AZ Bands #3
Well it depends on what bass you have, the 110's might work nicely. They definitely have great tension, much better than the 105's overall, but the C is going to feel looser than the others by comparison in any case. Intonation is a nightmare unless you know how to do a good set up (which I don't ). I would suggest going to 110's before trying 115's, just to get a feel for them. Plus you might run into issues like I did, as in one of the strings being too big for the nut.
I agree. I've been using Power Slinky's for a few years now and as long as I have my bass's intonation checked every 4 to 5 months, they work well. You'll get used to the extra looseness of the drop C tuning. I compensate by playing closer to the bridge at faster parts, both with a pick and with my fingers depending on the situation.
One of the other things that will effect tension, probably even more than gauge, is the core of the string, is it round-core or hex-core. Hex-core strings have a noticeably stiffer feel than round core strings and are more well-suited to lower tunings IME. Examples of hex-core strings are D'addario XLs or DR Lo-Riders (my personal favorite).
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Stuff I use:
Fender Am. Std. Jazz V
Fender MIM P-bass
Markbass LMII
Epifani PS112 (x2)
Spector Club #2; Bongo Club #12; Genz-Benz Club #20; Epifani Club #92; Carvin Club #218
). I would suggest going to 110's before trying 115's, just to get a feel for them. Plus you might run into issues like I did, as in one of the strings being too big for the nut.
