Ernie Ball Slinkys: Balanced Tension for DGCF

[yannn]

Hi guys,

I really like the tone of my current Super Slinky (Nickel) set (45-65-80-100), but they feel way to loose when tuned to DGCF and I want to try one of those "balanced tension" sets everybody is excited about.
Ernie Ball doesn't publish the tension for their strings, so I used the D'addario tension chart for a quick calculation.
I tried to find the tension that suits my needs best and I found the tension of my .100 E perfect when it's tuned to G. According to the D'addario tension chart that would translate to a tension of 51.6lbs.
So I searched for a balanced tension set at about 50lbs and this is what I got:

F .055 50.0lbs
C .075 53.7lbs
G .100 51.6lbs
D .135 50.9lbs

Can this actually be right? A .135 D string? That's way thicker than everything you normally use. In fact most manufators sell .135 as a thick low B string!
Has anybody got experiences with a balanced set like this? Can I even use the D'addario chart to search for a balanced set of Slinkys or are there significant differences?

[ixlramp]

Yes you've correctly derived those gauges. If you like a .100 E tuned up to G that's 51.6 pounds. A .135 B string is actually a low tension string at 36.1 pounds, almost all sets have the B at a low tension. So this is why a .135 D looks big. 50 pounds per string is tight but will have the same total tension as a 50-105 set.

Two strings of the same gauge but from two different manufacturers will have slight differences in tension, but not by much, so you can use the D'Addario charts as a rough guide.

[yannn]

I just ordered my custom set of EB Slinkys.
I'll see how I like that D string and the overall feel of a tension balanced set.

[FunkMetalBass]

50 lbs seems a bit high and stressful on the neck. I might recommend you back it off to a .130 - .090 - .070 - .050, but that's just me.

If you really look at the balanced tension sets that Circle K offers, you'll see that there is actually a bit less tension on the thinner strings. This provides a more balanced output from string-to-string, but still feels relatively balanced.

[ixlramp]

Originally Posted by yannn

I just ordered my custom set of EB Slinkys.
I'll see how I like that D string and the overall feel of a tension balanced set.

Cool, it will be good to hear what you think.

Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass

If you really look at the balanced tension sets that Circle K offers, you'll see that there is actually a bit less tension on the thinner strings. This provides a more balanced output from string-to-string, but still feels relatively balanced.

Yeah I like that I always design my sets that way. But I arrived at that design by selecting purely by feel, and calculating the tension afterwards to see what I liked. It felt very even in feel, I was expecting even tension, but surprised to see a steady drop in tension to 2/3rds at the top string (over 6 strings in fifths though!)

[yannn]

Got my strings today. As far as I can tell now they are awesome. The tension seems to be nicely balanced and the overall playing comfort is great. I will definitely keep buying tension balanced sets.
The .135 D string seemed a bit thick at first, but it's really perfect. Exactly like I wanted it to be.

[ixlramp]

Excellent!