Floppy Strings are Awesome

[Toastfuzz]

Ever since I first saw this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qshXOioiT7g) way back when, I've loved seeing and feeling my strings flopping all over the place. My preferred setup (and what I have on my 6) gets me solid tone, good sustain, but the feel of the strings are so fluid, they bounce all over. In my metal band, I'd slam the B string and it'd flop around and bounce right back into my finger as if it was waiting to be slammed on again. Everyone constantly is looking for solid B strings; I understand if you're in a jazz band or something similar where you're playing with a delicate touch, but when I'm rockin or funkin out, I love floppy strings.

Anyone else feel the floppy love?

[MilkyMcMilkMilk]

I enjoy it. When i tune my bass down 1 whole step not only is it nice and low but the floppiness gives you a wild tone that i can't get without downtuning.

[Phalex]

If it aint tight it aint worth a ....

[Toastfuzz]

Originally Posted by Phalex

If it aint tight it aint worth a ....

Tell that to the cougars who roam the bars in my college town.

Wow sorry if that offended anyone, I couldnt help myself

[Phalex]

Originally Posted by Toastfuzz

Tell that to the cougars who roam the bars in my college town.

Wow sorry if that offended anyone, I couldnt help myself

I LOL'd out loud!

[Pedulla?]

I had my four string tuned A D G C (tenor bass) and one night I got bored and detuned all the way down to standard and its awsome! Not only are they floppy but their thin gauge strings anyway playing is effortless. Slapping and popping is the least demanding thing in the world on this thing now. Also Michael Mannring uses thin gauge strings so I guess even one of the greats likes the flop also.

[Toastfuzz]

Nice...I figured I was just gonna get flamed all over the place for saying I actually enjoy loose strings

[greenboy]

Done a lot of playing on roundwounds like this:

C: 24 (guitar string)
G: 32
D: 45
A: 60
E: 85
B/A: 120 tapered

If I didn't have a Hipshot on the B I'd get by just fine changing the lowest strings to:

E: 80
B: 110

After you play a long time on a light balanced-tension set you no longer notice them as "floppy" - they seem normal.

[staindbass]

my b string is at a flat- 3 tones down ! i am the king twiddler of steel spaghetti strings. it takes twice the effort to play stacatto and with extreme punctuality and hammer transients. there is nothing like the shudder of low end. its worth the extra work. johnny a. staind

[kserg]

Originally Posted by Toastfuzz

Tell that to the cougars who roam the bars in my college town.

Wow sorry if that offended anyone, I couldnt help myself

haha!

[Largedon]

This is actually something I've wondered about for a while. It seems when I listen to some players it sounds like the strings are floppy. One player who comes to mind is Armand Sabal-Lecco, it just sounds like the strings are a little floppy and I really love his tone. I'm specifically thinking of his bass duet with Stanley Clarke on East River Drive, I believe the song is Lords of the Low Frequency but I'm not positive. It always sounded really cool, its just not the cleanest sound ever.

[SwamiRob]

Originally Posted by greenboy

B: 110

All I hear is noise when I tune my 110 E down to B... fair enough though.

I like the tight feel though, I'm tempted to go up if anything from 110-90-70-50.

[greenboy]

I couldn't have sounded good on a 110 years ago. I was always looking toward 135. But I started gradually taking my sets toward lower gauges a bit at a time, getting used to it and learning what could be done. It's no big deal now - as long as the set has fairly balanced-tension so I'm not going from a tight to a light on adjacent strings. That throws you off.

I suppose it depends on bass and rig too, as far as having the right sound around for the gig.

[Toastfuzz]

Originally Posted by greenboy

I suppose it depends on bass and rig too, as far as having the right sound around for the gig.

Yeah I'm sure theres alot of bass/string/pickup combinations that would not work nearly as well. I play an Ibanez, which apparently is fairly well known to thrive in metal and downtuned environments...I know its true for me, at least.

[greenboy]

Actually my fretless Six used to be a early/mid-nineties fretted SR506, and in transition it was working well with very close to those gauges - no problem crossing style boundaries either. Now it's an epoxy fretless neck, and I routed for Q-Tuners which are going through a 3-position switch and then straight to the Roland GK control assembly that's permanently attached. The strings work even better now : }

[insomniac2295]

Originally Posted by Phalex

If it aint tight it aint worth a ....

If it aint loose you cant tap worth a ....

[Lokire]

Floppy strings all around for me! TI Jazz Rounds (.89 E) on my electrics.

TI Acousticores on my short-scale acoustic. 30" scale, and I tune down an ADGC set to standard EADG. Perfect

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by Toastfuzz

Ever since I first saw this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qshXOioiT7g) way back when, I've loved seeing and feeling my strings flopping all over the place. My preferred setup (and what I have on my 6) gets me solid tone, good sustain, but the feel of the strings are so fluid, they bounce all over. In my metal band, I'd slam the B string and it'd flop around and bounce right back into my finger as if it was waiting to be slammed on again. Everyone constantly is looking for solid B strings; I understand if you're in a jazz band or something similar where you're playing with a delicate touch, but when I'm rockin or funkin out, I love floppy strings.

Anyone else feel the floppy love?

Doesn't make any sense to me. Why deliberately make the instrument more difficult to control?

Whatever...

MM

[lemur821]

Originally Posted by SwamiRob

All I hear is noise when I tune my 110 E down to B... fair enough though.

I like the tight feel though, I'm tempted to go up if anything from 110-90-70-50.

The trick is to put it right next to something even floppier. I've currently got a .100 A string (the 27 Hz one) and it's just fine compared to the .130 E below it. What I've realized is that tuning a string down a fourth or a fifth from its intended pitch really just puts it about where normal guitar strings are in terms of tension, and that gives a little perspective on what's a matter of adjustment and what's plain crazy. I'd say anything with more than 15 lbs. of tension is good to go. Below that you get warbly, no matter what you do.

Originally Posted by MysticMichael

Doesn't make any sense to me. Why deliberately make the instrument more difficult to control?

Think of it as making the instrument more sensitive and dynamic.

[LuvMaMetal]

When I play Slipknot with my good ol' floppys, it sounds much better than anything else, or I just like my bass the way it is I can't tell