Is frequently changing gauges bad for the neck?

BRfan · #1 12-04-2010, 10:47 PM

Hey guys,

I play in a pop/country cover band and really like D'Addario 45-100 nickel rounds for that style (really piano-like) but I'm also in a punk band where Ernie Ball 50-105's (regular slinky's) are the way to go. I have an MIA Jazz that I'm currently in love with that I want to use for both bands. Is swapping from gauge to gauge fairly often (once a month or so) going to hurt anything?

Duke21 · #2 12-05-2010, 12:27 AM

I don't think so. As long as the tension is balanced and the tension is not too high, no. The neck doesn't care for which strings are on it, it only cares for the tension distribution/ level.

darkstorm · #3 12-05-2010, 02:18 PM

I dont think it will hurt the neck, but playability is gonna suffer unless your tweaking the truss rod each time to. Then your not going to be haveing ideal for you truss rod adjustment due to constantly changeing. Better to have one bass for one and the other for the other imo. Or find a new diff string that performs well for both settings sound and feel wise instead of useing two diff strings.

JimmyM · #4 12-06-2010, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkstorm

I dont think it will hurt the neck, but playability is gonna suffer unless your tweaking the truss rod each time to. Then your not going to be haveing ideal for you truss rod adjustment due to constantly changeing. Better to have one bass for one and the other for the other imo. Or find a new diff string that performs well for both settings sound and feel wise instead of useing two diff strings.

i agree. constant truss rod changes can lead to neck instability, and you usually need to adjust the truss rod for string gauge changes. if you don't, then it should be ok.