How much can a neck take?

[sir juice]

I play a 5 string Rockbass Corvette and I love really heavy, high tension strings (I bought my first bass used with 105-55 Fender flats and have considered that standard tension ever since).

On this bass I use D'addario XLs, with the gauges

040

065

080

105

135

I did this as I want the most tension in the lower strings and I thought I should compensate really high gauges with fairly low ones.

Would my neck be able to cope if I were to put the highest gauge XLs available? (135, 110, 085, 070, 55)

ps. Mods, I'm not sure whether this belongs in strings or setup and feel free to move it as you like.

[Darkstrike]

Should be fine.

[fuNKmaster83]

it all depends... i have seen necks not handling the lightest of strings... but if it is an ok bass then nothing can be to much...

[Bass Below]

your tensions are:

B- 38.18
E- 42.71
A- 44.51
D- 54.39
G- 35.71

Not very uniform, that D string is way high, and the B and G are low. Try this:

B- .145 - 43.89 lbs.
E- .105 - 42.71 lbs.
A- .080 - 44.51 lbs.
D- .060 - 45.49 lbs.
G- .045 - 45.35 lbs.

In other words, change your .040 to a .045, change your .065 to a .060 and change your .135 to a .145, all D'Addario XL's, and you'll have nearly perfect tension all the way across the board. Your neck will thank you and it'll be much easier to play.

[Parabolic Box]

It'll be fine, but you'll have to get it set up, or else you'll be playing a bow.

[LowBSix]

Originally Posted by sir juice

I play a 5 string Rockbass Corvette and I love really heavy, high tension strings (I bought my first bass used with 105-55 Fender flats and have considered that standard tension ever since).

On this bass I use D'addario XLs, with the gauges

040

065

080

105

135

I did this as I want the most tension in the lower strings and I thought I should compensate really hi gauges with fairly low ones.

Would my neck be able to cope if I were to put the highest gauge XLs available? (135, 110, 085, 070, 55)

ps. Mods, I'm not sure whether this belongs in strings or setup and feel free to move it as you like.

WOW, I'm in the Los Angeles area and sometimes have trouble finded 130 for the B!

I like 35 45 65 85 105 130 on my 6 and the same on 5 and 4's. AGREED you should get set up checked so the truss rod(s) are adjusted properly to counter act the heavier tension....
Good Luck

[sir juice]

Originally Posted by Bass Below

your tensions are:

B- 38.18
E- 42.71
A- 44.51
D- 54.39
G- 35.71

Not very uniform, that D string is way high, and the B and G are low. Try this:

B- .145 - 43.89 lbs.
E- .105 - 42.71 lbs.
A- .080 - 44.51 lbs.
D- .060 - 45.49 lbs.
G- .045 - 45.35 lbs.

In other words, change your .040 to a .045, change your .065 to a .060 and change your .135 to a .145, all D'Addario XL's, and you'll have nearly perfect tension all the way across the board. Your neck will thank you and it'll be much easier to play.

I didn't know it was possible to get 145. XLs. I'll try and track one down. Would you say 45 lbs of tension is high?

[Bass Below]

You can get the whole set I put together for you straight from D'Addario's site. Just buy them as singles. I think 45 lbs. of tension is just right. That .065 at over 54 lbs. was high, IMO.

A .145 tuned to B on a 35" scale is mighty nice, if you ask me

[sir juice]

Sorry to be pedantic, but how high tension is "mighty nice".

I'm used to Fender flats.

How do they compare?

[Bass Below]

Originally Posted by sir juice

Sorry to be pedantic, but how high tension is "mighty nice".

I'm used to Fender flats.

How do they compare?

To me, mighty nice is in the 40-45 lb. range. That's just my preference and it's what I consider playable high tension. High tension to me is anything in the 50 neighborhood and above, but that's not a playable neighborhood, at least to me, and it's also getting up into the neighborhood that can damage a less-than-good quality neck. Especially if the set is uneven.

I've never tried Fender flats, so I can't say from my own experience, but I hear the Fenders are relatively high tension, I'd assume the heavier set is somewhere in the 40-50 lb. neighborhood, but at the same time i would assume that it's not very uniform across the board, only because so very few pre-packaged sets are anywhere near uniform.

[Dave Muscato]

It's impossible to say with certainty; guitar necks are made from wood and warping/twisting/bending/bowing is a natural consequence of this. Some specific pieces of wood are more stable than others, and it also depends on the age of the wood, how well it was dried before they made a neck out of it, the finish on the neck, the type of truss rod, whether any other reinforcement was included (graphite rods, a volute, laminations, etc) in the design, what tuning you use, and lots of other factors. There's only one way to find out - give it a whirl and see what happens

[GabeN]

.105-.45 isn't that heavy a guage. Many basses are set up with .110 E strings with no probs. I run my corvette with 105 lo-riders and the tension isn't all that high. I took all the strings off to clean the body and the neck relief wasn't all that different with no tension. Warwick necks are gnarly thick so there's no problemo's with heavy strings.

[bassteban]

Originally Posted by fuNKmaster83

...i have seen necks not handling the lightest of strings...

What happened?