I just bought the wrong size strings, didn't I?

[Travisx2112]

I think I've bought thicker strings rather than thinner ones :/ I was looking for thinner strings for my Ricky 4003, so I thought "oh, I'll buy 90-30 gauge Rotos! They'll be thinner than my usual 45-100 Ernie Ball strings that I play." Now I'm thinking that I did the opposite, because with speaker wire, the lower the number, the thicker the wire. Is that the case as well with bass strings as well?

[DRafalske]

No, you were correct. The gauges are actually thousandths of an inch (I think), so the bigger the number the larger the string.
D

[CopperheadLXXIX]

No, it isn't like speaker wire. If you bought 90-30, that is uber-lite.

[JDJen]

90 - 30's.... I'd have a broken strings in about 10 minutes.

[Floyd Eye]

You may have bought the wrong strings. If it buzzes, you'll need a new nut or you'll have to go back to the thicker strings.

[conqr]

Indeed, you may have wanted to try 40 - 100 or 40 - 95 before going all the way down to 30 - 90 - that's quite a reduction in tension on the neck and may require a truss rod adjustment.


...which is no issue really but some seem uncomfortable doing it for some reason.

[ggunn]

Originally Posted by Travisx2112

I think I've bought thicker strings rather than thinner ones :/ I was looking for thinner strings for my Ricky 4003, so I thought "oh, I'll buy 90-30 gauge Rotos! They'll be thinner than my usual 45-100 Ernie Ball strings that I play." Now I'm thinking that I did the opposite, because with speaker wire, the lower the number, the thicker the wire. Is that the case as well with bass strings as well?

You know, I have never understood the rationale behind the AWG system of wire sizing, where smaller numbers mean bigger wire. I mean, once you get to zero, what do you do? Well, you go to multiples of zero. 2/0, 4/0 (two-ought, four-ought), etc. To make things worse, it's not a linear scale; a #2 wire is not twice as thick as a #4 wire.

Fortunately, in string sizing, a more rational approach has prevailed; the numbers refer to the actual diameter of the string in thousandths of an inch. Bigger numbers mean thicker strings, and a .050 string is twice as thick as a .025 string.

[cassius987]

40-55-75-95 is a really good set of light gauges, look for something like that. I think they have a set like that in GHS Boomers.

[otis_thick]

I have used 30-50-70-90s for years and love the tone! They may not fit your playing style if you always dig in...on the other hand it really depends on your ATTACK style young master! Here are a few demos...these are recorded direct with the bass' on board EQ.

http://www.4shared.com/audio/jh1KEA3...about-you.html

http://www.4shared.com/audio/8IpO_mil/2-magic.html

http://www.4shared.com/audio/xHfPdFi...oTrack_01.html

[C.Linton]

Originally Posted by ggunn

You know, I have never understood the rationale behind the AWG system of wire sizing, where smaller numbers mean bigger wire. I mean, once you get to zero, what do you do? Well, you go to multiples of zero. 2/0, 4/0 (two-ought, four-ought), etc. To make things worse, it's not a linear scale; a #2 wire is not twice as thick as a #4 wire.

Fortunately, in string sizing, a more rational approach has prevailed; the numbers refer to the actual diameter of the string in thousandths of an inch. Bigger numbers mean thicker strings, and a .050 string is twice as thick as a .025 string.

Yeah, it can get a little confusing. I believe the thinking is along the lines of (bear with me) of how many pieces of wire you can fit side by side in the space of (let's say) an inch. In other words the thicker the wire, the less pieces will fit in that one inch. So, 16 guage wire means you can fit only sixteen pieces in that inch, but twenty guage, which would be thinner would allow you to fit 4 more pieces in that same space than the 16 guage wire. I hope I explained that right. I do agree it seems counter-intuitive

[JimmyM]

hey, the dude may end up liking these strings. i used to use 35-90 a long time ago and only stopped because i couldn't get them in an xl set of d'addarios, only pro steels. i see they have a 35-95 set in xl's now...great...just in time for me to go back on my flatwound kick

[Travisx2112]

Yeah I guess I'll find out when I get them! Got them off of the bay, and they shipped yesterday from America I do tend to attack my strings like mad, so I may break them quickly haha.

[JTE]

Originally Posted by C.Linton

Yeah, it can get a little confusing. I believe the thinking is along the lines of (bear with me) of how many pieces of wire you can fit side by side in the space of (let's say) an inch. In other words the thicker the wire, the less pieces will fit in that one inch. So, 16 guage wire means you can fit only sixteen pieces in that inch, but twenty guage, which would be thinner would allow you to fit 4 more pieces in that same space than the 16 guage wire. I hope I explained that right. I do agree it seems counter-intuitive

That's sort of like shotguns. A 12-gauge means it takes 12 balls that size to make a pound of lead, while the smaller 14 gauge means it takes two more balls of lead that size to get to a pound.

Wire gauge is actually originally based on how many times the wire had to be drawn through the dies to get a specific diameter. Bigger wire required fewer draws, so they had smaller numbers.

And as has been pointed out, strings are sized by actual diameter in thousandths of an inch. That "45" is actually 0.045" nominal diameter. So your E string went from 0.100" to 0.090". Now that's a big jump. I hope you know how to (or aren't afraid to learn- there's great resources listed in the sticky of the "Hardware, Setup, and Repair" forum of Talk Bass) do a basic set-up. You'll need to adjust your truss rods, and reset your intonation, and probably your bridge saddle heights with these substantially lighter strings.

John

[Bassamatic]

Wire Gauge - Yeah - I have looked at it like the bottom of a fraction. 12 Ga. is 1/12 of an inch, etc.

Kinda like camera f-stops - where bigger number = smaller size.