idea for one of my basses

[thump_dumpster]

so i kinda wanna do something in the uber-heavy realm.

can i get some reccomended gauges for F# - B - E - A that can take a good whole step down and not play like a wet noodle?

[joe vegas]

a bit off-ramp, but just wanted to say that apc instruments had the "quake" bass at NAMM, tuned high to low as:

E (our low E, as high string)
B
F#
C#
G#

played through a ELF bag end rig... just gorgeous ultra ultra low, creamy church-organ madness..
and all their strings come from circle K, who can certainly fix you up as needed.

[ixlramp]

This set from Circle K Strings:

4 String Set - Balanced Standard 182
.182 .136 .100 .076

... assuming a 34" / 35" scale.

If you take a look at the Circle K tension Chart pdf, you'll see that a .182 F# detuned to E has 30.8 pounds of tension, knuckle_head (technical boffin at Circle K) recommends 30 pounds as a minimum tension for excellent tone, 30 pounds is a low tension but not floppy. Likewise detuning all strings to EADG octave down .182 .136 .100 .076 all have more than 30 pounds tension. Tuned to F#BEA they will be a very even medium tension.

I'm sure these strings are better than the F#BEA sets from Rotosound and Warwick

[Metal Matt]

Originally Posted by ixlramp

This set from Circle K Strings:

4 String Set - Balanced Standard 182
.182 .136 .100 .076

... assuming a 34" / 35" scale.

If you take a look at the Circle K tension Chart pdf, you'll see that a .182 F# detuned to E has 30.8 pounds of tension, knuckle_head (technical boffin at Circle K) recommends 30 pounds as a minimum tension for excellent tone, 30 pounds is a low tension but not floppy. Likewise detuning all strings to EADG octave down .182 .136 .100 .076 all have more than 30 pounds tension. Tuned to F#BEA they will be a very even medium tension.

I'm sure these strings are better than the F#BEA sets from Rotosound and Warwick

+1. I have that exact set on my MIM Fender P-bass for F#BEA and it sounds great. Tried tuning it to drop E and found the .182 to be too floppy at that tuning, but it's perfect for F#.

[Metal Matt]

Originally Posted by thump_dumpster

so i kinda wanna do something in the uber-heavy realm.

can i get some reccomended gauges for F# - B - E - A that can take a good whole step down and not play like a wet noodle?

So you want to be able to go from F#BEA down to Low EADG?

For that, I'd say just tune it to EADG all the time and get the next larger set from the one ixlramp mentioned, which is .190 .142 .106 .080.