Low Tension bass strings?

[lfmn16]

I have tendonitis in my left hand and am looking for some low-tension bass strings. Someone at a music store told me that the DR nicklewounds are good. I've also gotten some other conflicting advice. I would appreciate any input. They will go on a new Musicman SR4 fretless. I'm willing to sacrifice some tone for ease of playing.

Thanks.

[TomB]

Thomastik-Infeld jazz flats are the lowest tension I've experienced.

[MarTONEbass]

DR Lo Riders are NOT low tension. Also, wrap material does not influence tension IME.

I used to use EB Slinky's for low tension.

[Jeff 66]

Perhaps the guy at the music store was referring to DR Sunbeams in particular. They are nickle, but the reason for the soft tension has more to do with the round core.

They are my absolute favorite string. Love the sound and feel of nickels, and the soft tension makes playing effortless. I have found that Dunlop nickels are a passable and lower priced alternative, but nothing can take the place of my Sunbeams.

I play them on a Spector Euro4LX, and I like the combination of the slightly smoother sound of nickels to take some of the hyper-aggressive edge out of that TonePump!

If this thread has legs, I predict that you will have several others urging you to give Sunbeams a try!

[mmbongo]

DR Sunbeams are the lowest tension strings I've used. The low tension comes from their round core.

[Jeff 66]

^told ya^

[dmusic148]

I feel for you, been there, it's a bummer. But I don't think light strings are going to be a solution. The effort required to fret even heavy strings is minimal, if you really examine it, unless your action is sky-high. It's about your technique. You are simply using far more effort than necessary to fret your bass, a common problem. This often happens when one has a heavy plucking or picking hand- the other hand tends to follow this and mimic the effort, even if it isn't needed. Or when a player attempts to execute difficult passages that they aren't really up-to-speed on, they will often over-exert in an attempt to compensate for sloppy technique. These things aren't done consciously, they just happen.
Slow down, and really examine how much effort you are putting into fretting. See how much force is actually required to keep a note from buzzing.
Search youtube for excellent Gary Willis videos on the subject, here's one:
Gary Willis On Finger Pressure - YouTube

[knuckle_head]

Stick with the brand(s) you know and like but get thinner gauges.

[rmars]

Originally Posted by MarTONEbass

DR Lo Riders are NOT low tension. Also, wrap material does not influence tension IME.

I used to use EB Slinky's for low tension.

I would have to disagree with that. I have played Slinky's on and off and have always had to loosen my truss rod when switching to DR's Nickel Lo-Riders. It's enough to be measurable in the relief or the action at the 12th fret and that is with the comparable gauges in each brand.

DR Sunbeams are very low tension in my opinion (round core makes the string more flexible) and the Hi-Beams are pretty low as well. Lo-Riders would be more tension than Hi-Beams or Sunbeams but no were near the high tension of say , Fender strings.

[mmbongo]

Originally Posted by MarTONEbass

DR Lo Riders are NOT low tension. Also, wrap material does not influence tension IME.

I used to use EB Slinky's for low tension.

I actually find Slinky's to be pretty high tension. Weird.

[Johnny Alien]

Originally Posted by TomB

Thomastik-Infeld jazz flats are the lowest tension I've experienced.

Ti Jazz Flats are very ow tension for a flatwound string but are not far off a light roundwound set tension-wise. There are plenty of roundwound strings that have less tension than TI Jazz Flats.

I also disagree about just getting a lower gauge. That WILL be lower tension but not as much as going from a hex core to a round core.

DR Sunbeams and TI Jazz Flats are both the lowest tension rounds that I can think of with the TI set taking the cake. They are also very warm and have tight smooth windings. Easily my favorite rounds BUT Sunbeams are also good and about half the cost.

[ixlramp]

Only knuckle_head mentioned gauges. Why did no-one else mention gauges? Gauge has more effect on tension than anything else.

There is of course a tension difference between different brands of the same gauge, and differences in 'perceived tension', flexibility, and this advice is useful. But you must also consider gauges. Changing brand while keeping the same gauges may reduce tension by around 10% but the OP sounds like he wants an absolute minimum tension for effortless playing and a bigger reduction than that.

So it's essential to reduce the gauges as well as choose a flexible brand or string type. I've been experimenting with finding a practical minimum tension for the last few years, and have been down as low as 25 pounds on my fretless (equivalent to an 80 E).

I recommend using a very flexible brand or string type in an extra-light set with perhaps around 25 to 30 pounds tension (that's an 80, 85 or 90 for E). Stiff strings sound bad at low tension, a flexible string also responds better to a light touch. I find D'Addario XL nickels flexible.

An even tension across the strings (balanced tension) is also more comfortable and less stressful on the hands, most sets have a tension that is significantly top heavy or middle heavy.
I recommend using the D'Addario tension chart to design an even tension custom set: http://www.daddario.com/upload/tension_chart_13934.pdf. For example 85 60 45 32 for around 25 pounds with nickel rounds.

Or Circle K Strings sell carefully balanced tension sets of nickel rounds: Circle K Strings - Standard Balanced 4 Strings
.090 .067 .049 .035 will have around 31 pounds tension by their tension chart: http://circlekstrings.com/CKSIMAGES/...nsionChart.pdf

NOTE: By 'stiffness' and 'flexibility' i don't mean tension or perceived tension, i mean the inherent stiffness or flexibility of the string at ZERO tension.

[ixlramp]

Originally Posted by Johnny Alien

I also disagree about just getting a lower gauge. That WILL be lower tension but not as much as going from a hex core to a round core.

Reducing the gauges by a required large amount will always create a tension drop that exceeds that created by keeping the same gauges and changing brand or core type. For example stringing with 70 50 35 25 for EADG is much less than half standard bass tension and is actually around guitar tension, changing brand or core won't get you that low. Tension is determined by mass. mass is primarily determined by gauge (with a little variation between brands caused by construction and materials). There's only so much tension drop possible while keeping the same gauge.

[RFMac]

TI JR 344s (nickel) are the absolutely lowest tension strings I have ever played. The gauge is also very light, so much so that some will have trouble adjusting. If they are too light then DR Sun/Highbeams in a light gauge are a great choice as others have suggested.

[Derek Kiernan]

Originally Posted by ixlramp

Or Circle K Strings sell carefully balanced tension sets of nickel rounds: Circle K Strings - Standard Balanced 4 Strings

I've recently put on their balanced set of 41 to 102, which is "easy" for my guitar playing friends used to skinny strings The light sets by other manufacturers are insufficient for achieving low-tension results due to the disparities between the strings, especially the higher tension on the G and D. I could easily see going for the next lightest set and still getting great results.

[mmbongo]

Originally Posted by Derek Kiernan

I've recently put on their balanced set of 41 to 102, which is "easy" for my guitar playing friends used to skinny strings The light sets by other manufacturers are insufficient for achieving low-tension results due to the disparities between the strings, especially the higher tension on the G and D. I could easily see going for the next lightest set and still getting great results.

This is where a custom gauged set comes in. You can get a custom set of Sunbeams right here:

DR SUNBEAMS Build your own Custom String Set!

My next set will be exactly these, I'm going to try
.40
.60
.85
.105
To put up against my Circle K .41-.102 set and decide which I like better. When I originally replaced my Sunbeams (45-100) with the CircleK's I remember liking the sound of Sunbeams a little better, but loving the gauges of the Circle K's.

If I do go that route with the Sunbeams, I'll be sticking to the Circle K .136 B string for my 5 string basses, as I have not found a better B string, and DR does not seem to offer many (if any) .135 strings.

[Derek Kiernan]

Hope it works out! I can see how some people really like the tone of those strings. I've used "custom sets" of D'addario and Dean Markley before but gotten somewhat worse results than what I'm currently getting with Circle K, which I imagine is partially is in considerations like core to wrap ratio, number of wraps, and general rigidity, but it's not as though no other string company can engineer their strings similarly - I just haven't experienced it and suspect my attempts at custom sets have suffered for it.

[Johnny Alien]

Originally Posted by ixlramp

Reducing the gauges by a required large amount will always create a tension drop that exceeds that created by keeping the same gauges and changing brand or core type. For example stringing with 70 50 35 25 for EADG is much less than half standard bass tension and is actually around guitar tension, changing brand or core won't get you that low. Tension is determined by mass. mass is primarily determined by gauge (with a little variation between brands caused by construction and materials). There's only so much tension drop possible while keeping the same gauge.

OK, but a 40-100 round core set should be less tension than a 40-100 hex core set. You can go a much lower gauge on the round core but I would think that eventually you would be dealing with a pretty darn light gauge set. 95-100 on the E is pretty darn light. It would be interesting to see what gauge round you would need to get to equal the low tension on a TI Jazz Round set. Those have a 95 E and a round core.

[darkstorm]

Lowest tension steel roundwound strings Ive liked that also had good sound to me have been Dean markley blue steel. DR neons and sunbeams are medium light tension to me. Dean Markley blue steel are bit lighter in tension.

[jasper383]

The lowest tension strings I have ever played, without a doubt, are the Thomastik Infeld Jazz Rounds, the JR344 set. Not the flats, which are really easy on the hands, but the Jazz Rounds.

The JR344 set is my suggestion. They are expensive, but if you have hand issues, I can't recommend them highly enough. They make other round sets, even of lighter gauges, seem heavy by comparison.

Nothing else is as soft, and I have played just about every string/gauge out there.