Poor B and E-string tension, can new strings help?

[Skip_NJ]

I just set up my deluxe jazz....for the first time ever. I hadnt really touched it for a long time because it was kind of unplayable. The relief on the neck was .060" instead of fender's recommended .012", the action was like a 1/4" above the 17th fret, pickups were too high, and intonation was way off. I finally got the tools I needed and got everything in line, but now I notice that the strings are very loose and clank/buzz on the fret board if I dig in at all. This is not the case with my fender p-bass thats always in drop d and always professionally set up. I think the strings on the 5 are GHS boomers 045-130. Can different strings improve the tension or is this just a feature of the bass?

[Jim Nazium]

Different strings won't change the tension unless they are a different gauge (strictly speaking, it's mass per unit length, not gauge, that determines tension, but they're closely related). Raising the action will reduce the fret buzz of course, and will increase the tension of the fretted notes since you'll have to stretch the string down farther to reach the fret.

As long as there are no issues such as uneven frets or improper relief, you can either raise the action, use heavier strings, or play softer.

[Skip_NJ]

I think Im going to try Roto flats on it. Im looking for more of a smooth deep sound for this bass anyway so hopefully I can get that, and the Rotos are supposed to have higher tension. I notice the string buzz is only when I fret around the 5th, 6th, and 7th frets so I suspect there's an uneven fret higher up the fretboard some where. Its actually not that bad, quite tolerable. The rest of the strings are fine too.