This may sound a bit odd...

[pseudo7]

Sorry for the intriguing title, but i think it's weird.

I have a flea bass FB4 and it is really nice, i got a good exchange rate from £-->$ so i cost the me less same as a stingray in england, anyway. My previous bass had a sightly longer neck an the strings were always nice and tight. I have looked around and aparently i need some sort of metal tube that fits around the string snuggly so that when i string it into the bit at the bottom (sorry mental block) the string sticks out a bit more making it longer.

Where do i get these metal tube things or is there a better way of getting tighter strings without changing gauge (i have fresh strings).

I relisise that i am rubbish at explaing things so tell me if i have been unclear.


p.s. the flea bass is awesome and i can't seem to fault it it's just that i like the strings tight.

[Jaco D]

I got this tip from Gary Willis' book 100 Bass Tips. Anyway, to get more tension from the strings, you have to lengthen the distance between the nut and the ball end. To do this, get those computer board offsets (any computer parts shop should have that or ask for one from a techie). This is how they look like:



Mounted, it looks like this:



This will work if you have a top loading bridge that strings through the backplate and not the clip-on type.

[TrooperFarva]

What about thicker strings? I don't know what the stock strings on a Flea bass are.

[Cochise]

Sorry, but I don't get it. No matter how much farther you pull the string through the bridge it still only vibrates between it's 2 fixed points ie the saddle and the nut, so you are not actually lengthening the string, just moving it along a bit (if that makes sense). Someone please explain how this works (if indeed it does)

[pseudo7]

not sure how it works, but i'm willing to give it a go, thanks!

p.s. I don't want thicker strings (flea bass .45 etc)

[Jaco D]

Originally Posted by Cochise

Sorry, but I don't get it. No matter how much farther you pull the string through the bridge it still only vibrates between it's 2 fixed points ie the saddle and the nut, so you are not actually lengthening the string, just moving it along a bit (if that makes sense). Someone please explain how this works (if indeed it does)

Here's how Gary describes it in the book:

"Before I got the opportunity to design my signature bass, I was looking for a way to add tension to the lower strings (B and E) without resorting to a 35" or obnoxiously big string guages. A fairly easy way to tighten up the B and the E is with PC board spacers. These little 1/4" spacers are fairly easy to find at electronic stores. Slip them over the strings before you insert the strings through the bridge. The length of spacer is sometimes limited by the cloth wrap at the other end of the string. The wrap could contact or rest on the nut if you try to extend the string too far in the other direction. A half an inch is usually safe and will make a noticeable difference in tension."

Though he didn't explain the "why's" behind the trick, my hunch is the theory is similar to that behind the string trees in the headstock (duh, I could be wrong). I've seen some off-the-shelve basses that have this thing done to their low Bs so there might be some merit to it (or it's just some useless feature to jack up the bass' price). Here's one from Yamaha:



Hey Pseudo, give it a try and let us know if it works. I'm interested in knowing myself.

[middy]

[Son of Magni]

OMG, not again...

[fretless Bob]

Originally Posted by Son of Magni

OMG, not again...

+1

the idea is simple, it just adds more taughtness to the string and has nothing to do with the pitch. just makes it a little stiffer to the touch and meaning that it vibrates better over the pickup.


Dave

[middy]

How can it add "taughtness" (hey, you made up a new word!) to the string without affecting the tension (which would affect the pitch)?

[Jim Carr]

tautness = tension?

[fretless Bob]

i was trying not to say tighter or tension, so i made up a word, go figure??

think of it like a 35" scale bass, the B, E, A, D, G are still the same notes as the ones on a 34" scale bass, and on a 33" scale but there is just more tension to the string, this affects the tone and feel of the string but you still tune the strings to the same pitch.

same as how you get many sizes of piano but they all have the same notes, another way to think of it is the longer the scale the tighter the string, the clearer the sound, but its nothing to do with the pitch.

so adding a spacer to the end of the string just streches the scale length out a little.

does that make sense??


Dave

[jeffhigh]

Ok , this question of the Gary Willis mod comes up every few months.

The facts are

-it is based on an incorrect understanding of physics

-it does not work and cannot work.

-If you try it and find that it improves your bass, you are imagining the improvement or have done something else at the same time such as fitting new strings.

The only way to increase the string tension on a bass of a certain scale and fixed pitch is to use heavier strings.

And no, I will not use IMHO to qualify the above

[middy]

Originally Posted by fretless Bob

so adding a spacer to the end of the string just streches the scale length out a little.

does that make sense??

Nope. The scale length is unchanged, the string gauge is unchanged, the pitch is the same. Therefore the tautness is the same.

[ehque]

It doesn't work, assuming the the strings act as perfect strings instead of steel bars. Actually, they act like a bit of both.

Jaco D, im quite sure that "spacered" B in the yamaha is to allow the saddle to move more to compensate for intonation if it's screwed up badly.

[73jbass]

The same string over the same distance,tuned to the same pitch, equals the same tension. Period. I dare anyone to prove otherwise.

[fretless Bob]

Originally Posted by middy

Nope. The scale length is unchanged, the string gauge is unchanged, the pitch is the same. Therefore the tautness is the same.

the length of the string is changed, it has another 1/4 inch on the end of it now, how is it not longer??


Dave

[stedtale]

Originally Posted by fretless Bob

the length of the string is changed, it has another 1/4 inch on the end of it now, how is it not longer??


Dave

String length is measured from nut to bridge.

[stedtale]

This does a good job of explaining it.

http://www.liutaiomottola.com/formulae/tension.htm

how to calculate tension:


T = tension in pounds;

UW = unit weight of the string, in pounds per linear inch;

L = vibrating length of the string (for an open string, this would be the scale length-nut to bridge) in inches;

F = frequency of the note to which you will tune the string, in Hz;


1. Everything else being the same, pitch increases as tension increases;

2. Everything else being the same, tension increases as scale length increases(this is nut to bridge);

3. Everything else being the same, tension increases as unit weight increases, thus a heavier gage string will be under greater tension;


http://www.liutaiomottola.com/myth/perception.htm
By moving the end points of the string (but leaving the string length the same), I think you may change the "feel" of the string-the perception of tension, but not the tension (see above "perception" article) and you may change the break over angle, but that's about it. The string may feel different because it has more room to "move" side to side. To change the tension, but leave string gage, and nut to bridge length the same changes the pitch.

But, as with all things, try stuff out, if it works for you, use it, even if it's all a mental thing, if you think it works better for you, do it.

[God of Rapture]

Yeah.... there is no way that is doing anything.