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.125 E string on 4 string bass

kserg

kserg

Feb 20, 2004
10,832
85
45
San Jose, CA
#1
So I just fixed my bass (new tuning pegs, and new strings woopie!) I've decided to try something, i set up my 4 string bass (dean edge 4) as .125, .85, .65, .45 ...So far i like it, but a question that i have is, does putting 125 instead of 105 damage bass in any way? I mean if 125 wears into the neck I'd probably have hard time going back to 105s as they will be a little loose? No?

Thanks
Cheers
 
#2
i would imagine you needed to widen the nut slot to accomodate that monster 125 - i have some of my 4 strings strung up with 50-115, and the 115 is pushing it as far as fitting in a normal nut without modification. that said, the widening of the nut will probably not have much of an impact if you decide to go back, so long as the slot doesn't get any deeper (this could cause fret buzz).

JR
 
#4
JGR said:
i would imagine you needed to widen the nut slot to accomodate that monster 125 - i have some of my 4 strings strung up with 50-115, and the 115 is pushing it as far as fitting in a normal nut without modification. that said, the widening of the nut will probably not have much of an impact if you decide to go back, so long as the slot doesn't get any deeper (this could cause fret buzz).

JR
Click to expand...

Yeah, there are a little spacing in the nut, but no buzz yet (also buzz that i had on 105 is gone (it was on 14th fret, always).

lemur821 said:
You might consider getting a new nut made for the thicker strings. Then if you want to switch back it's a simple matter of sticking the old nut back in and re-stringing.
Click to expand...

Hmm, any idea who might make em custom? I doubt i will find one that is 125, 85, 65, 45 ...sounds too weird to mess produce. :)
 
#6
lemur821 said:
I'd just walk into my local guitar shop with a nut blank and ask them to file some slots for the gauges I want.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good idea :)

Thanks guys... Atleast now i am not worried that i am not messing up anything big by doing this (i was a little worried about neck and such)...

Btw i freaken love this 125, using Marcus Miller DR strings... A, D, G sound very very bright and the E sounds very very deep. I like it. :)
 
#7
.125 is a monster compared to the other string's guage if you're tuning to E. It's mostly commonly used as a B. I hope you don't have neck issues later down the road, it's hard to tell now.

Oh, and you're buzzing's probably gone now because you're pulling on the truss rod more (IE more relief).
 
#9
dave64o said:
Holy Cow! A .125 E?!?! If you played a 5 string you'd probably be the first person in history to break the magic 1.000" barrier! :D
Click to expand...

1.000" is for light weights, if i get a 5 strings i am going with bridge cables for B string:

cd001_golden_gate_cable_vertical.gif


:D
 
#10
ibz said:
.125 is a monster compared to the other string's guage if you're tuning to E. It's mostly commonly used as a B. I hope you don't have neck issues later down the road, it's hard to tell now.

Oh, and you're buzzing's probably gone now because you're pulling on the truss rod more (IE more relief).
Click to expand...

Hmm, so you think it might cause problems down the road?
 
#11
There is a certain balance of tension on a neck offered by most standard string gauges- putting a string like that in the mix will upset the balance quite a bit, so I would worry about the neck twisting towards the E side over time (depends on how solid your neck is, but I imagine that even the most solid neck will be affected by that kind of strain over a long period of time). I used to use heavy Rotosound flats on my old Carvin bass- they were 50-110 gauge and were pretty tight (in standard tuning) but also very balanced- I would try a .110 gauge E first, if you haven't already. The .005 actually makes a decent difference in my experience, and wouldn't be quite as much of an inequity tension-wise.

Karl
 
#12
kserg said:
1.000" is for light weights, if i get a 5 strings i am going with bridge cables for B string:

cd001_golden_gate_cable_vertical.gif


:D
Click to expand...




I can see the ad now - "Golden Gate Bass Strings - When a low F# just isn't enough."

:D



EDIT - Just to clarify, this is NOT a knock on extended range basses. I know that kind of thing gets people riled up and I wanted to make sure it's clear that's not what I intended.
 
#13
D'addario has a big .pdf chart on its site that lists tension for strings at different pitches than standard. Using XL Nickel Wounds as a guide, a .125 string tuned to E on a 34" scale exerts 55.8 lbs. of tension, and a 45-65-85-125 set would be 198.3 lbs. total.

That's not too bad when you consider that their standard XL160 set (50-70-85-105) is 202.2 lbs. total and its 70 D string is 60.1 lbs. So the good news is that you're not likely to damage your neck.

But the bad news is that there's no way you can get a balanced sound with that large an E compared to the other strings. And even though the pounds of tension aren't too high, there's another thing to consider: when a string gets too thick for a given pitch and scale length, it reaches the point where it can get out of tune with itself as you play, it doesn't vibrate quite like it's supposed to. I'm not saying this would happen in your case, but it could.
 

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