Double Bass Are low tension strings the solution to easier playing?

[Selim]

Here’s a parallel in the bass guitar world —
Thomastik jazz flats
La Bella low tension flats

They are VERY similar strings in that both are very low tension (for the BG world) and they are pretty close to the same gauges. The La Bellas by the numbers are actually lower tension than the Thomastiks, but the La Bellas can be plucked a lot more forcefully without “bottoming out” than the TIs. The LBs are springy (stiff) out of the pack, the TIs are more like wet noodles..

 

[Selim]

Thanks for the info, Selim. Now I'm even more confused.

I figured that would happen. That’s why I put in the disclaimer!

 

[AGCurry]

Okay. After thinking about this question while sitting on the can - where some of my best thinking is done - here's my empirically-derived hypothesis:

Gut strings, while having low tension, resist deflection more than other strings, due to their construction. Example: When I pluck a D on my plain-gut A string, it can take a little more left-hand pressure to stop the note properly than it would for, e.g. a Spiro weich, because the string resists deflection more and therefore "wants" to extend the vibrations to the portion of the string behind the finger stopping the note. I think we can call that quality "stiffness," distinct from tension.

Corollary: The outer portion of a string resists the deflection of its core, so thick strings are inherently stiffer.

 

[the_Ryan]

I don't understand this distinction between "stiff" and "tense." As it affects playing, how does a string's behavior out of the box relate to its tensed behavior?

Stiffness/pliability and tension are two different things. For any individual string the stiffness will increase/decrease as you increase/decrease tension, but the construction of a string can change the stiffness/perceived tension (so can things like the break angle over the bridge or, weirdly, sound post placement), which is why strings with similar tensions on paper can feel quite different from each other.

 

[inhalement]

i brought my bass to the gentleman who made it for a soundpost adjustment when i switched strings.

What were your strings before/after? I have EP weichs on my bass, and when I asked my luthier if he would change the soundpost positioning when throwing on spiro weichs he flat out said "no". Not doubting that setup is much more important than string tension, but to what's the extent to Gary saying that "When you change the strings, we want to change the soundpost"? He made it sounds like it's an "always" thing

 

[the_Ryan]

What were your strings before/after? I have EP weichs on my bass, and when I asked my luthier if he would change the soundpost positioning when throwing on spiro weichs he flat out said "no". Not doubting that setup is much more important than string tension, but to what's the extent to Gary saying that "When you change the strings, we want to change the soundpost"? He made it sounds like it's an "always" thing

A soundpost adjustment is probably not necessary every string change, but I don’t doubt that a one set of strings will respond better to some soundpost positions on one bass compared to another set of strings. That being said, the biggest changes to my bass’s sound and response have largely been due to bridge size/thickness and the soundpost position has only really been messed with to make finer adjustments.

 

[groooooove]

What were your strings before/after? I have EP weichs on my bass, and when I asked my luthier if he would change the soundpost positioning when throwing on spiro weichs he flat out said "no". Not doubting that setup is much more important than string tension, but to what's the extent to Gary saying that "When you change the strings, we want to change the soundpost"? He made it sounds like it's an "always" thing

I would agree that for the most part, EP weich and spirocore weich would be fine with the same soundpost position.

strings that are lower in tension, or have more movement/flexibility, need the post further away. This was coming from a violin maker who makes lots of baroque instruments as well, so he's seasoned in gut vs modern steel strings when it comes to setup.

I went from spirocore weich to tempera. About half the tension, so the soundpost adjustment was worth it.

 

[afroblue]

I went from spirocore weich to tempera. About half the tension, so the soundpost adjustment was worth it.

Did you have the sound posted moved further south from the bridge? Curious as to how far as well…..

 

[groooooove]

Did you have the sound posted moved further south from the bridge? Curious as to how far as well…..

If i am recalling correcting, yes, further away.

The gentleman who made my bass also makes baroque instruments, viols, etc, so he's seasoned in modern instruments as well as low tension gut string instruments.

I do remember asking questions as I waited for him to make the adjustment. I recall he described it as "there is a general zone where it would go" (we've all read it's own width south of the bridge) - in the case of gut/low tension, you want to go to the outer edge of that normal placement area.

 

[Earl]

If i am recalling correcting, yes, further away.

The gentleman who made my bass also makes baroque instruments, viols, etc, so he's seasoned in modern instruments as well as low tension gut string instruments.

I do remember asking questions as I waited for him to make the adjustment. I recall he described it as "there is a general zone where it would go" (we've all read it's own width south of the bridge) - in the case of gut/low tension, you want to go to the outer edge of that normal placement area.

I have found with gut on my bass the soundpost needs to go a little further north which helps with clarity.