Balanced tension strings and vintage (7.25") radius necks query

[Dincrest]

Hello Talkbass,

Question for all of you.

I'm thinking about trying a set of balanced tension strings (specifically GHS Balanced Nickels) on my recently acquired 2018 Fender Aerodyne PJ (which is a superb bass), but that bass has a vintage 7.25" radius (as far as I know) fingerboard, and the train of thought among many people is that balanced tension sets don't work as well with such a round radius neck since the A and D strings are further from the pickups. Conventional gauged sets have thicker A and D strings to compensate for that "hump" whereas balanced tension strings have thinner A and Ds.

Has anyone tried a set of balanced tension strings on a 7.25" vintage radius-necked bass and what were your results? Am I simply worrying too much and letting the "voices of the Internet" get in my head?

I've been searching and asking around but not been able to find any info/insight, so I figured I'd try starting a thread to see if I can get your insights and hopefully help someone else along the way.
(And I know a common answer will be "get a set and try 'em for yourself" but it never hurts to get a little insight first).

Please and thank you for all your help.

 

[Moving Pictures]

I have D’Addario BT XLs on my AVII 60s Precision. They work well for me. Notes are clear and clean across all strings. I would assume it’s the same with GHS strings.

 

[ardgedee]

If @Jon Moody is still active maybe he can chime in. He is or used to be affiliated with GHS.

 

[Eddie Booph]

I just put a set on my CS jazz. Didn't notice any of the issues you are worried about. I did notice a fantastic sound coming from the speaker cab though...

 

[GwenOnBass]

A large part of the balance of Balanced Nickels is they have the same number of wraps string to string.

 

[andare]

Shouldn't be an issue. Anyway split P pickups can be angled to balance voume across the strings.

 

[jplunara]

I’m usually way too far over the edge with details like this, and I can’t seem to remember thinking that per se when I used them on a small radius neck. That bass also made me realize that 9.5 is my sweet spot.

Just know that on the jazz pickup, it will not be even sounding without compression. The split P you can angle properly.

Those GHS balanced nickels are a really nice string set, they last a while.

 

[Dincrest]

@4-Banger Good point about the J pickup. One of my Aerodyne's previous owners (I'm the third owner) modded it with an EMG Geezer PJ set. Love the sound of the Geezers but, yeah, the J isn't radiused like, say, a DiMarzio Relentless. I don't really use the J, though. I keep the P volume maxed out and use the J volume almost like a second tone knob.

@Moving Pictures I've tried D'Addario BTs on my other bass (a modded ESP/LTD HTB-600). That bass has a more modern flatter radius neck (I think it's 400mm or about 16") and it likes balanced tension strings. The D'Addario XL BTs felt great, but dulled out on me too quickly. I wish D'Addario made ProSteels in balanced tension sets.

 

[nanbanpapa]

Hello Talkbass,

Question for all of you.

I'm thinking about trying a set of balanced tension strings (specifically GHS Balanced Nickels) on my recently acquired 2018 Fender Aerodyne PJ (which is a superb bass), but that bass has a vintage 7.25" radius (as far as I know) fingerboard, and the train of thought among many people is that balanced tension sets don't work as well with such a round radius neck since the A and D strings are further from the pickups. Conventional gauged sets have thicker A and D strings to compensate for that "hump" whereas balanced tension strings have thinner A and Ds.

Has anyone tried a set of balanced tension strings on a 7.25" vintage radius-necked bass and what were your results? Am I simply worrying too much and letting the "voices of the Internet" get in my head?

I've been searching and asking around but not been able to find any info/insight, so I figured I'd try starting a thread to see if I can get your insights and hopefully help someone else along the way.
(And I know a common answer will be "get a set and try 'em for yourself" but it never hurts to get a little insight first).

Please and thank you for all your help.

I have D'Addario BT XL on my Sire V7 gen 1, with a vintage radius, and I never had any issues. As a matter of fact, the reason why I switched to a balanced set, on that bass, was because I felt that the D string was too stiffer in comparison to the others. When I tried a balanced set I felt at home.
btw, I also have the GHS Balanced Nickels on another bass, and they are great

 

[michael_t]

I wish D'Addario made ProSteels in balanced tension sets...

D'Addario is probably the most readily available brand for singles. Why not a custom set? Either 45-60-80-105 or 45-80-60-110?

.045 = 39.7 lbs.
.060 = 38.0 lbs.
.080 = 37.1 lbs.
.105 = 34.8 lbs. or .110 = 38.2 lbs.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Hectobar]

No problem with the balanced nickels. Biggest difference was the g string was awesome. To me the same number of wraps thing was significant as mentioned above.

 

[Moving Pictures]

@Moving Pictures I've tried D'Addario BTs on my other bass (a modded ESP/LTD HTB-600). That bass has a more modern flatter radius neck (I think it's 400mm or about 16") and it likes balanced tension strings. The D'Addario XL BTs felt great, but dulled out on me too quickly. I wish D'Addario made ProSteels in balanced tension sets.

I’m seeing that with the D’Addario set now. I put them on when I got the bass in the summer. The E string is the first to lose its freshness. When fresh they really do sound good and they do feel nice. I’ll likely move to Hi Beams when I’m ready. That’s a string I really like.

 

[Lo-E]

You might be overthinking this a bit.

I use D’Addario balanced tension XLs on a variety of fingerboard radii and pickups and I’ve never noticed any problems in terms of volume balance.

I also order custom sets of DR Sunbeams to get balanced tension (or close to it) and I use those on a variety of radii and p’ups as well without problems.

The only bass I have strung with the GHS balanced nickels has a 12” radius - so not really addressing your question directly - but the pickups are flat across the top and I haven’t noticed any issues.

 

[sonojono]

You might be overthinking but now you got me thinking to try a set on my 7.25” radius fretboard

 

[sonojono]

If @Jon Moody is still active maybe he can chime in. He is or used to be affiliated with GHS.

According to his LinkedIn profile, doesn’t look like he works for them anymore

 

[michael_t]

According to his LinkedIn profile, doesn’t look like he works for them anymore

You're right. Jon moved on within the last couple of years.

 

[J Wilson]

Trains of thought often derail . . . . .

Just buy a set and try them. All this is yak yak yak until YOU feel them under your hands. Insight's a great thing, but none of us can tell you exactly what you're going to feel.

I put some on a 7.5" Jazz and the thing for me was it felt like four of the same string, the matching tension made my muscle memory uncomfortable, but they may suit you or someone else just fine. GHS makes terrific strings, used them for years and they NEVER vary, which I can't always say about other brands.

Jon did leave GHS, and while I hope his new gig is a great success, he was one more wonderful industry professional willing to try and educate this bunch, not an easy thing. Sure miss him.

 

[SunByrne]

I wish D'Addario made ProSteels in balanced tension sets.

As noted, easy to buy singles. GHS Super Steels are not quite perfectly balanced tension, but they're certainly better than a typical 45-65-85-105 set.

I am a string tension nerd who also likes balanced tension. I have GHS Balanced Nickels on one of my short scale basses—they were originally designed for short scales—and they're great there. Most of my other basses have custom sets or D'Addario BT sets on them to get something close to balanced tension. GHS Super Steels on one, close enough to balanced that I can deal.

Anyway, yes, the strong curvature of the neck will tend to make the middle strings in a balanced tension set a little quieter. (One of a few reasons I don't care for low-radius fretboards.) Easy to fix on a split P but more of a potential issue with the J pickup. It's not that bad, though. You might not notice it, but then again, you might. Certainly worth a try.

And +1 for what @J Wilson said about Jon.

 

[Dincrest]

Thanks for all the insight people have offered regarding the Balanced Nickels. I have a lot of food for thought (especially since my bass is a PJ and my favorite tone is the P volume maxed out and the J volume at 75% with the tone in the middle. The Geezer J matches nicely with the Geezer P).

And, again, I'm very much a string-GASer (I use the Pokemon analogy; Gotta try 'em all) so I'm always looking to try stuff to see what strings my basses like best. And I enjoy "nerding out" on strings. So thanks for indulging me on that too!

And, yeah, GHS SuperSteels are strings I want to try on my ESP/LTD (which has a flatter radius fingerboard). It liked the D'Addario balanced tension 45-107 set, but it also likes the Dunlop Hybrid Nickel "red box" 45-105 set... though both of those went dull on me quicker than I would have liked.

 

[iiipopes]

Hello Talkbass,

Question for all of you.

I'm thinking about trying a set of balanced tension strings (specifically GHS Balanced Nickels) on my recently acquired 2018 Fender Aerodyne PJ (which is a superb bass), but that bass has a vintage 7.25" radius (as far as I know) fingerboard, and the train of thought among many people is that balanced tension sets don't work as well with such a round radius neck since the A and D strings are further from the pickups. Conventional gauged sets have thicker A and D strings to compensate for that "hump" whereas balanced tension strings have thinner A and Ds.

Has anyone tried a set of balanced tension strings on a 7.25" vintage radius-necked bass and what were your results? Am I simply worrying too much and letting the "voices of the Internet" get in my head?

I've been searching and asking around but not been able to find any info/insight, so I figured I'd try starting a thread to see if I can get your insights and hopefully help someone else along the way.
(And I know a common answer will be "get a set and try 'em for yourself" but it never hurts to get a little insight first).

Please and thank you for all your help.

Yes. It's not just that the strings are further from the pole pieces of a standard pickup, unless it is a conventional P-bass pickup that you can adjust the halves separately, or has inherent arched poles, like some J-pickups and some newer Rickenbacker pickups, or are adjustable like a DiMarzio Model J. Signal strength in the magnetic field varies as the square of the distance of the string from the magnetic pole. That's why traditional sets are still sold: balanced output at the top of the poles at the expense of the feel of the string: a larger mass string, usually larger diameter, will induce a stronger signal, all else being equal.