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BEAD

Ken J

Ken J

Hartford Hot Several Brass Band
Aug 19, 2011
1,218
668
66
Middlefield, CT
#1
Picked up a bass as a project guitar. I acquired an Ibanez SRX300 (34” scale) for $75.00. This one only has a few hours on it and is in mint shape. I’m looking to string it BEAD. Skip the Luthier I work with said he will take care of everything but told me I needed to provide him with the strings of my choice. I’m looking for some recommendations. I’ve been a novice musician all of my life and have in the last few years picked up playing bass. I have in my position five basses and I’m looking into a 5 string but not until after the first of the year. I have recently acquired a Squire fretless and loving it and still trying to find the grove I’m most comfortable with.
Any recomendations on strings?
 
#3
I've tuned to to BEAD on a 4-string Ibanez bass using a set of Circle K Strings - gauges 0.142" (B) 0.106" (E) 0.079" (A) 0.059" (D). You will likely need to widen the nut slots or replace the nut.


34" scale is a bit short for a low B string. I personally prefer a longer scale for BEAD or BEADG.
 
#6
I use the lower 4 strings of a 5 string set of Sadowsky Flats .065-.085-.105-.130 (Taper Core B string). My BEAD bass is a FrankenFender with a 34" scale 1-5/8 nut, Lollar P-J pups, Babicz Bridge. Sounds great! I did have to have the nut slots resized for the thicker strings. I've invested here, and you get what you pay for.

Sadowsky 5s are 34" - certainly not cheap! I also had a nice Carvin 5 - 34" scale - not boutique, but not cheap either.
 
#7
Thanks for the reply’s back. I’m aware of the guitar modifications but was looking for feedback from experience with strings. So far I have two types at this time. I read several discussions on this set up in the past and remembered there was an issue with the B sting with some brands and gauges (Too floppy or spongy). Keep them coming good or bad.
 
#8
Circle K strings.

They make strings all the way up to a .254 string and are the best playing/sounding strings I've ever used. They are very flexible and not floppy at all.

What's your preferred gauge for an E-string? If you can tell me that, I can recommend a good set.

(FWIW, I prefer about 45 lbs of tension, so I use the Balanced 150 set with a nice .150 low B. It sounds and feel monstrous)
 
#9
On my SR500 Super Sliny 45-100 QUOTE=FunkMetalBass;11729477]Circle K strings.

They make strings all the way up to a .254 string and are the best playing/sounding strings I've ever used. They are very flexible and not floppy at all.

What's your preferred gauge for an E-string? If you can tell me that, I can recommend a good set.

(FWIW, I prefer about 45 lbs of tension, so I use the Balanced 150 set with a nice .150 low B. It sounds and feel monstrous)[/QUOTE]
 
#11
Ken J said:
On my SR500 Super Sliny 45-100
Click to expand...

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Then I'd recommend either the .136 set or the .142 set. A pattern of Circle K users (there's en entire thread on them in this forum) is that they usually want to go a gauge up from normal because of the flexibility.

Really, I don't think you'll be disappointed with either set. They last a long time, are reasonably priced, and the balanced tension makes every string sound very even tonally. They're the only strings I use now.
 
#12
Holy callous shredder, Batman! .254????

Really, huge guarges like that mean your E, A & D are all gonna be monstrous as well. If you switch back and forth between your BEAD and your EADG (as I often do) I suspect that might create more problems. Not to mention the massive tension on the neck from such those telephone cables....

My current fave is the Ken Smith Rock Masters 5-string set with the .130 taper core B. Best combination of tension, sparkle, longevity and feel that I've found. And that's after a LOT of experiementation, including dozens of string makers and dozens of basses. Plus you can get the Smiths for about $30 and they'll last about a year.
 
#15
duke12 said:
Holy callous shredder, Batman! .254????

Really, huge guarges like that mean your E, A & D are all gonna be monstrous as well. If you switch back and forth between your BEAD and your EADG (as I often do) I suspect that might create more problems. Not to mention the massive tension on the neck from such those telephone cables....

My current fave is the Ken Smith Rock Masters 5-string set with the .130 taper core B. Best combination of tension, sparkle, longevity and feel that I've found. And that's after a LOT of experiementation, including dozens of string makers and dozens of basses. Plus you can get the Smiths for about $30 and they'll last about a year.
Click to expand...

The gauges of the sets I recommended are as follows:

.136 .102 .076 .057
.142 .106 .079 .059

The gauges of the super slinky set (plus.135 B, minus the .045 G) are:

.135 .100 .080 .065

They will still be thicker than your normal EADG strings (they have to be), but the A and D strings are actually smaller than those that you'd find in a traditional tension set. Traditional tension sets have more tension on the thinner strings than do the thicker strings. The Circle K sets correct this inbalance by increasing tension on the low strings and decreasing tension on the high strings. The overall tension stays about the same.

Tension will be equal to or slightly less than that of the Super Slinkies he's already got on there.
 
#18
Ken J said:
On my SR500 Super Sliny 45-100
Click to expand...
To have all strings at equal tension to your 100 E you need 135 100 75 55 singles from whatever brand you prefer. This balanced tension set will have a more even tone and feel across the strings and be more comfortable to play. The AD will be looser than what you currently use, however the 135 B will be nice and tight, try to find a flexible B with 3 (not 4) layers of wrap wire, in my limited experience i find D'Addario Bs to be good.
Here's a good place to build a custom set: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
You can use these tension charts http://www.daddario.com/upload/tension_chart_13934.pdf to approximate the tensions of brands other than D'Addario.
If you want to buy a set for BEAD then Circle K Strings as recommended above.
 
#19
Check out Bass Strings Online as well. You can build your own custom set with whatever gauges you want, and you can choose from a bunch of different string types so you're not stuck with just one type.
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For example, if you wanted a BEAD set of D'Addarios, you could go
.130, .105, .085, .065 and it would run you about $18 bucks.
 
#20
duke12 said:
Holy callous shredder, Batman! .254????

Really, huge guarges like that mean your E, A & D are all gonna be monstrous as well [...] Not to mention the massive tension on the neck from such those telephone cables....
Click to expand...
Fear not, the .254 is for the 17Hz C# of C#F#BEADG or octave down B as used on 12 string basses ...

DSC03039.jpg
 

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