Bends on piccolo strings?

[Peeved T-40]

Is bending on piccolo strings a thing? I've been playing a piccolo bass for a little while and i've found doing bends is much harder than even on bass strings to say nothing of bending on a guitar.

is this normal? are bends just not really a part of playing a piccolo bass?

 

[Funky40]

change the gauge ? ........and see how it feels

i run piccolo tunings, but i am not exactly into playing with bends


i personally think, that for trained bassists, would bends just totally belong to play with a piccolo strung Bass. No ?

I run two headless basses, 5-string, and am changing right now over, ...and will begin to use guitar strings for piccolo tunings.
this gives more options to create custom sets, ......and is way cheaper.
....no problems with the string lenght on a headless.

 

[michael_t]

Is bending on piccolo strings a thing? I've been playing a piccolo bass for a little while and i've found doing bends is much harder than even on bass strings to say nothing of bending on a guitar.

I've already suggested (in your other thread) experimenting with smaller gauges to reduce the tension on D and A so they'll balance better with E And G. The higher the tension, the harder it is to do bends.

Piccolo strings keep breaking? Dead D string within days

 

[MonetBass]

I've done bends on my piccolo bass (D'Addario piccolo strings) sometimes without issue. Definitely try some lower tension strings.

 

[Peeved T-40]

I've done bends on my piccolo bass (D'Addario piccolo strings) sometimes without issue. Definitely try some lower tension strings.

I'm also using the D'Addario strings as well

 

[Peeved T-40]

I've already suggested (in your other thread) experimenting with smaller gauges to reduce the tension on D and A so they'll balance better with E And G. The higher the tension, the harder it is to do bends.

Piccolo strings keep breaking? Dead D string within days

Yeah, I asked about bending because I thought maybe it wasn't the strings i was using and just that you're not supposed to do bends with them but it doesn't sound like that's the case

 

[bassbrad]

I don't have issue bending strings on any of my piccolo basses or my Baritone bass. I have both long and short scale basses with the D'Addario piccolo sets EABG [Carvin LB50 and Harmony H22B] as well as another bass strung with LaBella ADGC piccolo set [Carvin LB50 Koa]. My Baritone bass is a Gibson EB14 5String strung with a .020 plain Hi C.

 

[dkelley]

Is bending on piccolo strings a thing? I've been playing a piccolo bass for a little while and i've found doing bends is much harder than even on bass strings to say nothing of bending on a guitar.

is this normal? are bends just not really a part of playing a piccolo bass?

IMHO bending on guitar, assuming you use 9s which is the most common set of strings, 10s are used by many but 9s are most popular.... anyway bending on electric guitar is pretty easy compared to on bass, imho. piccolo bass is hardest to bend on of them all... it's doable but you'll hear it isn't common.

Note: I'm not nearly as experience on piccolo bass as some others here, so my personal experience is limited ot what I had available.

 

[sawzalot]

I've had a piccolo set on one of my basses for a while now. The tension on Lucille strings is WAY higher vs guitar due to the scale length. Basically it's gonna make your fingers pretty tender for a while and then you'll get some major callouses that will help it not hurt so much. But you probably stilll won't be doing 1-1/2 step bends like you do on guitar unless you like to see blood.

 

[sonojono]

Bending anything is fine unless it breaks

 

[frankie5string]

If you're using D'Addario, they're usually Hex-core strings and a bit stiffer. Try a set from another brand that's round-core like DR, and you should find those bends to be much easier.

 

[Peeved T-40]

If you're using D'Addario, they're usually Hex-core strings and a bit stiffer. Try a set from another brand that's round-core like DR, and you should find those bends to be much easier.

The reason I'm using the D'Addario set is because i've been having a hard time finding anyone else making and selling full sets instead of just single strings.

do you have a link to some other sets?

 

[Peeved T-40]

Bending anything is fine unless it breaks

Which mine are. Specifically my D string keeps blowing out.

 

[Peeved T-40]

I've had a piccolo set on one of my basses for a while now. The tension on Lucille strings is WAY higher vs guitar due to the scale length. Basically it's gonna make your fingers pretty tender for a while and then you'll get some major callouses that will help it not hurt so much. But you probably stilll won't be doing 1-1/2 step bends like you do on guitar unless you like to see blood.

I would be completely happy getting a one step bend. even just a half step would be better than nothing but my D string keeps breaking with just half step bends

 

[frankie5string]

The reason I'm using the D'Addario set is because i've been having a hard time finding anyone else making and selling full sets instead of just single strings.

do you have a link to some other sets?

Ken Smith has sets of Piccolo strings. They're fairly low-tension.
Bass Burner NPS Series - Ken Smith Basses

I'm not sure if GHS Piccolo strings are round-core. I think they used to have a round-core option.
Link Removed

I had the Smiths on mine for a long time.

 

[Peeved T-40]

Ken Smith has sets of Piccolo strings. They're fairly low-tension.
Bass Burner NPS Series - Ken Smith Basses

I'm not sure if GHS Piccolo strings are round-core. I think they used to have a round-core option.
Link Removed

I had the Smiths on mine for a long time.

Thanks a lot. I have actually seen the GHS strings around and meant to give them a shot They're significantly cheaper than the D'Addario set as well.

I guess I'll have to give the Ken smith ones a go while I'm at it even though I don't dig that $20 price tag

 

[michael_t]

I'm not sure if GHS Piccolo strings are round-core. I think they used to have a round-core option.
Link Removed

Those are the regular hex-core Boomers.

If the OP wants to keep things fairly light for bending, I would suggest 18p-25-35-50 instead of 18p-30-40-50.

Here are the tension figures...

G 18p - 34.0 lbs. (estimated)
D 25w - 36.8 lbs.
A 35w - 32.7 lbs.
E 50w - 36.5 lbs.

G 18p - 34.0 lbs. (estimated)
D 30w - 46.8 lbs.
A 40w - 42.3 lbs.
E 50w - 36.5 lbs.

By the way, Ken Smith strings are made by GHS, the Bass Burners being the closest cousin to the Boomers.

 

[michael_t]

Ken Smith has sets of Piccolo strings. They're fairly low-tension.
Bass Burner NPS Series - Ken Smith Basses

G 18p - 34.0 lbs. (estimated)
D 25w - 36.8 lbs.
A 35w - 32.7 lbs.
E 50w - 36.5 lbs.

I noticed the Ken Smith Custom Piccolo set (18p-25-35-45) is the closest to what I was suggesting, except with 45E instead of 50E. The tension on the Boomer 45E is 31.7 lbs.

 

[ixlramp]

Is bending on piccolo strings a thing?

Yes, as long as the tension is low enough to be comfortably bendable and they do not reach their break tension.
But unfortunately most piccolo sets, such as the D'Addario one you use, are designed to have tensions equal or similar to a typical E1 standard set so have high tensions that make bending difficult. Look for lower gauges for lower tensions.

The Ken Smith 'Custom Piccolo' set has lower gauges for lower tensions, i suggest trying that one.
The standard Ken Smith piccolo set contains .030 .040 .050 so has similar tensions to the D'Addario set, so is no better.
If the GHS set contains .030 .040 .050 then that will also have similar tensions to the D'Addario set, so is no better.

I've been playing a piccolo bass for a little while and i've found doing bends is much harder than even on bass strings

See your other thread i replied to. Even if at the same tension, thinner strings 'feel tighter', especially in terms of playability. Perhaps one reason is that thinner strings cut into your fingers more when bending.

If you're using D'Addario, they're usually Hex-core strings and a bit stiffer. Try a set from another brand that's round-core like DR, and you should find those bends to be much easier.

Structural stiffness does not affect ease of bending. Ease of bending is determined by the tension (according to mechanics).

my D string keeps breaking with just half step bends

See your other thread i replied to for why.

 

[MonetBass]

The other option, which I will likely do when changing the strings the next time, is to get a guitar string set with your preferred gauge and just use the bottom 4 strings.