And, in answer to your original question, you always have to adjust your bridge with a string gauge change. Drop when going to a lighter gauge, raise when going to a heavier gauge.
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Changing String Gauge
- Thread starter bogie1519
- Start date
One last thing; Rotosound strings are carried by Amazon, that’s where I buy mine. Good luck!
Wow... 1/64" adjustments to pickups??
When I adjust pickup heights, I adjust by dramatic amounts. If I am irritated enough with string balance or pickup-to-pickup balance to grab a screwdriver, then I am making like a good 2mm to 4mm changes right off the bat, to see if I can hear it (we're talking like more than 1/8" difference for 4mm).
If I've gone too far, that's a GOOD thing, cuz then I know I can solve it by working backwards until I'm happy. If that wasn't enough to solve the problem, then I know there is something else fundamentally going on.
Often that's the quickest way to find out if you are barking up the wrong tree - make a dramatic change and see if it over compensates. If it just screws up your tone in other ways but you still have the original symptom, or you fix the symptom but the overall tone suffers, then you might need to look at other solutions instead (or as well as).
When I adjust pickup heights, I adjust by dramatic amounts. If I am irritated enough with string balance or pickup-to-pickup balance to grab a screwdriver, then I am making like a good 2mm to 4mm changes right off the bat, to see if I can hear it (we're talking like more than 1/8" difference for 4mm).
If I've gone too far, that's a GOOD thing, cuz then I know I can solve it by working backwards until I'm happy. If that wasn't enough to solve the problem, then I know there is something else fundamentally going on.
Often that's the quickest way to find out if you are barking up the wrong tree - make a dramatic change and see if it over compensates. If it just screws up your tone in other ways but you still have the original symptom, or you fix the symptom but the overall tone suffers, then you might need to look at other solutions instead (or as well as).
That's interesting. How's the tension on the top A compared to the ADG? Any issues returning that A to an E
I’ve been going super light the past year, experimenting with different strings from DR, D’Addario and GHS.
Any string change is going to require set up work, that’s just the way it goes. There is an excellent step by step video series on setup from Sheldon Dingwall on YouTube. Gather your tools and keep them at hand.
Once you’ve discovered what you are looking for, strings and set up is under an hour.
No way I’d go back towards heavier strings. At this point, I’m using the A-G strings from light sets for E-D and adding a .030 or .032 for a G string. Standard E-G tuning.
Pickup height is critical for balanced volume across the strings. I use a tape deck that has a vu meter to help balance the volume across the board.
There will always be tonal differences across the strings and different positions, but that’s ok.
A compressor might be helpful as well.
Any string change is going to require set up work, that’s just the way it goes. There is an excellent step by step video series on setup from Sheldon Dingwall on YouTube. Gather your tools and keep them at hand.
Once you’ve discovered what you are looking for, strings and set up is under an hour.
No way I’d go back towards heavier strings. At this point, I’m using the A-G strings from light sets for E-D and adding a .030 or .032 for a G string. Standard E-G tuning.
Pickup height is critical for balanced volume across the strings. I use a tape deck that has a vu meter to help balance the volume across the board.
There will always be tonal differences across the strings and different positions, but that’s ok.
A compressor might be helpful as well.
Found that rotosound66 110-50 have a great shared string tension (tuned to DGCF though). Very equal resonance across, so it's not like having the sound of 2-3 instruments.
Ghs boomers (the flea set), super crisp, effortless for percussive tricks. Not as clanky as the stainless steel can be.
Daddario NYXL, nice amp sound, somewhere inbetween those other 2, best of both worlds maybe, but prob closer to the rotosounds i think.
Ghs boomers (the flea set), super crisp, effortless for percussive tricks. Not as clanky as the stainless steel can be.
Daddario NYXL, nice amp sound, somewhere inbetween those other 2, best of both worlds maybe, but prob closer to the rotosounds i think.
As has been mentioned here...as you go from string 1-4 you have less string girth. A pretty solid way to set pickup height is to measure from the bottom of the string to the pole on the pickup. If this distance is the same for each string (which will actually yield higher pickup height on the D and G strings) you should have a pretty even volume across your strings. You may have to make fine adjustments after starting there but you’ll be close.
I've been following these instructions for decades, regardless of brand:
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Every string change, even if not changing gauge or brand, I check and adjust if necessary: neck relief, action, pickup height, and intonation. I use the Fender measurements as starting points and fine adjust from there.
Once you've done it a few times, 15 minutes is a long time to spend on the work. You'll know the exact measurements for each of your instruments and your setups will be better than most shops, as it's set to YOUR touch and preferences.
All you need are a tuner, steel ruler, capo, truss rod wrench, and screwdrivers to fit the bridge and pickup screws. Since you probably already have a tuner and a small phillips head screwdriver, and the truss rod and bridge height wrenches probably came with the instrument, the tools will set you back less than $20 and last a lifetime.
I use a business card or thin pick (Tortex .50) to measure the 7th fret relief with the capo in place.
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Every string change, even if not changing gauge or brand, I check and adjust if necessary: neck relief, action, pickup height, and intonation. I use the Fender measurements as starting points and fine adjust from there.
Once you've done it a few times, 15 minutes is a long time to spend on the work. You'll know the exact measurements for each of your instruments and your setups will be better than most shops, as it's set to YOUR touch and preferences.
All you need are a tuner, steel ruler, capo, truss rod wrench, and screwdrivers to fit the bridge and pickup screws. Since you probably already have a tuner and a small phillips head screwdriver, and the truss rod and bridge height wrenches probably came with the instrument, the tools will set you back less than $20 and last a lifetime.
I use a business card or thin pick (Tortex .50) to measure the 7th fret relief with the capo in place.
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I have found that gauge is just one consideration for shaping tone. Other factors come into play such as how they are wound, tension levels, materials, core style, etc. In fact I am not at all convinced that all things equal, heavier guages provide more tone. Think about wy peopl love short scale basses- whatever guage you use on a short scale the tension is so much less which provides those really intersting fundamentals.
I have personally found that what works best for me in every way is low tension strings. DR Sunbeams and High Beams are my current go to with a preference for Sunbeams given the mellower tone of nickel.
This is my experience. YMMV.
I have personally found that what works best for me in every way is low tension strings. DR Sunbeams and High Beams are my current go to with a preference for Sunbeams given the mellower tone of nickel.
This is my experience. YMMV.
I’m a believer in the BB King philosophy regarding playing lights and extra lights. I was afraid my low end might not be as thick when I first switched gauges, but those fears were unfounded. No discernible loss of tone but a significant improvement in playability. You might need a truss rod adjustment or you might not.
I play the same as you. Started on 45-100 and just always stuck with that gauge after nearly 12 years of playing bass. I used to experiment with medium gauge 50-105 sets every so often because I liked the tone and I could play them just fine but my hands would fatigue faster with those strings than with the light gauge sets.
Putting aside pickup tilt for a moment, D/G volume would be affected by what the gauges are *relative* to E/A gauges. Increasing all gauges would increase the volume of all strings so the problem would remain. But anyway, indeed, tilt your pickups to balance volume.
45-100 is not 'light or extra light gauge', it is fairly medium.
Yes, tension depends on string mass which is mostly determined by gauge.
Not so, this is a misunderstanding. Tension is determined by scale length, pitch and string mass (see the D'Addario and GHS tension documents to confirm). So tension is certainly affected by wrap wire.
So this is not possible.
It seems the confusion here is that you are using the word 'tension' but are referring to 'stiffness' which is a different thing and independent.
The confusion between 'tension', 'stiffness' and 'how it feels' (which are all different things) is extremely common on this forum, so you have probably been misled.
Happy to dig out the catenary notes from my literal stress analysis BSME days. The scale length is fixed, at least such that it is constant on an instrument. The winding (round or
flat, metal or fiber, etc.) contributes mass which affects the vibration rules and the magnetic field from the poles. But because bass/guitar are coil wrapped, not braided, the winding does not significantly change the tensile strength. In other words you could wind a raw core wire to the same tension, it just wouldn’t make the sound you want. If an instrument string was braided like a bicycle cable, for example, the outer strands would change the tensile strength. This is why tape wound and round wound have similar break points.
An E or B on bass may have higher tension in a set than a G or high C but that is not because of the covering. So let’s agree to disagree.
Light and medium-light gauge strings work well for standard tuning. Lights are easier to play, IMO.
