After reading through all these posts, I pulled the trigger on a set of standard balanced 136's. I can't decide whether to put them on my active 55-02 or the passive 5 string P/J. Any input/feedback on having them on active vs. passive setups?
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Circle K strings...
- Thread starter James Hart
- Start date
- Aug 5, 2005
- 7,243
- 92
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: J.C. Basses
All of my basses have active pickups, and the one bass that has a passive pickup still has a preamp. All sound great.
There shouldn't be a difference in string sound on active/passive that isn't directly related to the inherent tone of your pickups/preamp.
I just bit the bullet and did it...
My paypal payment won't clear till Monday though (joys of not having a credit card), so I don't know if it's worth while yet. I'll be sure to post when they arrive.
- Aug 5, 2005
- 7,243
- 92
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: J.C. Basses
Send Circle K an email. They may be able to send by parcel post for you, which would cut down tremendously on pricing.
Ok guys, i am very intrigued to find out about these circle K's. i am in a newer band that the guitar players play in the unusual tuning of AGCF. Now i had my Music man sterling 4 stringer setup with a set of Ernie Ball power slinky 5 strings and it plays pretty well just using the bottom 4 strings. But when i tried this same setup with my Epi T-bird pro it just wasn't working. i must admit i tried the setup myself this time and i cannot get my action to be low at all! i have fiddled with the truss rod and bridge and even filed out the nut but i cannot get this to work on that bass. So if anyone has a suggested set of strings for this unusual tuning im all ears. should i go balanced or traditional or would that not even matter because of the crazy tuning that these guys play in?
Link Removed download the circle k tension chart on this page.
Look up the notes you want to tune your strings to, and select the appropriate gauge for the tension you want.
You probably want to look for between 35 and 45 pounds of tension. So for example, on a low A string (below the low B on a 5-string) you probably want something between .150 gauge and .166.
Look up the notes you want to tune your strings to, and select the appropriate gauge for the tension you want.
You probably want to look for between 35 and 45 pounds of tension. So for example, on a low A string (below the low B on a 5-string) you probably want something between .150 gauge and .166.
- Aug 5, 2005
- 7,243
- 92
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: J.C. Basses
That is one of the weirdest tunings I've seen yet.
EDIT: Wait, I've seen it before - Tool's "Prison Sex" uses it, but a whole step up (BADG).
The first problem I see with your story is that you shouldn't be using the bottom four strings for AGCF tuning. You should be using the bottom string and the top three strings.
That aside, whether you choose the traditional set or the balanced set is up to you and your preference. Most of us in this thread are biased toward the balanced tension. In regards to tension, which string feels the best on your bass, and what is the gauge of that string? I can recommend a custom set from Circle K if you get me that information.
rockstarbassist
Inactive
Most likely issue, for sure. Most people don't know or just leave out the fact that when you "use a 5 string set for low tunings" you usually need to throw out the E as that doesn't match up with the rest of the tunings.
You could email knucklehead and see what he recommends for that kinda tuning. You're basically just playing D standard in a 5 string tuning, but without the D.
My 5'er is tuned ACGCF so I get the tuning, sorta.Ok I'm about to make the transition from Medium Sunbeams to a set of Circle K and was wondering if anyone had any experience going from Sunbeams to either the Balanced .112 or .106 sets?
I like the Sunbeam feel but wouldn't mind a slight bump up in tension. Can anyone comment as to how much more or less tension there is when comparing the Beams to either of the K sets? Or is it close enough I should just go by gauge?
I like the Sunbeam feel but wouldn't mind a slight bump up in tension. Can anyone comment as to how much more or less tension there is when comparing the Beams to either of the K sets? Or is it close enough I should just go by gauge?
- Aug 5, 2005
- 7,243
- 92
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: J.C. Basses
Most likely issue, for sure. Most people don't know or just leave out the fact that when you "use a 5 string set for low tunings" you usually need to throw out the E as that doesn't match up with the rest of the tunings.
You could email knucklehead and see what he recommends for that kinda tuning. You're basically just playing D standard in a 5 string tuning, but without the D.
Erm, what? Most people like to keep their fourths tuning, so using the bottom 4 strings of a 5-string set is perfectly valid and an easy way to achieve this.
In his case, he has nearly an octave between the strings, so using only the BADG strings and down-tuning them one step is what he is hopefully doing.
Here are the balanced tension sets he should make, depending on his preference:
.166 - .092 - .068 - .049
.158 - .088 - .064 - .046
.150 - .084 - .061 - .043
.142 - .080 - .058 - .043
.136 - .076 - .055 - .040
rockstarbassist
Inactive
Depends on the tuning, I guess. If you were going to tune to drop B on a 4 string, or lower, I wouldn't think you'd go up a step on the E-D strings, right? You would use the BADG strings, which I think is what you said and I meant but we crossed paths. You wouldn't use BEAD and tune UP the EAD, is what I meant.
- Aug 5, 2005
- 7,243
- 92
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: J.C. Basses
Oh, well of course not.
When I read your original statement, I was under the impression that you were suggesting everyone who wanted to tune BEAD should use the BADG strings.
Now it alllllllll makes sense.
rockstarbassist
Inactive
Oh, well of course not.
When I read your original statement, I was under the impression that you were suggesting everyone who wanted to tune BEAD should use the BADG strings.
Now it alllllllll makes sense.
Haha yeah, there we go!
- Aug 5, 2005
- 7,243
- 92
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: J.C. Basses
Sunbeams are round cores, so switching to a hex core of the same gauge will lead to a slight increase in tension. I'd probably suggest the Balanced 106.
Just to clarify, yes i did use the BEAD strings on my music man and it worked out fine. i don't mind the extra tension on the EAD strings cause i play with a pick and play pretty hard. But this setup isn't working so well with my Epi t-bird. My concern with using the BADG strings is that the B string will be so fat and the A string would be so much smaller. I'm not a great bass player by any means so i like to bounce back and forth between the octaves on the B and E strings alot so i don't want a huge difference in tone when i do that. When i look at the tension chart a .100 tuned up to a G is 54.7 lbs, seems like alot of tension, but thats what i have on the Music Man now and it doesn't bother me at all. But i guess a .092 isn't that much different, i guess i'm used to the big fat strings
rockstarbassist
Inactive
If you're tuning up 1.5 steps on the E-D strings, you should be able to handle anything lol
if you don't want a crazy fat low B 1 step down, just tell knuck that and see what the lowest size you can get away with for that tuning is.
Circle Ks have better feel and movement than anything else out there. Plus even with their bigger gauges, you really get used to it pretty quick. I have a low .156 and .124 for my B and E strings tuned to A and C and I played a "regular" bass with probably a .125 set a bit ago and it felt like a toy LOL.
if you don't want a crazy fat low B 1 step down, just tell knuck that and see what the lowest size you can get away with for that tuning is.
Circle Ks have better feel and movement than anything else out there. Plus even with their bigger gauges, you really get used to it pretty quick. I have a low .156 and .124 for my B and E strings tuned to A and C and I played a "regular" bass with probably a .125 set a bit ago and it felt like a toy LOL.
Well if you use something like 135 105 for A G there will be a massive difference in tension causing a difference in tone. If you choose gauges for equal tension A G there will be a big difference in gauge causing a difference in tone.
I think it's preferable to equalise the tensions to even out the action and your technique across the A G strings, and evenly spread the stress on the neck. Strings at equal tension are more comfortable to play.
Those power slinkys already have the higher strings much tighter than the lower even when tuned BEADG, tuning up the EAD to GCF and dropping the B to A creates a massive imbalance in tension across the set, a floppy A and dangerously tight high strings ... a 70 tuned up to F? 85 pounds, I'm surprised something hasn't broken and I fear for your bass.
From the D'Addario tension chart:
70 F 85.0 pounds
85 C 68.4
105 G 57.0
135 A 28.6
So I recommend buying single strings from Circle K to create a tension-balanced set. Since you like tight strings ...
.166 .092 .068 .049
or
.174 .096 .072 .052 (50 pounds per string, this is pretty heavy)
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