D Standard Club (DGCF)

[MirandM]

What do you like about the Black Beauties, over other strings? The DR site description seemed to focus on “as good as other strings” plus a few things like how you’d describe flats, sort of. I’m sure there is more to it... might be worth trying.

Black beauties are round wounds and they sound exactly as that, but, the outer wire has been coated with a fine black coating before winding. The result is a string that plays very smooth, not as smooth as nylon tapes or flats, but much smoother then normal round wounds, plus the string is black which on some basses goes very well.
I have a P-bass from Gear4music modded with a warman p-pub. With the factory mounted strings it sounded flat, dull, so I changed them to the Black Beauties and that bass came alive as if risen from the dead.
If you know the neon strings from Dr, these sound the same but play smoother.

 

[RodRy]

What do you like about the Black Beauties, over other strings? The DR site description seemed to focus on “as good as other strings” plus a few things like how you’d describe flats, sort of. I’m sure there is more to it... might be worth trying.

Something I've not heard very many others mention about Black Beauties is that they are a bit slipperier than other strings against the frets. I find that bends are significantly easier with the Beauties than with any other strings. The tone seems a bit softer than bright rounds. More like nickel rounds to me than stainless or nickel-plated. Seems like the pickups don't sense them quite as strongly either, so I find that I tend to dial the input volume up a bit on my amp. Very nice and long-lasting strings.

 

[MirandM]

Something I've not heard very many others mention about Black Beauties is that they are a bit slipperier than other strings against the frets. I find that bends are significantly easier with the Beauties than with any other strings. The tone seems a bit softer than bright rounds. More like nickel rounds to me than stainless or nickel-plated. Seems like the pickups don't sense them quite as strongly either, so I find that I tend to dial the input volume up a bit on my amp. Very nice and long-lasting strings.

In fact they are stainless steel, but as the description says "Players tell us that these strings have more volume, less unwanted overtones, greater clarity and articulation than standard, uncoated strings.".
The overtones are probably suppressed by the coating. To me they sound pretty good, just a tad more clearer then nickels, but obviously it also depends on the pups used. They are more flexible then stainless strings though, there's not enough information to actually know why, my guess is they are round core as hex cores are generally stiffer.

EDIT : just found the answer on the product page: "Material: K3 Black Stainless Steel. Round Core Wire with Ball End. "

I was right.

 

[RodRy]

In fact they are stainless steel, but as the description says "Players tell us that these strings have more volume, less unwanted overtones, greater clarity and articulation than standard, uncoated strings.".
The overtones are probably suppressed by the coating. To me they sound pretty good, just a tad more clearer then nickels, but obviously it also depends on the pups used. They are more flexible then stainless strings though, there's not enough information to actually know why, my guess is they are round core as hex cores are generally stiffer.

EDIT : just found the answer on the product page: "Material: K3 Black Stainless Steel. Round Core Wire with Ball End. "

I was right.

I find them to have less volume than the strings they replaced. But that could be for a number of reasons. I do think they are more flexible than my normal round wounds of the same size. And the big difference is the lack of friction between strings and frets.

 

[bassist4dalord]

I might have to give this tuning another try. 10 years ago I had a Squier P-Bass with DR SS Lo-Riders 50-110 tuned DGCF and it was really magical.

I remember enjoying the change in tonality that this tuning offers, and I could definitely benefit from having the low Eb and D as I play at church. I’ve currently got D’Addario ProSteels 45-100 on my Schecter Raiden Special-4 (which is quickly becoming my main bass). I would build a balanced-tension set of ProSteels for it.

I’ll be sure to post if I go forward with it!

 

[W_R]

I’ll be sure to post if I go forward with it!

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[michael_t]

I remember enjoying the change in tonality that this tuning offers, and I could definitely benefit from having the low Eb and D as I play at church.

I will be playing my DGCF J bass for the video-taping session tomorrow for online church for the first time since July. The funny thing is the worship director at my church has perfect pitch, and the last time I played my J, he would look at me strange every time I hit the low open D because in his own mind the lowest note on a 4-string bass should be E.

 

[MirandM]

Just read a string review where somebody commented about using ADBG tuning, wow, that is really LOW!
I mean BEAD is rather common as it is the base for 5 stringers, going at 125-105-85-65-45 but that ADBG must mean the gauges go up another +5 like somewhere in the range of 130 for the A, since my D is at 110 normally and that is the second string, so it would probably be like 130-110-90-70. Talking about having a nut job on your hands.... HEAVY!

My highest gauge is 125 on an own built fretless, but maybe I should give that tuning a try 125-100-80-60 so not too far off currently, I might just try it for fun.

 

[RodRy]

Just read a string review where somebody commented about using ADBG tuning, wow, that is really LOW!
I mean BEAD is rather common as it is the base for 5 stringers, going at 125-105-85-65-45 but that ADBG must mean the gauges go up another +5 like somewhere in the range of 130 for the A, since my D is at 110 normally and that is the second string, so it would probably be like 130-110-90-70. Talking about having a nut job on your hands.... HEAVY!

My highest gauge is 125 on an own built fretless, but maybe I should give that tuning a try 125-100-80-60 so not too far off currently, I might just try it for fun.

Since I have a 5 string, I can't see going any lower than DGCF on my 4 string. And only one of my basses is set up this way. From what I've heard, most who go below B use distortion and other effects which effectively raise their tone back up again.

What have others heard or used?

 

[Bushmaster]

Just read a string review where somebody commented about using ADBG tuning, wow, that is really LOW!

You might consult with @ixlramp. IIRC, he at some stage used an A♭₀ E♭₁ B♭₁ F₂ C₃ G₃ tuning, employing the following gauges: .145 - .095 - .060 - .035 - .022 - .012 (I just can't remember the brands he used for this compilation.)

Basically, he used the classic string proportions, here 3/2 for the fifth. The ±.005" rule of thumb unfortunately cannot be stretched too far. Of course, one might have to adjust the gauges a bit according to the experience made in practice. A string of a given gauge from one manufacturer might feel notably different from a string of the same gauge of some other manufacturer.

What have others heard or used?

I once tried what one might call Standard A on a 6-str., without distortion or effects, but didn't further pursue this path. As always, it depends on the right instrument and the right strings.

 

[MirandM]

Since I have a 5 string, I can't see going any lower than DGCF on my 4 string. And only one of my basses is set up this way. From what I've heard, most who go below B use distortion and other effects which effectively raise their tone back up again.

What have others heard or used?

Thinking about this I checked which tuning I use on my 5'ers (I have 4) and guess what? ADGCF
Can't remember when I played one last time, must have been quite some time ago...
I also have a 6 string that I don't play (it's the only one at my second house sitting in the Ric case) but I'm pretty sure it's tuned ADGCFB, I tend to stick to my beloved DGCF

 

[Bushmaster]

[...] I tend to stick to my beloved DGCF

So, which strings are you using with these basses?

Hmm... presumed I wanted to go with a .055 . .075 - .090 - .110 set for D₁G₁C₂F₂, I needed an A₀ string around .110 × 4/3 = .146.6̅ and a B♭₂ string around .055 × ¾ = 41.25. So maybe I could give it a shot w/ something like D'Addario XL EXL230 Heavy + singles in .145 and .040. If I was ready to take this step, that is

 

[MirandM]

So, which strings are you using with these basses?

Hmm... presumed I wanted to go with a .055 . .075 - .090 - .110 set for D₁G₁C₂F₂, I needed an A₀ string around .110 × 4/3 = .146.6̅ and a B♭₂ string around .055 × ¾ = 41.25. So maybe I could give it a shot w/ something like D'Addario XL EXL230 Heavy + singles in .145 and .040. If I was ready to take this step, that is

130-105-85-65-45 sort of, it varies with the strings, but these gauges are in fact to be considered light, as a general rule of thumb they should be +5 up.
Mind you I don't know how you calculated yours but to have the right gauge you should actually know the right tension on each string. It should be around the same as with a normal tuning. The actual gauge depends highly on the string construction itself. I can use 105 on my D with some strings while this would make them floppy with other strings and I need to go to 110 or 115.
I use a general rule to go +5 gauge up if you drop tune a full note using the same type of string. This is roughly based on the tension data provided by some manufacturers.
It also depends on whether you play fretless or not. Fretless usually requieres a little stiffer strings to play smoothly, so instead of 110 on some I have 115 or even 125, not to say anything of your playing style.

 

[RodRy]

So, which strings are you using with these basses?

Hmm... presumed I wanted to go with a .055 . .075 - .090 - .110 set for D₁G₁C₂F₂, I needed an A₀ string around .110 × 4/3 = .146.6̅ and a B♭₂ string around .055 × ¾ = 41.25. So maybe I could give it a shot w/ something like D'Addario XL EXL230 Heavy + singles in .145 and .040. If I was ready to take this step, that is

You may want to visit Stringjoy's website and use their string tension calculator. It may not exactly match your strings, but should give you a good idea what sort of sized you want to use.

 

[Bushmaster]

Mind you I don't know how you calculated yours

Well, the initial stage, more than 40 years ago, was me simply asking a dealer for the heaviest gauge set they had, which turned out to be a .055 - .110. The reason for this being that I wanted a fat, deep, thick sound. Then a teacher recommended to me playing Standard D.

The actual calculation is based on the theoretical assumption that strings of equal length, tension and density will have gauges in the same ratio as their frequencies. These approximately are 4:3 for a fourths interval, and 3:2 for a fifths interval. In practise, tension and density in wound strings is determined by diameters and shape of core and winding wires, number of wraps, how tight these are applied, etc.

The actual gauge depends highly on the string construction itself.

Right. (I'm not going into details here.)

It also depends on whether you play fretless or not. Fretless usually requiers a little stiffer strings to play smoothly, so instead of 110 on some I have 115 or even 125, not to say anything of your playing style.

These days, on fretless I play TI Jazz Flat on a 6-str. in standard (BEADGC), and D'Addario .035 - .055 - .080 - .125 on a 4-str. in fifths tuning (CGDA), both of which are nicely light. I find this very convenient for left-hand tone-shaping.

Previously, i did quite some experiments on fretless ranging from .055 - .110 sets in Standard D to extremely light sets, e.g. Rotosound Swing Bass RS66LB (.035 - .055 - .070 - .090). The latter was cool for fretless slapping. (Which I did years before I ever got to hear Pino Palladino )

 

[bassist4dalord]

Well I’m going to give this another try. I’ve had this set of ProSteels on my Ibanez Roadstar II in E Standard for a couple of weeks a month ago, took them off to put my TIJFs back on but decided I’d like to give it another try in D Standard.

I play at church next Sunday. I’m going to try and play a bunch this week to relearn and hope for the best!

 

[MirandM]

View attachment 4314723

Well I’m going to give this another try. I’ve had this set of ProSteels on my Ibanez Roadstar II in E Standard for a couple of weeks a month ago, took them off to put my TIJFs back on but decided I’d like to give it another try in D Standard.

I play at church next Sunday. I’m going to try and play a bunch this week to relearn and hope for the best!

They might work since they're stainless steels not nickels so a bit stiffer. If they're too floppy go for EPS230 which are 55-75-90-110, I'd prefer those as in fact I've got two sets.

 

[michael_t]

Well I’m going to give this another try. I’ve had this set of ProSteels on my Ibanez Roadstar II in E Standard for a couple of weeks a month ago, took them off to put my TIJFs back on but decided I’d like to give it another try in D Standard.

Here are the tension figures for the EPS165, tuned to DGCF:

F 045 - 33.2 lbs.
C 065 - 37.6
G 085 - 35.6
D 105 - 29.6 (Total 136.0)

Or...
D 110 - 35.2 (Total 141.6). In comparison, the TI JF344, tuned to EADG, has a total tension of 140.2 lbs.

 

[bassist4dalord]

Here are the tension figures for the EPS165, tuned to DGCF:

F 045 - 33.2 lbs.
C 065 - 37.6
G 085 - 35.6
D 105 - 29.6 (Total 136.0)

Or...
D 110 - 35.2 (Total 141.6). In comparison, the TI JF344, tuned to EADG, has a total tension of 140.2 lbs.

That’s great information! Thank you. We’ll see how this goes. Ultimately I’d be looking at a set of D’Addario Chromes in D Standard if I find I like this tuning.

 

[michael_t]

Ultimately I’d be looking at a set of D’Addario Chromes in D Standard if I find I like this tuning.

Jason at Fret Nation has a custom balanced set of the Chromes available.

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Here's how their tensions would work out in DGCF:

F 045 - 36.3 lbs.
C 060 - 35.9
G 080 - 34.7
D 105 - 32.9

Or...
D 110 - 36.5 lbs.