D Standard Club (DGCF)

[michael_t]

The GHS tensions for Pressurewound set L7200 in DGCF are low for sure. But that’s where I’m coming from ie how do folks find the tensions involved. Do they feel ok?

@michael_t thanks for info on stiffness. Now can I just persuade you to downtune them .For Team DGCF he he

I'll try this when I get a chance some time over this weekend and let you know. One of my J's is wearing the L7200 in EADG right now, so it's simple enough to tune them down to DGCF. I know for a fact they will be too loose for my taste, but the question you're asking is whether they're still usable in terms of tuning stability and intonation, right?

 

[Prodigus Filius]

I'll try this when I get a chance some time over this weekend and let you know. One of my J's is wearing the L7200 in EADG right now, so it's simple enough to tune them down to DGCF. I know for a fact they will be too loose for my taste, but the question you're asking is whether they're still usable in terms of tuning stability and intonation, right?

Cheers. Yeh def how stable tuning wise and intonation issues for sure. The only thing in retuning the Trubass 88 to get the tensions I found still playable was loosen the TR a bit. Got no fret buzz even with the greater string excursion of strings 1-3. i have action as per Fender spec for a 9.5”12” radius. Intonation didnt change.

P.S see post #16
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/d-standard-club-dgcf.1190032/

Mention of TI jazz flats in D standard for years and found ok. And the tension is similar to what I’m talking about. Of course TI’s very flexible as well, so I’m thinking the stiffer Pressurewounds might make things better vis a vis low tension scenarios. Some stiffness helping with noodle issues

TI Jazz Flats

Gauges 43 56 70 100

D1/.100/27.29lbf
G1/.070/24.84lbf
C2/.056/29.73lbf
F2/.043/29.39lbf

TT = 111.25lbf

 

[Prodigus Filius]

So am I right in the belief that without some special attention to placing some material between a round core wire and the wraps with low tension strings like TI’s, the low tension of a string can produce nasties. And by inferrance, unless a round core string has a special layer, than it would be better to opt for a hex core string for D standard at low tension. Any of this correct?
Do GHS round core bass boomers have any special layer?

 

[michael_t]

So am I right in the belief that without some special attention to placing some material between a round core wire and the wraps with low tension strings like TI’s, the low tension of a string can produce nasties. And by inferrance, unless a round core string has a special layer, than it would be better to opt for a hex core string for D standard at low tension. Any of this correct?
Do GHS round core bass boomers have any special layer?

GHS Round Core Boomers do not have a special layer like the silk under-wrapping on the TI's. What they do have is "anchor points", meaning the core wire has slightly flattened areas to prevent it from slipping under the winding.

DR talks about this "anchor point" in their crimping instruction. The main difference between DR and GHS is DR round-core strings only have one anchor point placed somewhere just past the nut. And that's why it becomes necessary to crimp the string when the string is cut shorter than this one and only anchor point, eg cutting down a long-scale string to fit on a short scale bass. GHS round cores have multiple anchor points throughout the length of the strings, making crimping unnecessary.

I personally would never use round core strings for down-tuning. Stiffer-than-average hex-cores seem to work best. That's why I use DR DDT 45-105 and GHS Pressurewound 44-106. That way I can use the normal gauges that would not require any modification to the nut slots.

 

[HaphAsSard]

So am I right in the belief that without some special attention to placing some material between a round core wire and the wraps with low tension strings like TI’s, the low tension of a string can produce nasties. And by inferrance, unless a round core string has a special layer, than it would be better to opt for a hex core string for D standard at low tension. Any of this correct?
Do GHS round core bass boomers have any special layer?

In my (limited) experience, two things happen with low tension, which are at odds with each other:
- stiffer strings are apparently desirable, in that they offer more resistance to the plucking hand, compensating for tension to a degree;
- however, stiffer strings have a higher sproing point, in that, when they hit a low enough tension threshold, their pitch envelope becomes unruly, with a very pronounced sharp-pitched peak immediately after the attack and a subsequent pitch trough, before a sustained steady-ish-pitch plateau kicks in. There is a transition area where a very soft plucking/picking hand, and a likewise soft fretting hand, may keep the onset of the phenomenon at bay.

Where that point, or area, occurs depends on how actually stiff the string, and how low the tension are: for example, in my experience, the 090 short-scale Rotosound Jazz Bass 77 low E (JBS090, from the RS77S set) is too stiff to work well at the tension it operates at E1 on a 30" scale instrument, i.e 24.36lbs.
On the other hand, the Thomastik-Infeld JF32070, which is the A in the "short-scale" Jazz Flat JF324 set, while too light for many players, gets no reports - that I know of - of jolty pitch, in spite of its tension at 30" being about the same as the aforementioned 090. Then again, the TI is an overall thinner string, with several other details in its construction (a round core, thinner both in absolute and proportional terms; a silk inlay between it and the metal winding, which, beside lowering mass, in tandem with core shape ensures a looser connection between core and winding; a less tight and narrower flat ribbon) determining a lower stiffness compared to the Roto.

Now, non-flatwounds at 27+ lbs will probably be OK. Just pointing out that increasing stiffness to offset low tension eventually hits a point of diminishing returns.

 

[Prodigus Filius]

Thanks for info guys.

 

[michael_t]

@michael_t thanks for info on stiffness. Now can I just persuade you to downtune them .For Team DGCF he he

I just tried this, and I'm pleasantly surprised how usable this set is for DGCF. They don't feel nearly as loose and floppy as expected, thanks to their naturally stiffness. No problem with tuning. The only thing I've noticed is the .096 can get a little wonky up the neck past the 7th fret with weird overtones ("inharmonicity"?); otherwise, playing in lower positions is fine. I would say it's perfectly doable.

In terms of the overall tonal quality, they are noticeably darker in character and full-bodied, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

EDIT: By the way, I did this on my 2011 American Special Jazz.

 

[Prodigus Filius]

I just tried this, and I'm pleasantly surprised how usable this set is for DGCF. They don't feel nearly as loose and floppy as expected, thanks to their naturally stiff nature. No problem with tuning. The only thing I've noticed is the .096 can get a little wonky up the neck past the 7th fret with weird overtones ("inharmonicity"?); otherwise, playing in lower positions is fine. I would say it's perfectly doable.

In terms of the overall tonal quality, they are noticeably darker in character and full-bodied, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

EDIT: By the way, I did this on my 2011 American Special Jazz.

That’s great news and thanks for going the extra mile. That’s a 31lb reduction in force compared to the 44-106 set you have in DGCF. Take a little getting used to for fingers. Would you say you’d be happy to stay downtuned with the 40-96 for a bit or will you put em back in E standard pronto?

 

[michael_t]

Would you say you’d be happy to stay downtuned with the 40-96 for a bit or will you put em back in E standard pronto?

They're already back in EADG. I like the way they sound and feel in the standard tuning. I hadn't played this bass in a couple months, so it was nice to be reminded of how much I love this bass with these strings.

 

[michael_t]

By the way, I'll be setting up my Sandblasted Jazz for DGCF with DR DDT 45-105 this coming week.

 

[Prodigus Filius]

They're already back in EADG. I like the way they sound and feel in the standard tuning. I hadn't played this bass in a couple months, so it was nice to be reminded of how much I love this bass with these strings.

That was quick he he. Gotta go with feeling and sound combined Imho. I mean strings might feel ok but the sound is a bit off, or the sound might be ok but the strings feel off putting

 

[michael_t]

That was quick he he. Gotta go with feeling and sound combined Imho. I mean strings might feel ok but the sound is a bit off, or the sound might be ok but the strings feel off putting

"PW 40-96 on a J in EADG" has been the sweet spot for me for quite a while, so I didn't want these strings to get too comfortable down there.

 

[michael_t]

I'll be setting up my Sandblasted Jazz for DGCF with DR DDT 45-105 this coming week.

Forget "this coming week", I just went ahead and made the change.

Here are my two DGCF basses...

 

[Prodigus Filius]

Bewdiful!!

 

[loukash]

Here are my two DGCF basses...

I can attest that a J and a Soundgear are great combination!

 

[MartinB]

The strings that came with my Squier Sonic Precision feel and sound surprisingly good in D standard!

I think I know what happened here, and it's nothing to do with those strings! I've had Dunlop Heavy Cores on my main DGCF bass for the last 18 months or so. Today I changed them for D'Addario 45-105... and was surprised to find that not only did they feel fine in D, but I actually had to tighten the truss rod in order to get my preferred action. This suggests that the Dunlops, while theoretically stiffer, were not all that tense. So I've basically spent the last year-and-a-half accidentally getting used to lower-tension strings, to the point where standard 105s in DGCF no longer feel weird

 

[Andre678]

I think I know what happened here, and it's nothing to do with those strings! I've had Dunlop Heavy Cores on my main DGCF bass for the last 18 months or so. Today I changed them for D'Addario 45-105... and was surprised to find that not only did they feel fine in D, but I actually had to tighten the truss rod in order to get my preferred action. This suggests that the Dunlops, while theoretically stiffer, were not all that tense. So I've basically spent the last year-and-a-half accidentally getting used to lower-tension strings, to the point where standard 105s in DGCF no longer feel weird

I actually find that 105's in D standard may be my favourite.

But I am just starting to buy extra and super light gauges for my E standard basses so that might change. My Victor Wooten DR's on my 6 string feel so good every time I play it.

But yeah 105's in D standard is for sure my sweet spot.

 

[SDBassed]

I’ve been locked in on D standard for the past 6 months and I ran across a couple of issues.

My workhorse bass has 20 frets. I found that losing 2 notes on the F string made me unable to play solo parts that normally go high on the G string. I realized I need to switch to a 24 fret bass, which I have done, to cover those occasional high moments.

There are bass lines that were written with playing the low E with an open string in mind. Occasionally I am on the 7th or 9th fret, need to hit a low E, but it is tough to jump back to the 2nd fret on the D string then jump back to the 7th/9th fret. I have adapted by using the E on the A string (5 string) but, of course, it sounds different than playing E on the D string. I suppose I could have an E standard bass on hand as well.

 

[Wibble666]

anybody using labella tape wound flats on a 34" ..just wondering what gauge might work in terms of not too floppy ..not too tight?

 

[Wibble666]

I've been locked in on D standard for the past 6 months and I ran across a couple of issues.

My workhorse bass has 20 frets. I found that losing 2 notes on the F string made me unable to play solo parts that normally go high on the G string. I realized I need to switch to a 24 fret bass, which I have done, to cover those occasional high moments.

There are bass lines that were written with playing the low E with an open string in mind. Occasionally I am on the 7th or 9th fret, need to hit a low E, but it is tough to jump back to the 2nd fret on the D string then jump back to the 7th/9th fret. I have adapted by using the E on the A string (5 string) but, of course, it sounds different than playing E on the D string. I suppose I could have an E standard bass on hand as well.

hip shot on the low d / e