According to D'addario tension_chart.pdf, Chromes Super Lights balanced tensions are 40-55-75-95 (not 100) and these are also balanced with Chromes one and only 132 low-B. I've using these custom balanced tension for quite sometimes on my latest go-to semi-hollow body bass.
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D'Addario Chromes, Med or Lights?
- Thread starter BassBeginer64
- Start date
Bah...it's perfectly fine for skin. All it does is soak into the windings and gums them up and makes the strings go dead, that's all. Bassists talk about doing things like rubbing chicken grease or human secretions on strings to get them to go dead quicker, but I skeeve that kind of stuff. Who needs to die because the grease you rubbed on your strings went rancid? So I found giving your strings a good couple liberal coats of Eucerin and letting them sit overnight accomplishes the same thing without disease.
I think you're right about the 95E balancing better with the rest if you go by the figures on the old pdf.
But if you look at the figures on the D'A website, the 100E (40.29 lbs.) actually balances better with the 75A (42.58 lbs.) than the 95E (36.20 lbs.).
Yeah. But, I think we've discussed this before... the figures on their website has too much of inconsistencies. This is why I prefer to use their tension_chart.pdf instead.
And one year later....
... do you find you have to set your action higher with the super lights? I just got a set, like the feel; but my action had to go up almost 1mm due to rattle and buzz....
... do you find you have to set your action higher with the super lights? I just got a set, like the feel; but my action had to go up almost 1mm due to rattle and buzz....
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Depends what you are used to. I usually play nickel low riders or Rotosound swing nickels 45-105. The medium Chromed were right for me.
Nope! But I did have to release some of the tension on the truss rod, as the lower tension of the very light strings caused a tiny bit of back bow in the neck.
What @quickfix said...
When you're switching from one set to another with a lighter tension, the first thing you should check is the amount of neck relief instead of trying to raise the action right away. The "rattle and buzz" are often the result of the neck having straightened up too much due to the lighter tension.
The previous strings were DR Sunbeams, and I also had to release some tension. I moved the Sunbeams to another bass and it’s playing nicely at 2.0mm on the E. The Chrome strung bass is set at ~2.8mm at the E. Any lower, I can hear buzz through the amp. Trying to figure out if it’s the strings, or something with that neck/setup!
Thanks! I did the neck first, reset to .3mm. I tried a little more, about .4 mm, but the buzz just traveled up the neck (around the 5th fret, up to 8-10th fret)
You should always focus on string tension first before the thickness then the design of your bass (top-load or string-through-body mount, inline, 2+2 or 3+1 tuners / tuning machine heads), it will add length and tension...
Pay attention to the scale and string-through-body mount, you might need super long scale strings !
Flatwound strings are often more fragile than roundwound strings. They are more rigid and have less capacity to bend / fold. Favor a top-load bridge mount and big tuners (1/2" string post fits) to better wrap / roll the strings around !
D'ADDARIO ECB80 40-95 (total set tension 163.09 LBs) :
40-95 Super Light, Long Scale, XL Chromes Flat Wound Bass Guitar Strings | ECB80 | D'Addario
CB040 G 0.040 in 17.16 kgs
CB060 D 0.060 in 21.09 kgs
CB075 A 0.075 in 19.32 kgs
CB095 E 0.095 in 16.42 kgs
D'ADDARIO ECB84 40-100 (total set tension 172.13 LBs) :
40-100 Custom Light, Long Scale, XL Chromes Flat Wound Bass Guitar Strings | ECB84 | D'Addario
CB040 G 0.040 in 17.16 kgs
CB060 D 0.060 in 21.09 kgs
CB080 A 0.080 in 21.56 kgs
CB100 E 0.100 in 18.28 kgs
D'ADDARIO ECB81 45-100 (total set tension 199.75 LBs) :
45-100 Regular Light, Long Scale, XL Chromes Flat Wound Bass Guitar Strings | ECB81 | D'Addario
CB045 G 0.045 in 21.32 kgs
CB065 D 0.065 in 24.47 kgs
CB080 A 0.080 in 21.56 kgs
CB100 E 0.100 in 18.28 kgs
D'ADDARIO ECB82 50-105 (total set tension 224.00 LBs) :
50-105 Medium, Long Scale, XL Chromes Flat Wound Bass Guitar Strings | ECB82 | D'Addario
CB050 G 0.050 in 29.08 kgs
CB070 D 0.070 in 29.52 kgs
CB085 A 0.085 in 23.44 kgs
CB105 E 0.105 in 19.57 kgs
+ CB132 B 0.132 in 17.56 kgs
May the Groove be with you.
Pay attention to the scale and string-through-body mount, you might need super long scale strings !
Flatwound strings are often more fragile than roundwound strings. They are more rigid and have less capacity to bend / fold. Favor a top-load bridge mount and big tuners (1/2" string post fits) to better wrap / roll the strings around !
D'ADDARIO ECB80 40-95 (total set tension 163.09 LBs) :
40-95 Super Light, Long Scale, XL Chromes Flat Wound Bass Guitar Strings | ECB80 | D'Addario
CB040 G 0.040 in 17.16 kgs
CB060 D 0.060 in 21.09 kgs
CB075 A 0.075 in 19.32 kgs
CB095 E 0.095 in 16.42 kgs
D'ADDARIO ECB84 40-100 (total set tension 172.13 LBs) :
40-100 Custom Light, Long Scale, XL Chromes Flat Wound Bass Guitar Strings | ECB84 | D'Addario
CB040 G 0.040 in 17.16 kgs
CB060 D 0.060 in 21.09 kgs
CB080 A 0.080 in 21.56 kgs
CB100 E 0.100 in 18.28 kgs
D'ADDARIO ECB81 45-100 (total set tension 199.75 LBs) :
45-100 Regular Light, Long Scale, XL Chromes Flat Wound Bass Guitar Strings | ECB81 | D'Addario
CB045 G 0.045 in 21.32 kgs
CB065 D 0.065 in 24.47 kgs
CB080 A 0.080 in 21.56 kgs
CB100 E 0.100 in 18.28 kgs
D'ADDARIO ECB82 50-105 (total set tension 224.00 LBs) :
50-105 Medium, Long Scale, XL Chromes Flat Wound Bass Guitar Strings | ECB82 | D'Addario
CB050 G 0.050 in 29.08 kgs
CB070 D 0.070 in 29.52 kgs
CB085 A 0.085 in 23.44 kgs
CB105 E 0.105 in 19.57 kgs
+ CB132 B 0.132 in 17.56 kgs
May the Groove be with you.
I play the light set (45-100) in D Standard because I like my tension a little looser. I would get the 40-95 super light set if you want to play in E Standard or the mediums if you play in C or C# Standard.
40-95 Super Light, Long Scale, XL Chromes Flat Wound Bass Guitar Strings | ECB80 | D'Addario
40-95 Super Light, Long Scale, XL Chromes Flat Wound Bass Guitar Strings | ECB80 | D'Addario
Update - I have since switched up to the medium gauge (50-105) and it feels much nicer than the light gauge set. The light gauge set is great for standard or Eb Standard, but it got to be too light for D Standard.
I very much like that Daddario sell Chromes in singles at sensible prices. I like putting together a 45-65-85-105 set, but I've also had a balanced set 45-60-80-105, which is I think what I would recommend.
Forum sponsor Rocket Music sell them; shopping from Greg there is a pleasure in itself:
www.rocketmusicshop.com
That 45-60-80-105 set would be $45.10, for example.
Forum sponsor Rocket Music sell them; shopping from Greg there is a pleasure in itself:
D'Addario XL Chromes Bass Guitar Single Strings, Long Scale
XL Chromes Flat Wound Bass Singles are noted for their smooth feel and warm, mellow tone. Available in various gauges, these are Long Scale. Chrome flatwound single bass strings Ribbon wound and polished for ultra-smooth feel and warm, mellow tone Fits long scale basses with a string scale...
www.rocketmusicshop.com
That 45-60-80-105 set would be $45.10, for example.
