Heavier Strings and Truss Rod Adjustments

You CAN do it.. but it would require complete re-setup of your bass, plus it will sound like poo..

 

Allo is right, you'll need to readjust everything. Heck, I have to make several adjustments when I put on a new set of the same gauge.

The heavier core will exert more pull on your instrument. The leading cause of string failure is core stretch and that heavier gauge just isn't going to give as much. This will really become apparent when the heat and humidity where the bass is kept change and the neck starts getting restless.

Plus, the windings, wrap to core, and the materials they are made of will affect it.

 

HOLY mackerel.

You are planning to tune that .085 string almost ONE OCTAVE higher than it was designed for. You are going to be REALLY stressing the limits of that neck.

Last time I tried that (thought I was tuning the D string, turned out I was trying to tune the A string to D -- )... the string broke. (And I pissed off the salesgeek in the store.)

I would recommend you try this on an old junker bass first to see if the neck can take this kind of tension. And give it a couple of weeks to settle to see what really happens. And for heaven's sake, keep your face away from the strings as you're tuning up...

 

Thank you, Eli!

I've been following this post from the start but I had decided to just wait and read the rest of the expert advice.

 

The 105-105-85-85 thing would NOT work. To get your bass set up without any bow you'd practically break the truss rod...

...if the strings didn't break first. That would NOT work.

the 105-85-65-65 thing isn't a good idea either, because then you'll have fairly uneven tension applied to the neck, which may cause neck TWISTING, which is NOT good. Not as likely, but it could potentially happen.

If you want a heavier G, a .50 works pretty well. CERTAINLY not an .85.

 

I think there's going to be a whole lot of slipping and sliding in those nut slots and probably on those saddles - BBBBZZZZZZZ

Not getting the proper note on a fretted string means either your intonation desperately needs adjustment, (most likely), or whatever standard you're tuning to is whack.

 

i would'nt do it dude, just use the right strings...our else when you play you will sound like crap

 

[My whole point of doing this is that an A played on the fifth fret of the E string is supposed to be the same as an open A string, but it's not. A D played on the fifth fret of the A string is supposed to be the same as an open D string, but it's not. Or, am I misinformed?]quote/Hategear

You are losing me on this one. E string in the fifth fret is identical to an open A. The slight tonal variation can easily be overcome with technique. I.E. plucking nearer the middle of the neck for a heavier, more mellow sound on the A string.

It sounds to me like your experiment would put a tremendous amount of strain on the neck. Not to mention, as Angus pointed out, the nut would have to have the notches reworked to even try it.

Do yourself and your bass a favour. Just don't do what you propose. It wont work!

Pkr2

 

Ys, it is to be expected. The tone of ANY string will get deeper and rounder (as opposed to bright and twangy) the higher up the fretboard you go. You want a clangy sound, you play down low. You want a fat round sound, you play up high. Or else, maybe you get flatwound strings! It sounds like you want any given pitch to sound the same wherever on the bass it is played. Is that it?

I've reread all the posts in this thread and I suppose someone should have asked you, "What do you want to sound like?" Maybe we can help you get there once we understand where "there" is.

 

Hmmm. Flatwound G for sure, probably D. You might have to mess around a little. But go to www.juststrings.com -- they have almost every string available for sale as single strings! You can go nuts and experimant without having to fork out $30 or $40 for a set you're gonna throw away 3/4 of.

Actually, I say try a set of flats first. It may give you what you want in the higher strings, but the lows will be considerably darker than the rounds you have on now. Maybe you could try mixing and matching with the rounds you have on now.

Or you can do like Jamerson did -- just never change strings and wait 'til they get good and gooked up -- no more metallic clang!

 

is that because your nut is a different material than your fret?

 

Hategear, your first post makes your name make sense!

OK, I'm with you, I don't like that difference in sounds between strings. On the ol' P I turn the tone control max off. That helps the old strings to play evenly.
On the BassLab I currently have home, I try to emphasise the low mids, while cutting the treble. The material of the BassLab makes it more clear on every string, ad this way it's possible to even it out a bit.
And then there is plucking and fretting technique, and amp adjustments.
You could also choose heavy G and D, i.e. 0.50 for the G, but don't overdo it!

Don't mess the neck up!

 

Yes. It is to be expected. The tone of the string is a function of the length and the tension. Even if you were able to structurally make your experiment happen without snapping the neck or putting out an eye, the open string would still sound different than the fretted one.

To me, this is part of the beauty. When to use one position verses another for a certain note is part of developing technique. Sometimes you do it for tone, other times you do it in order to be in position to go somewhere else. Sometimes you just hit the one you can get to the fastest.

 

If you use half flat, half round (E and A round, D G flat) It WILL sound different, and i dont think you want that. If you really want every possible note to sound the same everywhere, i say get a bagillion stringed instrument, and never switch positions. If thats really waht you want though. I mean, you can quite possibly get all the notes most people get with a std. 4 string with a 21 neck fret in one position, but you'd need a ton of strings. If you want a bass that has a 5th fret closed to sound the same as a open string, buy a bass with a zero fret. It will simulate a closed note for you. You're making everything a ton harder than it has to be. You dont like the sound of open strings? Dont use them. What about the low E? Buy a 5 string. You dont like the sound of the upper register? dont use it. The reason why string gauges are spaced out like they are, is to try to achieve evenness all the way across, and to give equal tension across all 4 or whatever amount strings. If you strung your bass 105 105 85 85, you'd next be complaining that your E string was too floppy compared to the rest of your strings, and the A and G strings are VERY tight, and if there is any way to losen them.