I need some high tension rounds for my P tuned to drop C#

I like the fender 7150/7250s for a warm sound. SIT makes some good nickel rounds too, power wounds or rock brights. Cant go wrong with Nickel Lo-riders either. These have all worked for me with drop C# tuning, usually 105 E string. Cheers.

 

DR Lo-Rider nickles are what you need.

 

I have a set of SS Lo-Riders on a G&L, and they're the lowest tension strings I've ever had. (They sound fantastic.) Don't know about the nickels though, but I think DR's are generally known for low tension. For this reason, my local tech doesn't carry DR and won't use them without a specific customer request.

The highest tension strings I've ever tried are D'Addario Half-Rounds. I wasn't crazy about the tone or feel, but they would hold up really well for drop C# tuning. Heavy gauge GHS Boomers would probably be good too.

 

I wonder if you're talking about DR Hi-Beams instead of Lo-Riders. The Hi-Beams have a round core and less tension, whereas the Lo-Riders have a hex core and higher tension.

 

And don't forget to get the thickest gauge available. The thicker the gauge, the higher string tension.

 

IME, SS Lo-Riders are one of the highest tension strings I've ever used. I use a set on my Spector 5er, which is tuned to A# and another set on my MIM Fender P/J which is generally tuned to drop-C# (drop-D -1/2 step). They hold up very nicely to downtuning. Almost feels like they aren't even down-tuned at all, although I could probably stand to step a gauge on the Fender (been using .045-.105, could stand to go .050-.110). But, they are still plenty usable in their current gauge and I play pretty hard which is why I hate strings with lower tension.

I think you must be thinking of Hi-Beams or some variant of the Hi-Beams (Fat Beams, etc), which have both very low tension and a great tone.

 

Nope, they're definitely SS Lo-Riders. When I swapped out the previous strings on my L-1500, the Lo-Riders had much less tension, and I had to adjust. But now, digging into the foggy recesses of my 40+ year old memory, I remember why that was the case: I swapped out D'Addario Half-Rounds, which I had on there for only about a week. The drastic difference in tension between those two left the impression that the Lo-Riders are low tension. I had forgotten about that, and thought I had switched from GHS Boomers, because those were on the L-1500 for a long time.

To evaluate this, I just played the three four stringers I have lying around (all 34" scale), and, lo and behold, the Lo-Riders DO have the most tension. The others have GHS Booomers (SB-2) and Fender Super Bass (MIA Jazz). The Fenders have the least tension. The 1500 has very low action and effortless playability, so the Lo-Riders don't feel very stiff on there at all, but they definitely are compared to the others.

So you guys were right about the Lo-Riders. But, tension wise, they don't even come close to the D'Addario Half Rounds.