Well I have some Ernie Ball Slinky Nickle Roundwound strings. The E string is 105. I love them, the sound is great, but they're too damn thin! Being that I couldn't afford a 5-string bass for my life, I do a considerable amount of tuning down. My 100 gauge strings before were even worse, and the ones I have are a little better, but If I tune any lower than a D, it's unbearable! The string's just too floppy. I want nickle strings because I like them better, but I want them thicker, so I can tune them down to let's say a C without it being too floppy. What gauge/brand would you recommend?
Well, this is kind of a solution based on when I drove nails into the head of the only guitar I owned when I figured out I wanted to play bass- Buy a string tree/string guide from Fender or some parts supplier and screw it into the headstock to increase the tension. Or you could use nails like I did to angle the strings for tension.
Oystermans got a very good point there. If you tune down that much, and still want the string fairly tight, id say go with the heaviest guage you can find. The brand well thats all up to you.
right......you really drove nails into your bass? if so where and how did you get them in there? you have me intrigued.