A couple of my basses wear Kalium, but I go for lighter gauges - 37-51-70-94-130, IiRC. My sweet spot is 35 pounds of tension - a wrist issue, and the desire for a bit of twang drive that.
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Is equal tension a good thing?
- Thread starter smart51
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A couple of my basses wear Kalium, but I go for lighter gauges - 37-51-70-94-130, IiRC. My sweet spot is 35 pounds of tension - a wrist issue, and the desire for a bit of twang drive that.
I believe some of the inconsistencies are due to marketing by the manufacturers. The sets available are usually in numeric sequence by string diameter. 100, 80, 60, 40 or the like. That doesn't always translate into equal string tension across the set. If strings were designed with tension in mind, the gauges on the package might read more like 98, 82, 59, 41. Not as easily understood as 100s or 105s. Marketing has always been about tricking consumers into thinking they're getting a better deal than they actually are. That new car isn't $20000, it's $19,999.99! Under $20k!! Then you add in taxes and the rest and it costs you almost $30. Sizes are designated to make consumers feel good about their choices. Men's jeans are sized by dimensions. 36 - 32 means the waist is 36" and the inseam is 32". Women's jeans are in ascending even numeric values. 8, 10, 12, 14... What that means in dimensional size goes is indecipherable. That is to appeal to a woman's vanity by not having to deal with the reality of having a 36" waist. Men don't care, they just want jeans that fit. This is just an illustration of marketing ploys and not an opening volley for an argument about genders and their buying habits. Now, G strings are another topic altogether... 
Determining this seems to me like the way to go (and incidentally, we’ve arrived at around the same number). Fortunately for me, I get close enough with fairly ordinary Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkies tuned DGCF, adding either a .130 or .135 for the fifth string where applicable (still determining whether that extra .005 makes any noticeable difference, but I suspect it doesn’t to me). I’ve tried balanced tension sets from D’Addario, Stringjoy, and Curt Mangan; I can’t really complain about any of them, but I didn’t notice anything that made them clearly superior to the inexpensive and readily available Slinkies, i.e. they didn’t feel or sound that different for my purposes. I also frequently play in CGCF and GCGCF, so I have gotten accustomed to much lower tension on the lowest-pitched strings. I’ve concluded that measurably balanced tension doesn’t matter nearly as much to me as sound quality, perceived balance in output between strings, or texture—most players would recommend stainless steel roundwound strings for the sound I want, but I do not like how they feel.
I keep one instrument tuned BEAD, but as I want 30–36# tension per string, I do custom order those sets. I have a set of Stringjoys measuring .120/.095/.070/.055 which I chose based on their calculator’s results before they recently corrected it
and that .070 does feel a bit off from the rest, though not enough that I won’t wear the set out before replacing it with a. 075.
My prefered Thomastik JF344 flatwounds have 043 - 056 - 070 - 100, I like more balanced tension better the the standard progression like 40-60-80-100, that always sounds uneven to me.
Note the fine print at the bottom of the page containing Stringjoy’s tension calculator:
“As gauges increase, so does overall output and bass response. Because of this, when you get to the very heaviest string (or strings in the case of a 7 or 8 string guitar or 5 string bass), you may find it best to ramp the tension down slightly to avoid excess bass response overpowering other strings in the set.”
The historical reasons given for “traditional” string gauges seem plausible, but they may have stuck around for reasons other than stubbornness.
“As gauges increase, so does overall output and bass response. Because of this, when you get to the very heaviest string (or strings in the case of a 7 or 8 string guitar or 5 string bass), you may find it best to ramp the tension down slightly to avoid excess bass response overpowering other strings in the set.”
The historical reasons given for “traditional” string gauges seem plausible, but they may have stuck around for reasons other than stubbornness.
Where can you get a set of Bass Strings for $20???? I'm guessing USD, but, even still?????
GC/MF regularly sell D'Addarios for under $20/set. Balanced tension, even! (These are the heavies, which I use for BEAD. They make light and medium, too.)
D'Addario EXL160BT Balanced Tension 50-120 Long Scale Electric Bass String Set
Unfortunately the tension on typical string sets doesn't accomplish that. For instance, typical tension figures for a set of of 45-100s are 45-50-45-38. That's nowhere close to the progression you'd want, which is steadily decreasing.
Also, there's the issue that lower tension strings are displaced farther for the same plucking force, cancelling out part or all of the volume decrease from playing a lighter string. (If anyone wants to run the numbers on this, I'd love to see the results!)
For me, the main benefit is that the low E and low B strings aren't floppy compared to the others, and equal tension makes them ring out the same. I like the low notes: as someone here once said, "I play the bass, not the midrange."
That said, people should play what they want. But it's important to understand that there's no science behind standard string gauges: it's literally just guesses made in the 1950s based on "round numbers look nice." Remember, Ernie Ball started his entire string business by improving guitar string balance -- replacing the standard .028 wound third string with an .024 plain string whose tension was less out of line with the rest of the set!
Thanks for that, Musicians Friend was one supplier that I'd never considered given that I live on the other side of a very big pond. Their shipping costs have yet to be confirmed. At least their prices show in local currency.
Now THIS is super-interesting and maybe, just maybe the reason for bass-necks always, at least IME, twisting counterclockwise when looking down the neck from the body. I’ve seen too many necks with a twist in that direction and I always fail to understand why that is.
I might very well be wrong, though (not about what I’ve seen, but about the reason).
A diameter pattern to achieve more equal tension would go something like 45-60-80-105. Sounds kinda reasonable, La Bella might even have a set like this IIRC. One of my necks is awfully twisted, I’ll give it a shot and see if this changes things.
best
Sidecar
D’addario makes a 45-60-80-107 set / very well balanced, if you like that overall tension. I’m a fan of lower tension, but have used that set for a D standard tuned bass.
You can also search Thomann Music for "Valuestrings" and find string sets for under $5, 5-string for under $8. Not balanced tension, and I've never used them so I can't vouch for quality, but they exist!
https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_valuestrings_bassguitar_medium.htm
https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_valuestrings_ebass_light.htm
https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_valuestrings_ebass_5_string.htm
Equal tension and multi-scale is the key.
It's all about ergonomics for me.
It's all about ergonomics for me.
I never even knew that string sets came in balanced or unbalanced styles.
Maybe I'm cheap and lazy, but for my 25" scale travel bass, I just took a BEAD set and tuned to EADG. It plays just like a full scale bass, strung BEAD with a capo on the 5th fret. I'd never pay for a custom set when an off the shelf solution is available.
Maybe I'm cheap and lazy, but for my 25" scale travel bass, I just took a BEAD set and tuned to EADG. It plays just like a full scale bass, strung BEAD with a capo on the 5th fret. I'd never pay for a custom set when an off the shelf solution is available.
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Quite an indictment on Novax, Sheldon D., Ibanez and others (although I think Ibanez is leaning more towards the money-making side rather than the innovation side). Having owned a variety of basses (including a Dingwall) and tried various strings I'm even more skeptical of your solution after your statement above in bold.
OP, everything matters when it comes to this, and at best I feel you should experiment until you find the combination that works for you. I liked the Dingwall I owned as it had the closest tonal balance between strings of any bass I've owned, but the high tension made it difficult for me to feel where I was on the fretboard (with more string options now, that's probably no longer an issue). I've drop-tuned my basses with "normal" sized strings and found the tone perfectly acceptable, but the tension was too low for my personal preference.
Currently I own 34" and 35" scale basses, with Kalium balanced tension sets. The E on the B string has much more girth than the open E, but I see this as a feature to be leveraged and not a detraction - essentially, if I want a more open sounding, harmonic-rich E, I play the open string. If I want to summon the gods of thunder, I play further up on the B and low F# strings.
Enjoy the journey, and if it sounds good, it is good.
Raz
That wasn’t a flippant comment on my part. My degree is in Acoustcsl physics, and I studied with the world’s expert on the Acoustics of musical instruments (it’s a small field). If you start with what I know, and decided to make strings for a bass, you would never end up with 40-60-80-100-120x
A lot of interesting information on this thread, both subjective and objective.
I started with typical 45-65-85-105 sets and, after several years, discovered that I preferred both the feel and the output of an 80 A string instead. Fast forward several years and D’Addario introduced their balanced sets and I found that I liked them. Now I get custom sets from DR gauged 45-60-80-105 or use the BT D’Addarios on a lot of my instruments.
…but not all of them. Some of them still feel better to me with more conventional gauges.
I’ve never measured tension. I’ve never measured acoustic output. I trust my 35+ years of playing to know what feels and or sounds good to me.
I also know that there are other aspects of setups and instrument construction as well as differences in string construction that affect our perception of how strings feel.
So I guess the short answer is: “Sure. Why not?”
I started with typical 45-65-85-105 sets and, after several years, discovered that I preferred both the feel and the output of an 80 A string instead. Fast forward several years and D’Addario introduced their balanced sets and I found that I liked them. Now I get custom sets from DR gauged 45-60-80-105 or use the BT D’Addarios on a lot of my instruments.
…but not all of them. Some of them still feel better to me with more conventional gauges.
I’ve never measured tension. I’ve never measured acoustic output. I trust my 35+ years of playing to know what feels and or sounds good to me.
I also know that there are other aspects of setups and instrument construction as well as differences in string construction that affect our perception of how strings feel.
So I guess the short answer is: “Sure. Why not?”
Depending on what you're going for, you can get pretty close to balanced tension even with gauges that all end in 5. For example, 45-60-80-105 is pretty close to balanced.
Yeah, I mean, really, why would you want the people making stuff to actually understand the science behind what they make?
I haven't noticed a problem with this, but I always have a couple extra 107s lying around from when I put the BTs on a bass that I'm leaving in drop D. I replace the 107 with a 115 or a 120.
I have a set of Stringjoys measuring .120/.095/.070/.055 which I chose based on their calculator’s results before they recently corrected it
I wish I had caught their error sooner.
Wait, what? Where do you get those? I would love to get some short scale Hi-Beams in 45-60-80-105.
