Looking for a good string gauge for both downtuning and E standard

[ballroomblitz69]

Hello! I'm new here, so first nice to meet you all.

I was wondering if you can help me.

I play Rocksmith for a daily online live stream, and I am looking for a D string gauge which will have good note recognition within the game (ie a fairly stable, loud sound), even in very low tunings (think B standard and lower), but also be able to tune to E standard without breaking.

I was using heavy gauge 55.~.110 which were rather old and came with my bass (secondhand). They worked wonderfully for what I do and sounded lovely in low tunings. Broke the G tuning to high F standard (F1), which I now know definitely not to do!
Broke the .75 D tuning straight up from drop F to E standard, which I also know now not to do anymore, and I now instead tune slowly and gradually...

Got a replacement D in the same gauge, ended up breaking that just tuning it up after putting it on incorrectly (I had never changed strings before and was having a lot of trouble with it).

However I'm told by another bassist that .75 on D shouldn't have been able to tune to E standard at all. Which is rather strange considering I had been doing it with the original set for months already before those two strings broke, and I had assumed they broke due to me being careless and rough while tuning up.

I'm currently using some nasty cheap D string I got in a full set from aliexpress for the equivalent of about 5 dollars for the whole set. They are standard gauge .55 to .105, and are horrible and cheaply made (go figure), the D string is .65 and is already dull after a week and a half, so I am needing a replacement. It sounds pretty bad, and also functioned pretty badly in B standard after two days of constant downtuning, I'm not sure if this is the gauge or the fact that the strings are terribly cheap, as it was a little better in the beginning, and now even in normal E standard it's hit and miss. I had never played in any standard or light gauge strings before this, and I learned entirely on heavy gauge strings.

I guess my question is..

I'm getting a D'addario single string, and I have a choice between a .65, a .67 (which is a bit more expensive), a .70 and a .75

I'm thinking .67 or .70 as they seem in the best of both worlds, being both heavy enough to give an adequate performance in low tunings but still lighter than the .75 which I am told is much too heavy to tune to E standard without breaking.

But what do you think? can you tune a .67 or a .70 D string to E standard tuning without it snapping? Or should I go for the .65 at risk of it being too thin to recognise properly in lower tunings?

Forgive me for my ignorance on this topic as I have not had my own bass for very long, and have only had to change strings fairly recently. Please be gentle when explaining things!

Please do NOT suggest drop pedal as I am not interested or ever intend to use one.

 

[ixlramp]

A .075 D is rarely used but a few sets have that, it's extremely tight. Not surprising it sometimes breaks. Some brands of .075s may not be designed strong enough for tuning to D.
Anyway, if the highest pitch your string will be tuned to is the D of EADG, and you want to be able to detune it significantly, then use a .070, thats roughly the highest practical gauge for a D.

 

[ixlramp]

Detuning from EADG to BEAD is an extreme change in tension, tension drops to 56%, almost half, which will cause setup issues: the neck relief will change. You'll find it very difficult to obtain a good setup across such a huge change in pitch. Better to use 2 basses, each one with less range of retuning, or a 5 string.

 

[ixlramp]

A .055 G is also rare and extremely tight and likely to have the same breakage issues, better to use a .050.
The highest tension practical and durable (under frequent retuning) set of gauges for EADG is probably 110 90 70 50, a typical 'heavy' set. I recommend a new set of those.

 

[ballroomblitz69]

Thank you so much, I will order the .70!

Yeah when I got the bass it was in D standard, the previous owner never tuned it higher than that.

I realise that downtuning isn't the worlds best thing for an instrument but, it's worked well for now. I have the intention to get a 5 string in the future but I cannot afford one at all at the moment. It will happen though for sure!

Thanks again!

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I don't even use a gauge, I just look at the numbers on the packet & divide by 1,000, 0.045" - 0.107":
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I use these all the way down to C-Standard, but the stiffness of your instrument's neck plays a factor.

 

[HaphAsSard]

I realise that downtuning isn't the worlds best thing for an instrument but, it's worked well for now. I have the intention to get a 5 string in the future but I cannot afford one at all at the moment.

Consider choosing diameters for BEAD, keeping set-up and tuning that way, and using a capo on the 5th fret every time you need open strings at standard tuning.

 

[ballroomblitz69]

@Killed_by_Death Those seem much too light for B though. The cheap Chinese 5 dollar set, when I was using all 4 of them (I've removed all but the D now and replaced them with my old, heavy set), was that same gauge and was pretty awful in terms of holding intonation in B standard compared to the heavier ones I had previously, and also sounded comparitively uglier when down there as well.
About the division stuff, lost me there, I can't do maths (dyscalculia)!

@HaphAsSard I don't have a capo, but even if I did, this might be impractical as 1. some songs in E standard need access to all 24 frets and that would give me only 19, and 2. I also do drop tunings and open tunings. I also can't afford a full set so am looking for just the one replacement.

I realise there isn't quite a perfect answer for my situation except "get a 5 string" which is impossible at the moment.

Just want the best that I can do for now until I am able to afford one. .70 for the D string seems the best answer, it's only a little lighter than the 75 which I used previously, so in theory it shouldn't be anywhere near a sbad as the .65. So I was curious as to whether that (.70) gauge on the D will hold up in E standard without breaking.

I was advised by someone to get a .65 as a .70 will "no doubt" break but I have my doubts, said person had disapproval of me downtuning as low as I do anyways even when I had the heavy set and was biased towards a lighter gauge than even that. I had been using a .75 for months, even uptuning it to dangerous tunings like high F at some times (I don't do that anymore though), before it broke. I'm almost sure that the .70 will hold up even better than that (in E standard), I just wanted some confirmation. I won't be able to afford another string for quite a while after this one.