• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Progressive Tension Strings - Who makes them?

Don't give up the day job. I asked about to the stock SET of strings he referenced above, not the singles. But a participation prize ... 🙌
-
Hence my amusement. PF above did not reference any stock set of strings: he suggested a custom one you could make, out of singles. He further added, in that same post,
the tension for D2 is a guestimate as it is not part of any Chrome set
So there cannot be any stock set with a 55, progressive tension or otherwise, because the 55 only exists as a single.*

Capisce?


* [It used to come as a G in the long-discontinued, heavy-gauge (55-75-90-110) CB83 set.]
 
  • Like
Reactions: Prodigus Filius
D'addario Chrome Singles gauges
40 55 75 105 is progressive from low to high
FYI I got these singles and discovered the .105 is a little too fat for the groove in the brass saddle ('81 P. Special.) So I took a round jeweler's file and widened the upper sides of the 'U' channel so that a .107 pin gage will bottom out in the channel. This needs to be done from the top break point thence down the backside along the length of the string's contact patch. All saddles are identical so the smaller strings have plenty of room. One also needs to check the nut slot as well, but the .105 bottoms out in the existing E slot on my bass.
-
 
FYI I got these singles and discovered the .105 is a little too fat for the groove in the brass saddle ('81 P. Special.) So I took a round jeweler's file and widened the upper sides of the 'U' channel so that a .107 pin gage will bottom out in the channel. This needs to be done from the top break point thence down the backside along the length of the string's contact patch. All saddles are identical so the smaller strings have plenty of room. One also needs to check the nut slot as well, but the .105 bottoms out in the existing E slot on my bass.
-
V shaped notches maybe widened a little with a 'triangular shaped' file if the notch is V shaped. You say the notch is U shaped , so I guess no harm in widening a little with a round file if you felt it necessary. The nut slots should be U shaped of course and widened a tad if you felt warranted. I have widened the V notch in saddles in the past for heavier gauges but don't bother with it now as never noticed any difference in sound or intonation. For context, I'm using 130/135 gauge strings on typical V notched E barrel saddles with no issues with string intonation or sound or string movement. I just adjust the action a little lower as the string rides a little higher than a typical 105 E would

P.s Be good to hear how you find the progressive tension thing
 
Last edited:
V shaped notches maybe widened a little with a 'triangular shaped' file if the notch is V shaped. You say the notch is U shaped , so I guess no harm in widening a little with a round file if you felt it necessary. The nut slots should be U shaped of course and widened a tad if you felt warranted. I have widened the V notch in saddles in the past for heavier gauges but don't bother with it now as never noticed any difference in sound or intonation.
Here's the saddles I have. If the string is fat and riding up on the corners of the 'U' channel, that's not good, as the contact points are closer to 4 and 8 o'clock and pointed, rather than a 'V' channel's flat contacts at 5 and 7 o'clock which is stable and not prone to squeezing the sides of the string, allowing it over time to sink deeper in the channel. We want the strings resting in the bottom of a 'U' at the nut, so I apply that principle to these saddles as well. That's not to say a 'V' notch in the saddle is inferior to a 'U', but that a 'V' is superior if the 'U' is too narrow. (Whew, I'm out of breath.)
bridge.jpg
-
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Prodigus Filius
My .040 'G' went bad. It started emitting subtle beating overtones and playing "dead" in the frets 7-9 region. I had to detune a lot while adjusting the action to the different spec strings, heard a "tink" once coming up to pitch and figured the string had snagged slightly at the nut or something, but apparently the winding must have slipped somewhere. Are these D'Addario Chromes particularly fragile, in particular the skinny strings?
-