Reached out to Soften the Glare on Ryan Martinie's strings

[KORNSKYDIVER]

for those Ryan Martinie Fans out there who have pledged to their campaign have access to a discussion board where the band actually responds to fan questions. I asked if Ryan is still using hi-Beams and what gauges he used and they were able to confirm the following:

-For years he has played Tapered Dr Hi-Beams
-B-E-A & surprisingly D are tapered
- Gauges are (.50 .70 .90 .110 .130)

Thought you Ryan folks would dig this information!

Looks like he gets these custom made since hi-Beams don't normally come tapered. Unless they are just stock long necks.

5 -string sets of hi-Beams don't come in these gauges but the heavy 4 string versions do which you would just need to purchase a single B-string at .130. Just an FYI...for those folks who want to try and replicate his tone. I personally love to cover mudvayne songs so this was some awesome info to get my hands on.

Also, check out out his EQ...looks like he loves those mids!

 

[mmbongo]

Dang those are some heavy strings! Wonder if he tunes standard or tunes down?

 

[Jon Moody]

Dang those are some heavy strings! Wonder if he tunes standard or tunes down?

Looks like standard heavy gauges that you can get packaged from most companies. Nothing out of the ordinary, except the 130 looks a little light...

 

[songwriter21]

@mmbongo

Ryan's been known to have really odd tunings for the longest time. I'm not sure what they are, specifically, though. He's a very unorthodox player, and pulls it off very well, imo.

 

[KORNSKYDIVER]

@mmbongo

His tunnings for Mudvayne are:
F#BF#BE for the first album and GCGCF for the remaining albums. With his new band Soften the glare, he tunes to ADADG.

 

[Fafner333]

@mmbongo

His tunnings for Mudvayne are:
F#BF#BE for the first album and GCGCF for the remaining albums. With his new band Soften the glare, he tunes to ADADG.

I'm having a hard time understanding the rationale behind the string gauges at these earlier tunings. 110 tuned to a B must felt like a noodle. Hi Beams are round core too. That doesn't help with tension.

 

[JimmyM]

I'm having a hard time understanding the rationale behind the string gauges at these earlier tunings. 110 tuned to a B must felt like a noodle. Hi Beams are round core too. That doesn't help with tension.

I find tension overrated when it comes to the low strings. I have a Hipshot on my Hammersmith bass that will tune down to either a D or a B, I use 100 gauge Dunlop Super Bright Nickels (which are loose tension to begin with), and while it may feel floppy, it sounds as good as any B string I've ever used.

 

[Sid the Kid]

I'm having a hard time understanding the rationale behind the string gauges at these earlier tunings. 110 tuned to a B must felt like a noodle. Hi Beams are round core too. That doesn't help with tension.

You aren't wrong but the thing you are forgetting about is the bass. I was/am a huge fan of Ryan so I ran out and bought a thumb NT5. I could indeed drop the 105 E all the way to B and not have any notes choke out or have massive amounts of buzz. If I were to properly intonate and set the bass up for that tuning a touch higher string height would overcome most of the noodle feel. Absolutely, positively, the most rock solid neck I have ever encountered on a bass.

Also, due to the location of the pickups, what would sound floppy on a Fender J bass just doesn't sound floppy on the Thumb. The closer the pickups are to the bridge the less vibration they sense, thus less bass content. Having a looser string will help the Thumb bass make up some lows the design is lacking. If you are chasing his tone it lives in the Thumb bass with slack strings.

Ryan is also just a remarkable player. He has been using these low tunings for quite a long time and one can imagine that his technique is superb. Using only our hands to defeat physics and make amazing music is not something most people do. I would throw some money at the problem and buy some heavier strings, this man adapted and overcame. I am fairly certain he is still playing the same 2 or 3 thumb Basses he has had since the early 2000's. He isn't letting the gauge of the string even enter the discussion about how he wants to tune and how he wants to play. I strive to be more like this myself, maybe I'll get struck by lightning and survive to become a savant?

 

[GTHintz]

I wonder what Nick Schendzielos plays for strings and what gauge. He's another Warwick homie who is a huge Ryan Martinie fan. The last album he did in Job for a Cowboy is just killer. I could litterally mute everything but him and that drummer and it still sound amazing.

 

[Jon Moody]

I'm having a hard time understanding the rationale behind the string gauges at these earlier tunings. 110 tuned to a B must felt like a noodle. Hi Beams are round core too. That doesn't help with tension.

I work with a lot of metal bassists, and have asked them about this a couple of times. It comes down to a more hollow, aggressive type of sound that has a string grunt from the lower tension you can't get with heavier strings.

 

[Andre678]

I find tension overrated when it comes to the low strings. I have a Hipshot on my Hammersmith bass that will tune down to either a D or a B, I use 100 gauge Dunlop Super Bright Nickels (which are loose tension to begin with), and while it may feel floppy, it sounds as good as any B string I've ever used.

I work with a lot of metal bassists, and have asked them about this a couple of times. It comes down to a more hollow, aggressive type of sound that has a string grunt from the lower tension you can't get with heavier strings.

Hmmmm. Nice to read this. I kinda thought I was a little crazy with how much I liked it and how playable it was when I recently downtuned my EBMM Short Scale Stingray to C standard. It was certainly floppy but quite playable. I was stunned as well when I played notes all along the low C string and they rang out nicely. I am sure the quality of the bass/neck had something to do with it. Recently had my 35" Ibanez in BEAD with a set of 120-90-70-50 strings that was originally intended for Drop C and I loved playing that bass like that.

Thought I was some kind of super floppy string loving freak.

 

[Jon Moody]

Recently had my 35" Ibanez in BEAD with a set of 120-90-70-50 strings that was originally intended for Drop C and I loved playing that bass like that.

That's roughly the gauge that Ryan of Miss May I uses on a 34" scale bass tuned to Ab. It sounds great through his rig.

 

[Andre678]

That's roughly the gauge that Ryan of Miss May I uses on a 34" scale bass tuned to Ab. It sounds great through his rig.

Yeah I am rethinking entirely how I string my basses. I use to put 105-45's on everything for downtuning if needed and lived with the increased tension. Now I am thinking of trying the TI rounds since I know I like them floppy.

And now that I learn that there is nothing wrong with it, maybe even be a good thing. I was always worried about notes choking out or just "something I don't know". Happy day for my sore hands.

 

[spatters]

I work with a lot of metal bassists, and have asked them about this a couple of times. It comes down to a more hollow, aggressive type of sound that has a string grunt from the lower tension you can't get with heavier strings.

This. There's a certain "boing" you get from playing lower-tension strings hard, especially with a pick. It's part of the distinctive sound of short-scale basses, as well as heavily down-tuned basses, and it sounds really aggressive when you add some dirt. The trick is finding the balance, technique, and picking location that lets you do it without pulling the note sharp!

Also, the really big bass strings are usually stiff to the point of audible inharmonicity. I'm slowly moving towards skinnies, because those .125+ B strings always seem to sound a bit off, especially when you start moving up the neck, and if you want anywhere close to equal tension you can't have a smaller low B without skinnies.

Jon: Can I add a "thank you" to GHS for publishing your string tension chart? Few manufacturers seem to believe that their customers deserve this information.