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short scale, extra light rounds

Dunno! Tension and feel seems so subjective. I found myself looking exclusively at round core strings vs hex core to achieve a mire flexible feel, regardless of string weight. i just prefer the way round core moves i guess. I cannot play d'addario strings, they just feel super stiff to me. AK Bass Guy above says

and i just dont get that at all. D'Addario to me feel exact opposite, round or flat wound they are a hard pull

I loved those light gauge GHS groundwound for their slinkiness, i could bend that G string a full 3rd! Felt like playing guitar!
tension is measurable with the right spring scale, which makes it not so subjective.
IDK. To me any D’addario string I have played rounds, or chromes they feel me lighter, and more loose to me than Rotos, EBs, DRs, or La Bellas of the same gauge. I play in general .45 to .105 because I like a medium tension they have on rounds and I like my flats to have just a little more tension.

they are lower tension than most. but as soon as i started getting some that seemed thicker and higher tension, we not only have measured all the d'addario super light strings wth a micrometer but with a spring scale. the low E on my bronco felt thicker and stiffest to me, and it was .101 rather than .095 or thereabouts; the low E on my NS Pulse measured .0942.
 
Pcake, question for you if you don’t mind?
Are these strings for one of your Bronco basses?
I’m pretty sure you probably have tried it, but if you haven’t….
My new modded Bronco sounds amazing with flats.
But obviously you do you.
I’m currently going thru a string crisis though, and switching from rounds back to flats again.
I’m sure I change my mind again in a couple months/years.
 
tension is measurable with the right spring scale, which makes it not so subjective.


they are lower tension than most. but as soon as i started getting some that seemed thicker and higher tension, we not only have measured all the d'addario super light strings wth a micrometer but with a spring scale. the low E on my bronco felt thicker and stiffest to me, and it was .101 rather than .095 or thereabouts; the low E on my NS Pulse measured .0942.
IMO the .90 to .40 sounds like your vibe, don’t D’addario make some really thin coated strings? Or if going poly coated you can go larger gauge because the actual string is thinner and the measurement is taken from the poly coat and not the metal string.
 
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Pcake, question for you if you don’t mind?
Are these strings for one of your Bronco basses?
I’m pretty sure you probably have tried it, but if you haven’t….
My new modded Bronco sounds amazing with flats.
But obviously you do you.
I’m currently going thru a string crisis though, and switching from rounds back to flats again.
I’m sure I change my mind again in a couple months/years.
np. open book = me.

all my basses - i think i have 15 of them - but the fretless have d'addario nickel super lights. and while the SITs will probably go on my pink bronco and the piccolo strings on my black bronco for now, i'll also need strings for my 28.6" mikro and my near future replacement mini P.

i have only found one set of flats flexible and low tension enough for me to play. weirdly (to me) gibson lights, which i have on my short scale fretless. i don't love the tone, but they move like rounds, which i definitely like.
 
IMO the .90 to .40 sounds like your vibe, don’t D’addario make some really thin coated strings? Or if going poly coated you can go larger gauge because the actual string is thinner and the measurement is taken from the poly coat and not the metal string.
i'm looking for flexibility and low tension, not necessarily strings thinner than 95s. by poly coat, do you mean like elixers or tape wounds, which d'addario does offer. i'm not partial to tapes as they stick to my fingers when i do a run, and they get very hot - or my fingers do - when doing long, fast runs up and down the neck. i used to use elixers on my taylor GC8 acoustic guitar, and they didn't cause that... or i didn't play long, fast runs up and down the neck on acoustic.

 
For short scale i was actually very impressed when i tried the D’Addario extra light set that you mention. The Dunlop super brites are very good too and close to the D’Addario’s in sound and feel (can’t go wrong with either of these IMHO).
 
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i'm looking for flexibility and low tension, not necessarily strings thinner than 95s. by poly coat, do you mean like elixers or tape wounds, which d'addario does offer. i'm not partial to tapes as they stick to my fingers when i do a run, and they get very hot - or my fingers do - when doing long, fast runs up and down the neck. i used to use elixers on my taylor GC8 acoustic guitar, and they didn't cause that... or i didn't play long, fast runs up and down the neck on acoustic.

Not a fan of polymer coated strings but yeah elixir and the like I was referring too.
 
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i prefer extra light, roundwound strings, and i haven't found many options for my short scales. i've used d'addario super light nickels for a long time, but i'm ready to branch out if any decent options are out there.

beside d'addario, who makes extra light (around 40-95) rounds?
Apologize if I’m slightly off topic, but I’ve been using very light, long scale rotos on my 3 shorties for years, never an issue. Opened up options. (Sire U5, Vox Starstream, Ibanez EHB 1505).
 
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you must have mighty mitts! i found the extra light pressure wounds stiff, and actually found i didn't want to play the bass they were on.
Daddario and GHS publish tension charts online which is fantastic and I wish everyone did that. Pressurewounds are actually lower tension than the D'Addario's that you played but I suppose it could be perceived tension. I believe they are both hex core which will be stiffer. Pressurewounds are odd strings though. I like them but I completely understand why loads of people don't. Tension completely aside.

Based on what you posted here I would say round core is the way to go. I would not suggest using TI jazz rounds on a short scale. They are too long and won't work great. I have tried it before. They work fine if you have a short scale bass with length behind the bridge (like a Hofner) but not on a standard short scale. My top suggestion would be GHS Balanced Nickels. While they are slightly higher tension than the Pressurewounds they are round core and feel way looser and more flexible. And the balanced string tension is fantastic. Second suggestion would be DR Sunbeam but I don't think they make a light set in short scale unfortunately. That leaves me with only one suggestion :)
 
If your bass can accommodate guitar string ball ends, try these:

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the last time i tried bass slinkys, they were very rough - you could REALLY feel the wire wraps. perhaps it was the model of the particular strings, though. are these pretty smooth?

Yeah, there's a feel to Ernie Ball strings that you either like or you don't. In that case, while the gauges might be right for you, I wouldn't recommend them. LaBella makes a 9 string guitar set that includes a 74 and a 90, and a baritone set that goes up to 80. I like their rounds a lot better than EB.
 
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