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Strings to compensate tension for u/s truss rod?

PDW30

PDW30

Jul 12, 2021
5,128
20,498
England
#1
I have an Ibanez SR300DX, Korean-made, from 2000-ish. When I received it the truss rod was rusted and useless - my luthier gave up on it. The neck has too much bend in it and the action is very high. I've experimented with reducing tension by tuning down the strings which were on it when I got it (roundwound, red silk both ends, silver bobbins, feel 'normal') as the only way I can reduce the neck bend, and with C sharp/F sharp/B/E I can get a still-high but much more usable action. However the E string sounds strange and feels floppy and in any case I'd like to tune to standard EADG. I could just look for a replacement neck with a working truss rod, but I'd rather have a try at making what I have usable first.

I appreciate that this is all vague and guesswork-y, but can anyone here suggest a set of strings that would give me lower tension somewhere near to the tuned-down 'normal' set I've now got, but at standard pitch?
 
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#3
The question is a bit odd to me - it's kind of like looking for a lighter weight girlfriend, because the brakes in your car are failing. There may be benefits to the lighter girlfriend, but you really oughtta start by fixing the brakes. A bass without a functioning truss rod is just a bad thing, no matter what - unless it's a metal necked Kramer.
 
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#4
micguy said:
The question is a bit odd to me - it's kind of like looking for a lighter weight girlfriend, because the brakes in your car are failing. There may be benefits to the lighter girlfriend, but you really oughtta start by fixing the brakes. A bass without a functioning truss rod is just a bad thing, no matter what - unless it's a metal necked Kramer.
Click to expand...
It's about not throwing away stuff that's still usable. If lighter strings will make a bass usable, why not do it?
 
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#5
PDW30 said:
I have an Ibanez SR300DX, Korean-made, from 2000-ish. When I received it the truss rod was rusted and useless - my luthier gave up on it. The neck has too much bend in it and the action is very high. I've experimented with reducing tension by tuning down the strings which were on it when I got it (roundwound, red silk both ends, silver bobbins, feel 'normal') as the only way I can reduce the neck bend, and with C sharp/F sharp/B/E I can get a still-high but much more usable action. However the E string sounds strange and feels floppy and in any case I'd like to tune to standard EADG. I could just look for a replacement neck with a working truss rod, but I'd rather have a try at making what I have usable first.

I appreciate that this is all vague and guesswork-y, but can anyone here suggest a set of strings that would give me lower tension somewhere near to the tuned-down 'normal' set I've now got, but at standard pitch?
Click to expand...
Good luck with that thing. You could try some heat on that truss rod and lots of penetrating oil. It sounds like there's already been some attempts at moving it. Hopefully they are loosening up the relief first because when it's stuck it's easier to back it off and with the penetrating oil (wd40) or whatever it'll go a long way. Also having it on a bench and being able to work the neck to try and massage the space in there where the truss rod sits can definitely help. If it's at a point for only strings and hoping it makes it feel decent I'd recommend light gauge hi beams or some Rotosound funkmaster or Ken Smith slap master strings. All would be low tension and probably help a bit. Labella Rx and Dunlop super bright are pretty flexible too.
 
#9
PDW30 said:
I appreciate that this is all vague and guesswork-y, but can anyone here suggest a set of strings that would give me lower tension somewhere near to the tuned-down 'normal' set I've now got, but at standard pitch?
Click to expand...
Assuming what you have on is a 45-65-85-105 set, the Rotosound FM66 (Funkmaster 66, Mark King's sort-of signature set), which are 30-50-70-90, would give you the equivalent of tuning the old set to C#.
There's even a lighter set, the RS66LA (Swing Bass 66 Extra Light); well, the treble half is the same, but it has a 065 and a 085 for A and E respectively.
In short: until/unless you fix the truss rod, what you need is a set with lower tension *proper*, not one that is flexible per se.
This means either lower gauge (which is a rough but decently usable sign of low tension in absence of tension data, which only some manufacturers - D'Addario, Rotosound, GHS, Thomastik-Infeld - bother to provide) or light construction (much harder to ascertain without said hard data, and occasionally confused with flexibility).

In pratice: you will have to
- adapt to the feel of thin strings under the fingers, unless you like the tone of tapewounds, whose outer nylon wrap bumbs the gauge up a wee bit (the Warwick Black Nylon Tapewound Bronze 34210 ML LOS 4 set might do the trick)
- lighten up your technique, which you already have if you've been playing the bass downtuned.
- Having less mass than normal strings tuned down, the super-light set should be less unruly and require lower action at the bridge
- plucking closer to the bridge would yield back some resistance against the plucking/picking hand, but require some bass boost
- having inherently stiff strings (DR Lo Riders or DDT, Dunlop Heavy Cores), but with same or similar gauges as those Rotosound sets, would also give some additional resistance, but might make the pitch envelope noticeably spiky ( = notes going sharp upon the attack) - you'll still have to maintain a light hand
- conversely, having strings that are inherently flexible (beside light-gauge), such as DR Hi-Beams, should lessen the pitch spikes but increase the floppy feel.

If you want to experiment, suitably light sets of the options listed in the latter two points will have to be assembled from webstores selling them as singles (except for the DR Hi-Beam XLR-30, which is ready to go.)
 
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#11
HaphAsSard said:
Assuming what you have on is a 45-65-85-105 set, the Rotosound FM66 (Funkmaster 66, Mark King's sort-of signature set), which are 30-50-70-90, would give you the equivalent of tuning the old set to C#.
There's even a lighter set, the RS66LA (Swing Bass 66 Extra Light); well, the treble half is the same, but it has a 065 and a 085 for A and E respectively.
In short: until/unless you fix the truss rod, what you need is a set with lower tension *proper*, not one that is flexible per se.
This means either lower gauge (which is a rough but decently usable sign of low tension in absence of tension data, which only some manufacturers - D'Addario, Rotosound, GHS, Thomastik-Infeld - bother to provide) or light construction (much harder to ascertain without said hard data, and occasionally confused with flexibility).

In pratice: you will have to
- adapt to the feel of thin strings under the fingers, unless you like the tone of tapewounds, whose outer nylon wrap bumbs the gauge up a wee bit (the Warwick Black Nylon Tapewound Bronze 34210 ML LOS 4 set might do the trick)
- lighten up your technique, which you already have if you've been playing the bass downtuned.
- Having less mass than normal strings tuned down, the super-light set should be less unruly and require lower action at the bridge
- plucking closer to the bridge would yield back some resistance against the plucking/picking hand, but require some bass boost
- having inherently stiff strings (DR Lo Riders or DDT, Dunlop Heavy Cores), but with same or similar gauges as those Rotosound sets, would also give some additional resistance, but might make the pitch envelope noticeably spiky ( = notes going sharp upon the attack) - you'll still have to maintain a light hand
- conversely, having strings that are inherently flexible (beside light-gauge), such as DR Hi-Beams, should lessen the pitch spikes but increase the floppy feel.

If you want to experiment, suitably light sets of the options listed in the latter two points will have to be assembled from webstores selling them as singles (except for the DR Hi-Beam XLR-30, which is ready to go.)
Click to expand...
Thanks for the analysis. I have a mix of light and medium gauge sets on my too many [can you have too many?] basses, so going light and flexible isn't a problem. And I have a new set of RS66LAs I've been wanting to try in my string box. I'll try them and see how the bass likes them.
And did I remember to say thanks?
 
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#15
Indiana Mike said:
If you take the strings off does the neck go into an opposite curve?

If not it’s done. Might look at that first.
That my opinion, doesn’t mean I’m right.
captain buzzkill signing off…
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No back bow when the strings are slackened; the neck stays curved in the right direction, just too much of it to get a low action. The luthier who did his best with the bass as it was agreed that lighter-tension strings might improve matters, and slackening them to reduce the tension has certainly helped. Hence my query as to how light I should go.
 
#18
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it sounds like that bass is finished. It’s a very inexpensive instrument you shouldn’t spend any more money on it. You won’t even be able to sell it to anyone like that. If you’re handy and have the tools, you could maybe find some YouTube videos on truss rod replacement and try it yourself. You really have nothing to loose. On the used market you could probably find another comparable Ibanez for $200.
 
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#19
Fernando Costa said:
EXL220BT.
Click to expand...

That's probably your best bet - one of the lowest tension sets around & they're not expensive either. They're certainly worth trying if that bass matters to you.
I salvaged a bass with a problematic "wet noodle" neck this way. (It has a functioning rod, but really hates heavy strings & was unstable w/heavier strings.)

However, if that doesn't work, you're probably going to have to take the advice of others here & either get the rod repaired/replaced, or scrap the instrument.

Good luck & let us know how it goes.

GT
 
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