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The reason behind D'addarios gauges?
- Thread starter Sandwell
- Start date
According to most companies...
40-60-80-100 = Light
45-65-80-100 = Medium-light
45-65-85-105 = Medium (or Standard)
According to D'Addario...
40-60-80-100 = Custom Light
45-65-80-100 = Regular Light
45-65-85-105 = Light Top/Medium Bottom
50-70-85-105 = Medium
I personally have always hated the way D'A's "Regular Light" felt so uneven in tension/stiffness with a tight D and a relatively loose E. Any benefit you're missing? I don't think so.
Ancient history: the fretboard has a radius, but the first P-bass pickups had a flat top. Hold that thought. Next thought to hold: magnetism strength varies as the square of the distance from the magnet, not linearly. Third thought to hold: flexibility of the string is a component of having consistent tone string to string.
With these thoughts in mind, the first commercially available string sets were something on the order of 50-65-80-100, give or take. You can look up old Fender catalogs on the web and others to get the idea. So the G string was tight so it wouldn't twang; the D string was tight so it would still make enough output over the pickup in spite of being higher off the pickup than the other strings, and the E string was lighter so it would vibrate in its overtones better to match the rest of the set and not go thunk.
So "traditional" string sets were after even tone, not balanced tension or feel. But in the last decade or so, especially with flatter radius fingerboards and 5- and 6-string instruments, that is not the case. But the old sets hang on because "we've always done it that way."
With these thoughts in mind, the first commercially available string sets were something on the order of 50-65-80-100, give or take. You can look up old Fender catalogs on the web and others to get the idea. So the G string was tight so it wouldn't twang; the D string was tight so it would still make enough output over the pickup in spite of being higher off the pickup than the other strings, and the E string was lighter so it would vibrate in its overtones better to match the rest of the set and not go thunk.
So "traditional" string sets were after even tone, not balanced tension or feel. But in the last decade or so, especially with flatter radius fingerboards and 5- and 6-string instruments, that is not the case. But the old sets hang on because "we've always done it that way."
My Yamaha came fitted with 45•65•80•100 and I concluded that some people must like the top 2 strings souding like a completely different instrument to the bottom 2. And then I fitted 45•65•85•105. So I'm with you, it's mystifying.
When I shifted from Daddario Nickels to Chromes, I opted for 45•60•80•105 and that worked much better. I'm not sure if I've read anything about that set of gauges with the Nickels. At any rate, I'm never having a set of strings with less than 0.020 difference between the A and the D ever again.
Yeah I'm in the UK too ... cost me £61 for the custom set
Should have bought a set from Fretnation for about $35. Even after customs charges and shipping, still worth it.For what it's worth, I would go for the ECB84 over the ECB81, so 40•60•80•100, just to keep that pairing of 60 and 80 in the middle
I tried the Chromes ECB81 (45-65-80-100) and couldn't handle the tight D, so switched to the ECB84 (40-60-80-100), which felt better balanced overall but had a hard time taming the twang on the 40G.
My solution? Fender 9050L (45-60-80-100). No tight D and no twang on the G.
My solution? Fender 9050L (45-60-80-100). No tight D and no twang on the G.
Perfect – and only £28 here
Perfect – and only £28 here
The only unfortunate thing about the Fender 9050 flats is they used to come in a balanced-tension set (9050CL, 45-60-80-105) but that particular set is no longer available.
I just got a new Lakland DJ-4 and it came with a set of D'Addario EXL170 45-65-80-100. I was curious about the gauge choice as well. I had always played what I considered a "balanced" set of 45-65-85-105. Is it just my OCD that likes even intervals or is there a benefit of the 45-65-80-100 set? As for playing, I feel no difference with a slightly lighter A and E string. I am guessing more mass on the G and D creates a more even tone/output across all 4 strings. Is that the thinking in that gauge set?
So if I am understanding this correctly, the 45-65-85-105 sets went for even tension while the 45-65-80-100 is for even tone/volume. Is that right?
Thanks. That makes sense. As for tension/feel the 45-65-80-100 feels great in my hands. I notice no difference in tension.
My experience, along with numerous "string experiments" over the years, tells me it depends on the bass as to which set of gauges achieves the best tonal balance.
For example, 45-65-80-100 would sound better balanced on a P bass due to the split single-coil pickups in the traditional positioning, while 45-65-85-105 would sound better balanced on a J bass with two single coils straight across.
This means there is no clear-cut answer as to which gauges would work best on any given bass. Keep experimenting...
As a former "balanced tension enthusiast", I used to swear by 45-60-80-105. What I discovered, though, is "balanced tension" does not always guarantee "balanced tone".
That said, my go-to gauges these days are 40-55-75-95 (55D, not 60D).
No, 45-65-85-105 is a construct for those who wanted an "even" number, which in practice has neither balanced tension nor balanced tone. Yes, the 45-65-80-100 has a little more even tone on a more radiused fretboard with a flat pickup.
