Think I want Circle K Strings (opinions?)

The only drawback to Circle K strings is that once you try them you won't want to go back.
And you want balanced you just don't know it yet.

 

Circle K strings are great, just get one of their balanced sets. It's silly to do Circle K and not have them be balanced. Can't hurt to just try them out and see how you like them. They are very bendable strings, don't know if that's a plus or a minus for you.

 

Balanced tension is the way to go. DR's are the only packaged 'non-balanced' sets I can play due to the round core. Other than that, I have to have a balanced set. It literally revolutionized my playing.

 

I am using Circle K on my Bass VI and my guitars. They still have not edged out Sunbeams for me on my 4 strings yet though. They are real Damn close though.

 

I'm not sure you're looking at the right set - maybe 6 string? I've got the balanced .136 set and the G is .041.

As far as downtuning goes, you could find a gauge that's balanced at B flat and E flat for the lowest strings - that way you're not too far out whether you're in standard or dropped tuning.

From the downloadable tension chart, the standard balanced set based on a .142 would have a tension per string somewhere around 42-43lbs. Dropping the .142 to A would give you 33.9 and dropping the .106 to D would be 32. If you went with the next gauge up for those two strings you'd be on .112 and .150 and they'd be pretty much balanced at B flat and E flat, so a bit stiffer than your ADG in standard and a bit looser when dropped.

 

I don't see how there's any less concern in a traditional set.

 

This.

If you're using a .135 to drop to A now, then a .142 shouldn't concern you.

What you can do is come up with a set that is balanced for Bb,Eb,A,D,G tuning. Then the bottom two strings will be a little tight when played B,E,A,D,G, and a little looser when tuned A,D,A,D,G.

A custom set of .150, .112, .079, .059, .043 would do that for you.

 

Count me among those who highly recommend the balanced tension sets. The only reason I'm not using Circle K strings right now is because I can custom order balanced tension sets of D'Addario Chromes; if Circle K started making flatwounds I would probably switch back over.

 

Did you try to 'mix'login your strings-
using the lower strings you like with the higher strings you prefer.

 

^ This, and this is also the advice CKS give out for switching between tunings.

 

This may be a dopey question, but is all this concern over balancing tensions all about the feel for the player? Personally, my bigger concern is consistency of tone and volume output from string to string. A cursory glance at many balanced sets suggest to me that they would lose more low end switching from, say, the E to the A than would "traditional" gauges.

Somebody set me straight, if I'm way off on this. (Lookin' at you, Skip.)

 

This is my opinion and my opinion alone.

Balanced tension doesn't really work for me. I wanted it to but whenever I used balanced tension sets I just did not car for how my instrument felt or the tone. I recently put a traditional pack back on a bass because its all that I had here and the bass felt and played better to me. The sound wasn't as tinny as well. Seems like there is less high mid clack.

 

Actually, that's one of the things that balanced tension sets fixed. Most traditional sets are annoyingly unbalanced in sound because of the varying tensions. This also causes you to play each string differently, so now your sound, feel AND playing is all screwed up. Balanced sets fix that. DR's round core strings are the only 'traditional' gauged sets that don't feel unbalanced TO ME so they don't really have those problems. My opinion, of course. It works for me

My strings may not even be balanced as close as some other sets. What I did was bought a bunch of singles and kept swapping them out until the sound was balanced from all strings.

 

mmbongo touches - well - on the things to consider. And subjectivity will always be an element.

This said, if there is little difference in gauges the best benefit is equal output and consistent technique from string to string. By little difference I mean most guitar sets and 4 string bass sets - there is a high degree of consistency in the construction of the strings here.

The more extraordinary the tuning the more radical/non-conventional one should consider. Bass VIs that bridge bass and guitar and 5 string basses both immediately benefit from balanced tension at least in keeping the bottom strings from booming out - larger gauges with more excursion and higher mass are a technical disaster, and a bit of time in a studio bares this out.

The treble side on both guitar and bass is less critical and far less affected by such things and becomes utterly a matter of taste and choice regarding feel and tone. A looser string will have more girth - a tighter string more articulation. Tailorable and tolerable if even unbalanced.

Going below B is something few do, but in some cases even balanced tension isn't going far enough. Very large strings have an awful lot of mass and it is easy for extremely low strings to overpower the treble side. Inverse tension is something I have been seeing on 7, 8 and 9 string guitars, and the notion is starting to catch on with low-tuned bassists. This is where there is more tension on bottom than on top. As balanced tension is a controversial sell, I keep inverse tension discussions between me and only the most open-minded.

I would love to be able to tell you there is a definitive answer. I can with certainty tell you there are viable options - each with their benefits.

 

Well, thanks for the elucidation. While I'm confident I finally have my VI all squared away with a custom set acquired elsewhere, something tells me one of my 4-strings will soon be auditioning some Circle K's.

 

I ordered mine a month or so ago and put them on my warwick thumb today. I love them! I was using boomers on that bass....and it was all boom and no mids. these make it nice and even all across the board.....and they feel great....a touch loose tension but when I played tonight it felt like one of those nights when you are playing a touch over your skill level...I just hope they sound this good for a while! the slap sound is great and the finger sound is great! usually every string I try has its ups and downs...fingers good slaps terrible lots of lows no mids too much mids no lows. these are pretty nice all around...I am off to order a back up set!