What do I gain (or lose) going to lighter strings?

[kesslari]

I play Pressurewounds (GHS or Smith) - .044 to .106 (I stick a different B on them because I haven't bonded with the B in the sets).
What do I gain or lose by switching (besides some time resetting intonation)?
I'm intrigued after learning that "thicker strings = better tone" is not necessarily true (from this thread - How does Vic Wooten get such a FULL sound with such THIN strings? )

Talk to me.

 

[Nashrakh]

More knowledgable users will surely chime in shortly, but from what I understand, there's two sides to this: tone and playability. A bit counterintuitive maybe, but from what I understand thicker strings have more overtones, while thinner strings have more fundamental and more sustain (?).

More important, at least to me, is playability. Thicker strings would be my choice if you actually want to "fight" your bass a little, for example if I try to play more double bass like when I bring my Fender P to a jazz gig instead of hauling the actual doghouse. Thinner strings allow for more nimble playing IME, which is my choice for weedly 6 string. I haven't tried it myself, but consensus seems to be that you can achieve lower action with thicker strings because they don't have as much excursion as a lighter string.

Take all this with a heavy grain of salt (preferably himalayan). Aside from the playability aspects, I haven't found there to be that much difference when bumping gauges; your choice in types of strings seem to be more important IME.

 

[Jazz Ad]

You lose depth and clarity.
You get a bigger tone and playability.

This is as simple as I can put it.

 

[michael_t]

I've been on a downward trend for the last few years with my gauge selections.

Gain = playing comfort.
Loss = not much at all. The difference in tonal quality is negligible.

Bigger gauges = bigger tone = myth.

 

[Tanner5382]

Bigger strings = bigger tone is definitely a myth.

I disagree with the previous comment that says you lose clarity with lighter strings. If anything, I find it to be the other way around. In my opinion/experience, lighter strings sound better. Brighter/clearer, more musical, better tone.

As a side note, I find that it's similar with picks. Bass players over the years were often recommended to use the heaviest picks available, but a lighter pick can have great tonal qualities.

 

[Vinny_G]

 

[40Hz]

In my experience you get more punch and cleaner articulation without sacrificing anything real. Lighter flats also sustain longer.

I used to believe that heavier gauges meant a bigger sound. Probably a lesson left over from my upright bass days. But pickups don’t sense string gauge. They react to the string’s excursion and motion. And lower mass equals greater excursion and less inertia for the same amount of force (i.e. plucking, plucking, slapping, tapping) being applied.

I’ve since learned to trust my ears and the fact that your amp does all the heavy lifting when you need more volume. So these days I use the lighter .040-.100 gauge flats on my basses, and I haven’t found I’ve given up anything by doing so.

 

[40Hz]

I disagree with the previous comment that says you lose clarity with lighter strings. If anything, I find it to be the other way around.

Same here.

 

[JRA]

Talk to me.

try a bunch of light-gauge strings: you don't have to play as hard and you can feel/enjoy the compliance while you listen to the string response: singing! = amazing!

i can't roll any other way but light-gauge. FWIW, i use rounds.

PSA: you really have to back off of the constant heavy-handedness thing!

 

[DolemiteSammich]

Play whatever is comfortable. Tone can be adjusted with playing style, pedals, eq, preamps, etc.

 

[nonohmic]

The only drawback I've found with trying lighter and lighter gauges is you may find a point where your bass won't take the setup. Did that for a Roscoe LG3000, which was my dream bass, but anything 105 and under and it buzzed. The neck would only take heavier gauge. So had to sell my dream bass, unfortunately.

 

[Jefus]

In my experience lighter strings will sound brighter if attacked the same way that you attack heavier strings. Heavier strings will be more forgiving to right-hand inconsistencies.

As heavier strings are typically stiffer as well, it's possible to set action lower with heavier strings as their oscillations will be tighter. So you can have a shorter, harder push, or a longer, lighter push to fret a note.

 

[Paul New]

I'm in the minority here for sure, but for me what you lose with lighter strings is punch. I've learned to deal with it, having TIs on several bases, but I prefer more resistance.

 

[RGerhart]

I'm in the minority here for sure, but for me what you lose with lighter strings is punch. I've learned to deal with it, having TIs on several bases, but I prefer more resistance.

Totally agree. In my experience, the "punch" comes from a little harder pluck with your right hand, so heavier gauge strings seem to work better for me. I've tried lighter gauge, but it's just not my thing.

 

[ThomasTronics]

I second the loss in punch and "chime".
Iplayed 40-100 for a year and i find myself killing strings faster and not getting the burp i like near the bridge. Loved how easy they are to play and zero tone problems.
I've gone back to normal gauge as i like the tension which allows me to get the dig in and burp on the bridge i like

 

[ImTheOnlyOne]

I tried the heavy gauge Smith's and found them to have terribly high tension. Honestly, they hurt my knuckle joints to play, torqued the neck slightly, and overwhelmed the lightweight bass. You might save yourself some wear and tear going lighter.

I like the feel of a string playing back at my fingers (if that makes sense). Too much tension and I feel like I'm striking the string at the bridge wherever I hit it. Too little tension though, like TI Jazz rounds, and my right hand attack goes haywire without string resistance. So hand-wise it's a Goldilocks situation.

The Wooten DR Pure Blues have been on a 60s jazz bass having slight neck relief. Nickel Lo Riders the next gauge up go better on another bass having a straighter neck. Depending on your instrument quality, setup, and truss control, going lighter may be an improvement.

 

[Major Seven]

try a bunch of light-gauge strings: you don't have to play as hard and you can feel/enjoy the compliance while you listen to the string response: singing! = amazing!

i can't roll any other way but light-gauge. FWIW, i use rounds.

PSA: you really have to back off of the constant heavy-handedness thing!

I agree with the lighter string experiences. I went from
GHS PW 44-102 to 40-96 on a jazz bass. My hand tired too fast.
I lost lots of harmonics but they were annoying for me to control anyway.
It seemed the fundamental came out more because harmonics were reduced.
You might need to change action (I didn't ) and pickup height (I did).
The heavier is better argument comes from being able to pluck harder.
Turn up the amp and you are back to the wound you were already at.

 

[trothwell]

I found going substantially lighter (in my case, down to a 35-90 set) resulted in a noticeably clearer tone than using a 45-105 or 40-100 set.

But without going that drastic, the difference between 45-105 and 40-100, say, I don't really hear much. The 40 G string might sound a little twangy, depending on your bass.

In some sense I much appreciate the additional flexibility of lighter strings, but there comes a point where they can be so flexible that playing faster passages -- maybe just a series of 8th notes -- can be hard, because the strings flex so much that they aren't quite back in "start position" from one note to the next.

 

[Pings Bass]

I've been dinking around on bass since the 80s, and my preferred gauge has always been... regular? Like whatever rotosounds were back then, and whatever the bass comes with today. (I'm more picky on upright; TI spirocore mittels are all I've ever used.)

I guess I feel like bass guitar is already slack enough compared to upright, and it would feel too loose and floppy if I went with a lighter gauge.

 

[red_rhino]

It really depends on the string. It's more about tension than gauge. To me, the GHS Pressurewounds have a somewhat higher tension that other strings, so moving to a lighter gauge set (40-96) feels very close to a medium gauge set of strings. There's a bit more flexibility; just enough to make slapping and string bending easier without feeling too loose. Anywhere I've used them on basses that are set up for medium gauge/tension, there hasn't been a need to adjust the truss rod or intonation.

You lose depth and clarity.

That hasn't been my experience at all.

These days, I go lighter on all my basses, usually in the 40-60-80-100 +/- range.