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

[LBS-bass]

And there you go, too.
I post in this forum assuming people can read. I'm not going to repeat myself indefinitely. If you care, go back to what I wrote; if not, it's fine.

Oooh!



Insults are not conversations, and your credibility is shot. Have a great evening.

 

[HaphAsSard]

Oooh!



Insults are not conversations, and your credibility is shot. Have a great evening.

Seriously?

You come here, months after the last - or dare I say the laTTER? - of our interactions; you quote a one-liner of mine, the very tail-end of my contributions - perhaps 'stupid' and 'silly', but we'll never know - in this thread, declining to comment on the rest - well, apart from mistaking the word "example" with "experiment"; you instead manage to stuff your curt post with the aforequoted, cleearly not-at-all backhanded pleasantries; and *my* credibility is shot?

In general, I abstain from non-apologies: I'm either "sorry for", or I'm not, but seldom "sorry if".
In this case, I find myself having to defend how being capable of reading, not in the first-grade sense but as in having the ability and patience to read my posts with the honest intention to get to their intended meaning, is, to me, a necessary prerequisite to engaging in discussion: I don't have, nor will I take, the time to find six different ways of phrasing the same thing.
One other, maybe; two, if my L2 English of the day turns out especially jumbled. But not six.

So I'll ask you, one final time: do you find anything counterfactual or objectionable in posts #100 and #107 above? Because if you don't, or do but can't be bothered to point it out, as far as I'm concerned we are truly done here.

 

[kesslari]

Well, I have found that pull offs in the lower register are easier on lighter strings. But overall I prefer my Mediums.

 

[LBS-bass]

as far as I'm concerned we are truly done here.

You might have taken the hint that I was well and truly done in my last post here.

As it is, you needed the final word. OK. Here's my word. I don't recall earlier interaction with you, because whatever it was did not register strongly enough on my "here's another bit of internet blather" radar to be that important to me. I'm sorry if you're keeping score because I was certainly not.

I take people at face value for the content of whatever's presented in the moment, and I don't hold grudges because life is too short. You posted an insult and I told you it wasn't appreciated. Using a G string as an E string is absurd, and you know it, and it's not what we're talking about.

Call it what you will. If it's not a silly and stupid idea, then what is it, exactly? You tell me, since it's your idea, and you know you never meant for anyone to take it seriously. Even to you, it's absurd, I'm quite sure.

We are talking about a .95 versus a .105. Not a .95 versus a .40. But some people just LOVE to obfuscate the point and get really unhappy when called on that crap. Sorry, but I'm the one to call people on that crap, because I really dislike this kind of verbal obfuscation BS. Sue me.

As far as I'm concerned, that's all I need to say on the matter. So if you'll excuse me, I'm off to something that actually matters. Have a nice night.

 

[Root 5]

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.

I’m one of the nuts who uses sets strung .028-.080 and this is what I have found:

1) Playability: If you like low action, you will have to sacrifice it somewhat. The string excursion is wider thus fret noise might increase unless one plays very lightly.

2) Tone: it is a myth, as others have said, that ‘big strings = big tone.’

My 28-80 set sounds as fat & full as a 55-110 set; you can make adjustments to preference at the amp and guitar controls.

I do think thinner strings have more natural clarity.

 

[Stan_da_man]

I tend to use 45-105 incase we drop to D standard. 40-100 or lower can't cope with that.

 

[W_R]

They may permit a bit easier playing of fast bits. I'm not sure.
But the buzzing is gone now, and they are feeling better to me as I play them more.

Well, I have found that pull offs in the lower register are easier

Nice. Delving into string gauges was really a journey deeper into many little but important things about the setup of the instrument and signal chain. It takes time to get all the parts in balance, including getting a feel for whatever has been changed, very cool once they are—and often a realization about the overall difference it can add up to: “how did I manage with this before it was sorted out?” Good times.

 

[JimmyM]

I tend to use 45-105 incase we drop to D standard. 40-100 or lower can't cope with that.

Sure it can. I do it all the time.

 

[RGerhart]

Sure it can. I do it all the time.

What strings are you using? I've noticed some problems when I use my detuner from E to D when using anything less than a 0.105.

 

[JimmyM]

What strings are you using? I've noticed some problems when I use my detuner from E to D when using anything less than a 0.105.

I’ve used Dunlop Super Bright Nickels and Daddario XL’s 95. String tension gets a little looser but sonically I hear zero difference.

 

[Nashrakh]

I do think thinner strings have more natural clarity.

I think that's true in the sense that the thicker the gauge, the more problems get introduced in terms of pitch accuracy. We all know a fat B string up high on the neck will sound kind of weird, some strings more so, some less. Some manufacturers like Dogal have introduced construction methods like their rope core design to deal with this issue.

That said -- I'm also one of the loonies that have used "inappropriate" string gauges. For one album (the one linked below in my signature), I used a bog standard set of La Bella DTFs, I think 105s, and tuned them BEAD on my four string Fender P, and I love that sound. The stiffness of the strings really helps, and I guess that's another thing to keep in mind when experimenting with lower gauges, because not all strings have the same "give" to them.

 

[Stan_da_man]

Sure it can. I do it all the time.

It can but it sounds like a buzzy, clanky mess.

 

[JimmyM]

It can but it sounds like a buzzy, clanky mess.

Maybe in your hands, not mine.

 

[Pier_]

but a lighter pick can have great tonal qualities.

and if you look at famous pick players, they use picks between 0.60 and 1mm, the most common is the yellow tortex in 0.73...

talking about strings gauges, in my opinion is mostly about feeling, not tone, BUT with lighter strings you can lose some dynamics.

I've used 30-90 strings for years as I've used 50-110. once you get used to the gauge, with a proper setup, the hands won't bother.

as mentioned above, the only real difference is in the dynamic range: with light strings you can't get higher dynamics for a simple physic principle: if the string is to flexible, when you pluck it harder it bends too much, following the plucking finger, oscillate too widely and could not give you more volume.

I describe it like having a limiter always on.

with heavier strings, the force you put in your fingers is better transmitted and the string can give you more volume.

is necessary? not always, so It's a matter of personal preference, style of playing...

usually I play with 45-100 (or 43-110 Rotosound) because I like medium gauged strings, and when I use smaller gauges, like on the Hofner (with Pyramid Gold flats), I like tight strings.

FE: the La Bella HBB2 set is too flexible for my taste; the Pyramid Gold set is perfect.

when I used 30-90 strings I liked them, but when playing harder I fatigued a lot with the right hand.

 

[kesslari]

Following up, the 44-106's are definitely my jam. It was fun to try something else, though.

 

[W_R]

Nice, congrats on settling that.

 

[600 Ohms]

If the bass itself has a neck relief and fretwork that can get as flat as possible and strings as low as possible, it’s then a matter of how much buzz you want to deal with. I prefer the ease of 40-95 strings with the tension of 45-105 for cleaner note ringing. In a recording, I’ll choose less buzzing every time.

Playing chords or double stops above the 12th fret always sounds better to me with the lighter gauge. With 45-105 I hear more inharmonicity and I don’t like it.

Tension can trump gauge-related problems. A set of DR Sunbeams or Pure Blues in 45-105 feel similar to a set of Nickel Lo-Riders in 40-95, which feel nothing like 40-95 in the other two model sets.

The bass may also have an opinion. I bought a bass made in 1984 recently and on receiving it, I immediately put on a fresh set of 40-95 Sunbeams. The tuning machines would feel like they had no tension on them when detuning the string (there was no more tightening adjustment to be done, I tried), and there is also a Hipshot drop D guy on it. On a whim, I put on a set of Nickel Lo-Riders 45-105 and this particular bass really reacted well. The tuners felt normal again, and though I’ve always detuned with 40s, the 45s are a little more tense which helps. The neck adjustments also found their sweet spot quickly. It feels like this bass always had 45-105s on for nearly 40 years and breathed a sigh of relief when I gave it what it wanted.

I’m happy to have one bass with different gauge strings simply due to the positive feedback I got.

 

[kgbeast]

I noticed that if I play a longer sustained note, especially on E or A strings, it fills like it detunes a little at one point, like a second after the pluck, kind of like a bend. It is actually not a pitch shift like in a bend, more of a harmonics change I guess as the tuner does not register any difference in pitch. It seems that with thinner 40-95 set that "shift" is less noticeable than with 45-105. Maybe it is just me or my bass although I did hear this in some youtube videos where the guy had a rather premium bass, like Enfield of sorts.

 

[Major Seven]

I noticed that if I play a longer sustained note, especially on E or A strings, it fills like it detunes a little at one point, like a second after the pluck, kind of like a bend. It is actually not a pitch shift like in a bend, more of a harmonics change I guess as the tuner does not register any difference in pitch. It seems that with thinner 40-95 set that "shift" is less noticeable than with 45-105. Maybe it is just me or my bass although I did hear this in some youtube videos where the guy had a rather premium bass, like Enfield of sorts.

Its not you. from wikipedia on inharmonicity, 3rd paragraph:

For instance, a very thick string behaves less as an ideal string and more like a cylinder (a tube of mass), which has natural resonances that are not whole number multiples of the fundamental frequency.

I notice this sometimes with headphones.

 

[Jeff Scott]

I noticed that if I play a longer sustained note, especially on E or A strings, it fills like it detunes a little at one point, like a second after the pluck, kind of like a bend. It is actually not a pitch shift like in a bend, more of a harmonics change I guess as the tuner does not register any difference in pitch. It seems that with thinner 40-95 set that "shift" is less noticeable than with 45-105. Maybe it is just me or my bass although I did hear this in some youtube videos where the guy had a rather premium bass, like Enfield of sorts.

One reason is that when a string is plucked/picked, especially when done so with "passion", the string actually does go sharp a bit at first, then settles down to the correct pitch. When tuning a string it is always a good idea to either pluck/pick lightly, or wait a second for the string to settle down before judging the accuracy of the tuning.