What gauges for tuning in major thirds?

[Ricky Rioli]

It seems that I'm going to be thinking about this until I give it a try: tuning a four-string bass in major thirds, eg D–F#–A#–D.

Looking at the utterly comprehensive string tension guide published by GHS it seems that with Boomers, 65–80–95–110 would work fine, ditto 60–75–90–105 with Precision Flats.

The info given by D'addario only relates to standard tunings, but using the GHS charts to help extrapolate from that, it looks like 60–75–90–105 would also work for Chromes, though with a slightly higher overall tension figure.

But this is just theoretical though – has anyone actually tried tuning in major thirds, and if so, what gauges worked?

Tbh, I'm not expecting any replies....

Meanwhile, I'm going to temporarily re-tune a standard set to F–A–C#–F and see how much that makes my head hurt. On paper, the fingering patterns for playing scales, especially harmonic minor scales, look seductive.

Link Removed

 

[michael_t]

It seems that I'm going to be thinking about this until I give it a try: tuning a four-string bass in major thirds, eg D–F#–A#–D.

Using the Stringjoy Tension Calculator, here are a couple of ideas...

 

[michael_t]

One more...

 

[HaphAsSard]

It seems that I'm going to be thinking about this until I give it a try: tuning a four-string bass in major thirds, eg D–F#–A#–D.

Looking at the utterly comprehensive string tension guide published by GHS it seems that with Boomers, 65–80–95–110 would work fine, ditto 60–75–90–105 with Precision Flats.

The info given by D'addario only relates to standard tunings, but using the GHS charts to help extrapolate from that, it looks like 60–75–90–105 would also work for Chromes, though with a slightly higher overall tension figure.

But this is just theoretical though – has anyone actually tried tuning in major thirds, and if so, what gauges worked?

Tbh, I'm not expecting any replies....

Meanwhile, I'm going to temporarily re-tune a standard set to F–A–C#–F and see how much that makes my head hurt. On paper, the fingering patterns for playing scales, especially harmonic minor scales, look seductive.

Link Removed

I suggest you zero in on your preferred low D through experimentation, then pick the rest of the gauges, as a general rule, by applying the 5:4 ratio.
Example - you like a 110 low D? Get a 90 F# (closest existing gauge to the "ideal" 88), a 70 for an A#/Bb (same procedure - 90 divided by 5 times 4, rounded to the nearest available gauge), and 55 for the high D (unsurprisingly: it is half the initial 110, and a string half the diameter of another has 1/4 of the volume, and mass if same density is assumed, which gives the same tension at one octave above the other string's pitch).
Rinse and repeat if you start with a different low D.


EDIT: my method is based on 5/1 being the ratio of frequencies for the fifth harmonic (natural 10th+octave interval). The reason why it doesn't always result in perfectly equal tensions, as shown above in Michael's set custom set simulations on the online Stringjoy tension calculator, is twofold:
- strings across a product line may not always be constructed in a perfectly proportional fashion (there may be jumps in core diameter, wind diameter or both, and there surely are jumps in number of wraps);
- equal temperament third is different from the natural third.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

Since we do love numbers round this way, here are the ones I got from GHS guide

Precision Flats:

D2 — 060 — 46.5
A#1 — 075 — 43.3
F#1 — 090 — 40.3
D1 — 105 — 32.8

Total: 162.9 (which is about the same as their standard light 45-95 set)

Boomers:

D2 — 065 — 50.2
A#1 — 080 — 50.6
F#1 — 095 — 45.6
D1 — 110 — 39.7

Total: 186.1 (which is about the same as their standard medium 45–105 set)

My preference is for the strings to increase in tension as they get thinner, so these figures look good to my eye.

And here's my guesstimate for Chromes:

D2 — 060 — 46
A#1 — 075 — 48
F#1 — 090 — 40
D1 — 105 — 34
Total: 168 (only a little bit less than their standard 40-100 set)

 

[iiipopes]

Gauges. Not tension, not "balanced," but a coarse rule of thumb to get in the ball park:

If you use something like D'Addario XL's, which have a rather even progression of the ratio of core to wrap wire, then this will at least get you to the next gig while you're figuring out something else. In my experience, diameter can roughly correlate to pitch at similar tension. For example, in a D'A 170BT set, the gauges are 45-60-80-107. The pitch relationship on a perfect fourth is 4/3, so take 45 and multiply it by 4/3, and you get 60, and so forth through the set.

The pitch relationship between major thirds is 5/4. So take your starting pitch and multiply it by 5/4 for the rest of the set. Arbitrarily starting with 60 as the starting D string, the the progressive function will be roughly: 60, 75, 95, 115 (rounded to the nearest "5"). Caveat: the lowest string is usually a gauge lighter than the math might otherwise indicate so it will still have the flexibility for tonal consistency. That's why the low D string is not an exact double of 120. But is lightened up to 115, and even could be to 110.

This is a good starting point. Before the internet, published string specs, etc., when GHS Progressives were a new string, I did this empirically to get a custom set of 45-60-80-105's for my Rickenbacker 4002 (yes, "2," not "1" or "3") in the early 90's. I played these custom gauges until GHS quit making them a few years ago. When GHS came out with their string tension guide, it verified what my hands felt and my ears heard.