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What Round Wound Gauge Do You Use?

What Round Wound Gauge Do you Use?

  • 40-60-70-95

    Votes: 22 14.1%
  • 40-60-80-100

    Votes: 17 10.9%
  • 45-65-80-100

    Votes: 28 17.9%
  • 45-65-85-105

    Votes: 82 52.6%
  • 55-70-85-105

    Votes: 3 1.9%
  • 55-75-90-110

    Votes: 4 2.6%

  • Total voters
    156
hard to say. I have basses with Rotosound 43-65-80-110, others with GHS Boomers 40-55-75-95, one with Ernie Ball 45-65-85-105, two with Fender flats 45-60-80-100, and one with Rotosound flats 45-105 (where the G is actually a 50 labelled as 45, so they are 50-65-85-105), the Hofners with Pyramid flats 40-55-70-100... my Yamaha TRB6p has the Ernie Ball 32-45-65-80-100-130 set because it's the only EB set available, and I like the sound of those strings on it, but I'd prefer lighter sets, impossible to find.

it depends on different things:

sound, neck, radius, frets, type of instrument and where I usually play it.

to me, some necks/frets tend to prefer lighter strings (FE: the wide neck of the 50's Precision, with small and narrow vintage frets), others prefer heavier gauges (the Jazz with Roto flats, with a flat fretboard and medium frets plays like butter. the same strings on the 50's Precision are uncomfortable).
my Yamaha Attitude II has tall and wide frets, and the Roto 43-110 set feels like a 40-100 set...

if I play "aggressive pick", I prefer heavier, if I play funky fingerstyle, light is better.
 
Lately its been DR Pure Blues. Nickel rounds with a round core at 45-65-85-105. It's a good gauge range for me, but I have used others too without any issue.

I don't ever detune, other than to occasionally use D-Tuner, and always standard tuning at A=440.
 
I mostly use D'Addario XL 165 45-65-85-105. I like a stiff string. I also like SIT Power Wound 45-65-85-105. The Sit strings seem stiffer than most. I just put some Ernie Ball regular slinky 50-70-85-105 on one of my P basses and tomorrow I'm doing a set of D'Addario half rounds 50-70-85-105 on my other P bass. I think SIT strings are a very underrated string. When I started the poll I figured 45-65-85-105 would be the most popular gauge. It's funny how D'Addario and Ernie Ball look at this gauge as a hybrid but with other manufacturers, it's the "regular or the medium gauge string. I wish D'Addario would make a half-round set in 45-65-85-105. For some reason, they skip this gauge.
 
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