What strings to use for tuning down step and a half?

try using a 50-110 set.

 

I suggest .125 .095 .070 .055 .040 for C#

If you use my strings .124 .094 .070 .053 .037

 

Despite the above post beign from the owner of the company, his strings are no joke. Circle K's are amazing. Check their site out. I used them on my old bass tuned down a whole step, and woudl occasionally drop the "E" string down further.

I haven't bought CK's in 2 string changes and I honestly feel bad. The balanced tension sets changed my life. They are, in my opinion, the best thing I've done for my bass.

Disregard the "odd' gauges. They are different because they are better.

Plus you get to support a small business in a world of corporate BS, all the while getting a better product! How great is that!

IMHO, YMMV, etc. etc. etc.

 

To be clear...your band needs you to have a low G#?

You'll need a B string larger than .130 if that's the case; if your band is really looking for you to tune to C# standard, a lighter gauge set is what you're after.

Either way, look into Circle K's; they are phenomenal strings with a ton of different gauge options, and if I wouldn't be surprised if knuckle head is actually Skip, the owner

 

whoops, sorry 'bout that.

what he said. if you go the low-b route (getting below the guitars range and tuning G#-C#-F#-B-E)you would need a heavy guage set, like a 50-110 with at least a 135 low-b. if you tend to play more melodically you could go the high-c route (extend high range and tuning C#-F#-B-E-A, or C#-F#-B-E-Ab to match the guitar's tuning) you could use a heavy guage 4-string set with an added high string.

 

Agreed.


You might also consider ernie ball cobalts. They seem to have higher tension than strings of similar gauge and sound great!

Good luck!

 

I'm very confused. You mean on your 5 string, you want the low B to go down to Ab?? Does anyone actually do that? Surely if you put super fat strings on, you're going to have to file the nut slots to seat a string that huge, and even then it will flap about and buzz like mad. Which of the bands you want to emulate actually have notes that low?

 

Lots of bands do this - on traditional scale lengths, on Dingwalls, on shorties . . . it is done alot.

The strings don't have to flop. Ideally they will be tighter than a standard E string, but at minimum should be the same tension - and can be.

 

i'll add, another option here would be to put on a hipshot d-tuner. then you'd kind of have the best of both worlds and would be able to drop the C# down to a C and B. and i will add that i was too hasty to suggest guages. if you say that a 45-105 set tuned down a step is too floppy then a 50-110 wouldn't be too much better, unless you get a set of really stiff hex-core strings. personally, i feel d'addario retains tension fairly well at lower tunings.

 

a .165(ish) would be a good G#

 

I'm curious as well. I just visited the site for the first time. Everything was easy to understand until I got to choosing a set. It says "balanced 34" 4 string: .045, .031, .020, .014". Those are some pretty puny strings, no?

 

"balanced" means it has blanaced tension across all the strings. the set is balanced according to the lowest string. so if you have a 105 guage E, the A,D & G will be in guages that match the tension of the E.

 

the lighter guage set he suggested was for tuning the set up to C# standard (C#-F#-B-E-A)

 

So what are you saying? That the E string in my reference is .045?

 

That is clearly not what the OP intended or asked about.

 

yes. his string sets are in an ascending order including guage and scale length. you just flip through a few pages until you get to a set you're comfortable with.


*edit*
page 11 is were the traditional guages start (ie 45-105)

 

it was knuckle_head's suggestion, not mine. i was only clarifying.