Double Bass Which ones have the lowest tension?

[Trivolis]

Only asking about the E and A strings (looking to pair them with gut a like Hepcat D and G, they are really low tension) :
-Evah Pirazzi Slaps
-Thomastik Dominant solo
-Innovation Silver slaps
-Spiro solo 4/4

Right now I'm using Spiro solo 3/4 and they are OK but a little too high tension to match the D and G and the fundamental of the gut a likes is very direct whereas the solos have more bloom to the notes.
Thanks a lot.

 

[AGCurry]

The very lowest tension would be found in plain gut strings.

 

[Sam Dingle]

Evah slaps seem like the best of those options

 

[Trivolis]

The very lowest tension would be found in plain gut strings.

You are correct, but I'm looking for something with a little better definition and of smaller gauge.

 

[Trivolis]

Evah slaps seem like the best of those options

Because they have the lowest tension? Or for other reasons?

 

[Sam Dingle]

Because they have the lowest tension? Or for other reasons?

Because of the lowest tension.

 

[HateyMcAmp]

I’ve tried three of the four listed. I would say Evah slap are about the lowest tension non-plain gut string I’ve tried.

 

[Don Hergert]

I think you'll find the very lowest tension E and A would generally be wackers, and of those, the Superior BassWorks (aka SBW) Deluxe Dirty Gut bump pack (made to select 4 out of 6 strings) would have your lowest tension and for that matter would feel and look the most like gut; they are gut-color spiral-cut Kevlar-core gator line.

In my experience, while I really liked the tone and touch of all of the SBW Deluxe Dirty Gut strings, the E and A were not very clear or loud acoustically. I did find the whole set to sound quite good amped and/or DI'ed, and they do bow very well, probably due to their spiral cut. My band's newest album was recorded with the full SBW set (DI).

I used this full set of SBW Deluxe Dirty Guts for about 5 months, but wanting clearer and louder acoustical E and A strings, I replaced the E and A with [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] E and A. SilverSlaps are rated as low tension but are not nearly as low tension as the SBW E and A. I've been very happy for tone, volume and feel with the SilverSlaps EA / SBW DG mix (for about 18 months now).

Curiosity is strong though; sometime in the next few years I'll probably try a mix of SilverSlaps EA / gut DG.

 

[Ludwig]

I play Jargar Dolce E and A with Gut-A-Like D and G. Sound is well matched and tension not too high.
Else try downtuned Solo Thomastik Dominants or other solo strings with synthetic core.

 

[Trivolis]

I think you'll find the very lowest tension E and A would generally be wackers, and of those, the Superior BassWorks (aka SBW) Deluxe Dirty Gut bump pack (made to select 4 out of 6 strings) would have your lowest tension and for that matter would feel and look the most like gut; they are gut-color spiral-cut Kevlar-core gator line.

In my experience, while I really liked the tone and touch of all of the SBW Deluxe Dirty Gut strings, the E and A were not very clear or loud acoustically. I did find the whole set to sound quite good amped and/or DI'ed, and they do bow very well, probably due to their spiral cut. My band's newest album was recorded with the full SBW set (DI).

I used this full set of SBW Deluxe Dirty Guts for about 5 months, but wanting clearer and louder acoustical E and A strings, I replaced the E and A with [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] E and A. SilverSlaps are rated as low tension but are not nearly as low tension as the SBW E and A. I've been very happy for tone, volume and feel with the SilverSlaps EA / SBW DG mix (for about 18 months now

Curiosity is strong though; sometime in the next few years I'll probably try a mix of SilverSlaps EA / gut DG.

I think sbw and gutalike are probably similar, my D and G are very low tension but they match my bass very well. I used the E and A strings from both the swingmaster set(too much tension, didn't like the overall feel) and the hepcat set(great tension match obviously but a little thuddy for jazz pizz and the gauges are too big).
So you are using super silvers.. I guess if you are using the D and G from the swingmaster set(I think it's safe to say they are medium-to-high tension for fake guts) that would create a pretty balanced set.. The silver slaps would be a different story though..

 

[Trivolis]

I play Jargar Dolce E and A with Gut-A-Like D and G. Sound is well matched and tension not too high.
Else try downtuned Solo Thomastik Dominants or other solo strings with synthetic core.

Are you using the D and G from the swingmaster/deluxe set? ( they are the same).
Also, do you know if the tension of the Jargars is lower than spiro solo tuned to orchestra in the bottom two strings? I hadn't considered those, I'll have to try and find some clips to listen to..
My only reservation with solo Dominants, apart from the fact I don't know if they're low tension enough, is that I'm afraid they re going to break.. I've read all the stories here in TB so I admit I would be a little nervous putting those on..
They sure sound nice though, judging from the stringmatrix samples though!

 

[Matthias Hacker]

I´ve played Dominant solo tuned down, and I thought E & A would be nice to match with guts. Here you can listen to Jeanne Herve playing my 3 months old set of strings.

They sound nice, espacially E and A string, while D and G didn´t have enough power for my taste. But these strings have a rather small diameter, if you like a thicker strings EL Slaps or Silver Slaps might be better.
EP Slap
Silver Slaps

 

[Trivolis]

I´ve played Dominant solo tuned down, and I thought E & A would be nice to match with guts. Here you can listen to Jeanne Herve playing my 3 months old set of strings.

They sound nice, espacially E and A string, while D and G didn´t have enough power for my taste. But these strings have a rather small diameter, if you like a thicker strings EL Slaps or Silver Slaps might be better.
EP Slap
Silver Slaps

Yes, I've watched these clips, Jeanne Herve is great! Would you know what the tension of E and A dominants solo tuned to orchestra is?
Also, I'm not having a problem with the diameters of spiro solo on E and A so I don't think the diameters of dominants would be an issue.
Did you have any breakage issues with the Doms?

 

[Matthias Hacker]

I cant give you any numbers and I can´t compare them to EP Slap or Super Silvers, but Dominant Solos tuned down have a low tension. Too low on G and D for me, but nice and still low on E and A. No breaking issues, I never heard about and can´t imagine that with Solos tuned down. They sound very warm and beautiful but still have some power, if you want a more "dirty" or let´s say cutting trough kind of sound - better choose a different string I guess.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Has someone in this discussion thought about having a look at my Excel file?

You find the file in my Dropbox. Link in signature or one of the string stickies.

Not all of the strings discussed here could be found there, since I only use manufacturers data (but recalculated to the same vibrating string length) from the manufacturers I know and but tension for downtuned solos could be found there too.

If anyone knows manufacturer websites that contain tension (and vibrating string length) data of strings which are not in the Excel file, please send me a private message with the URL and I will include them in the next version of that file.

 

[Trivolis]

Has someone in this discussion thought about having a look at my Excel file?

You find the file in my Dropbox. Link in signature or one of the string stickies.

Not all of the strings discussed here could be found there, since I only use manufacturers data (but recalculated to the same vibrating string length) from the manufacturers I know and but tension for downtuned solos could be found there too.

If anyone knows manufacturer websites that contain tension (and vibrating string length) data of strings which are not in the Excel file, please send me a private message with the URL and I will include them in the next version of that file.

You are so right, I didn't think of that! I can't seem to find the tension for the silver slaps though.. It looks like the evah pirazzi slaps have the lowest tension...
However, apart from the actual tension of the strings, I find it interesting to discuss with other people about other characteristics of the sets I mentioned.
But you are right, I should have checked the Dropbox file first. Excellent work by the way and thank you very much for all the trouble you've gone into to collect( or calculate) all this information.

 

[Ludwig]

I play the thicker gut-a-likes from the swingmaster set. Since I only plug and play arco, no slapping, I dont look for very low tension. The Jargar Dolce match the tension of the swingmaster set and could be tuned to solo tuning. I am using the Jargar on my acoustic bass because they bow better then the low swingmaster strings, which I now have on my Stagg EUB (mostly plugged).

 

[Trivolis]

I’ve tried three of the four listed. I would say Evah slap are about the lowest tension non-plain gut string I’ve tried.

Have you tried the silver slaps? If so, could you compare the E and A strings with that of the E. P slaps set? Tension, which one has the strongest and fastest fundamental, which one is darker, which one sounds stronger through an amp (I use an old Acoustic Image combo amp) ... Or anything else you think is important. The gutalikes I have on the D and G string I'm trying to match them with are of low tension, with a very strong fundamental but are also very warm and with a lot of low mids and lows, overall pretty dark strings.. They also amplify very strongly! Thanks a lot!

 

[Sam Dingle]

Have you tried the silver slaps? If so, could you compare the E and A strings with that of the E. P slaps set? Tension, which one has the strongest and fastest fundamental, which one is darker, which one sounds stronger through an amp (I use an old Acoustic Image combo amp) ... Or anything else you think is important. The gutalikes I have on the D and G string I'm trying to match them with are of low tension, with a very strong fundamental but are also very warm and with a lot of low mids and lows, overall pretty dark strings.. They also amplify very strongly! Thanks a lot!

I think that silver slaps in general are better than EP slap but that’s just me. I’d say ditch the gutalikes and get a full set of slaps.

I don’t hear a lot of people talking about gutalikes and my thought is if no ones talking about them....

But again this whole string thing is all about experimentation and seeing what works for you

 

[Trivolis]

I think that silver slaps in general are better than EP slap but that’s just me. I’d say ditch the gutalikes and get a full set of slaps.

I don’t hear a lot of people talking about gutalikes and my thought is if no ones talking about them....

But again this whole string thing is all about experimentation and seeing what works for you

As you said it's all about experimentation and finding out what suits your playing style and your bass. I guess if the cash flow was unlimited I could go for what you suggest but since the gutalikes D and G are sounding great on this bass and are a joy to play, I'll pass... for now
I'm curious though, there seem to be a lot of
positive comments about the E. P slaps. What is it that you disliked the most about them?
I remember a few years back I had tried a set of regular E. P's and I disliked how stiff they felt on my bass, also how they sounded "compressed" and amplified very poorly. I hope the E. P slaps are very different from the regulars as far as sound and amplification goes, I understand the tension is really low which is definitely very important to me.