Thanks, I added the 9050M to the comparison sheet.
Bass flatwound long scale gauges - Google Drive
Very interesting this history, thanks!
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Thanks, I added the 9050M to the comparison sheet.
Bass flatwound long scale gauges - Google Drive
Very interesting this history, thanks!
Here is the tension info on the GHS 3050:
G 055 - 68.8 lbs.
D 070 - 62.2
A 090 - 56.9
E 105 - 41.2 (Total 229.1)
No tension info available on the Fender 9050M.
G 055 - 68.8 lbs.
D 070 - 62.2
A 090 - 56.9
E 105 - 41.2 (Total 229.1)
No tension info available on the Fender 9050M.
Where can that kind of information be found? I'd be curious to know the tensions of various Labella flats (among others..).
Only a few companies actually publish their tension figures.
GHS Tension Guide
La Bella used to have tension info available on some sets in the past, but not anymore, except for the Low Tension Flats.
For D'Addario... Look up the specific set on their website, then click on the "LEARN MORE" tab on the right side of the page to see the tension info.
For Ernie Ball... You need to contact their customer service by email ([email protected]) and specify the set you need the tension info on.
For Rotosound... Rotosound Tension Chart
Hit-and-miss. GHS, D'Addario and a few others publish tension specs. Ernie Ball will answer emails, but no brochure like the others. Fender, La Bella and a few others notoriously do not publish tension specs. Also, always keep in mind the difference in raw tension, which is just the force needed to bring a string up to pitch, and feel, which is a combination of factors, including core geometry, wrap geometry, core/wrap ratio, and a host of other criteria.
@michael_t - thanks for posting the Rotosound tension guide. That's a new one on me. I will download it to my reference folder.
Last edited:
Rotosound Tension Chart first showed up back in Dec 2020. So, it's only been around for just over a year.
New Rotosound website and tension chart
I've tried two sets of flats in 40-100 gauges, D'addario and Rotosound. In both cases I was happy with the set except for the .040 G string. I don't feel the need for 105 to make the set feel or sound balanced. Changing out the G string does the trick.
And yet, so few string manufacturers actually bother with balanced tension. It's nice that D'Addario makes their BT sets and some GHS sets are close, but it's still the exception and not the rule. It's weird.
This should be the "standard" set of strings from pretty much everybody. Why can't you get Slinkys or DRs or <insert brand here> that way? Mystifying.
On my 4s that use rounds, I use the D'Addario XL170BT as well. Though if I'm doing a lot of drop D *cough*Tool*cough*, I'll throw a 115 or a 120 on the lower string.
For my 5er, though, I now just order a custom set from Stringjoy. I think they're better strings than D'Addarios and a custom 5-string set is not that much more than buying the XL170BT plus a .130. Best of all, they offer a string tension calculator so you can figure out what's right for you. I'm now running a 40-55-75-100-130 set (my 5er is 35" scale) and so far it's been great. (The Stringjoys are also a little higher unit weight for the thick strings, so you get more tension per gauge and can run slightly thinner strings than D'Addario XLs for the same tension.)
However, Stringjoy only makes rounds.
For my single string needs, I use Lord of the Strings (Netherlands), Saitenmarkt (Germany), Thomann (Germany), Cordes Express (France), and Strings Direct (UK), but there are probably others I don't know about.
I like D’Addarios 45-65-80-100. Don’t notice the uneven tension. They are made that way intentionally, as was advertised many years ago, for even volume. D’A began offering balanced tension sets fairly recently. Balanced sets have, to my ears, a loud E and a quiet D.
Which was based on the idea, as @iiipopes mentioned, that you had a really curved neck (7.25" radius) and couldn't adjust the pickup heights very much, so the middle strings were further away from the pickups. With modern flatter necks and more tweakable pickups, this isn't necessary anymore.
Yes , I read that. I almost never played a 7.25 inch radius neck in 50 years. I play mainly Fenders with 9.5 inch radius. P, J, PJ and now Mustang PJ. I have tried nearly every string brand, type and gauge. I stand by what I say, and by what D'Addario stated many years ago. Use what works for you.
Never thought about just the D string, but whenever i used chromes i would put a set together of 45-65-85-105. I hate sets that are 45-65-80-100 it never felt right to me. i use DR pure blues in my prefered gauge and if i went back to d'addario i'd make sure the gauges matched my liking.
I have always done the same with the Super Soft set of Chromes I've used for many years - I'd replace the .060 D string with a .055. Made for a much better balanced set.
Coincidentally, I was specifically interested in that info, so your post was not in vain.
I ordered a custom set (45-60-80-100) of flatwounds directly from Pyramid last friday. They came by mail within a week (inside EU). I'm loving them.
.... I really loved the delicious buttery sound of these Pyramid flats. However I couldn't make any sense of the intonation of the low E on my fretless. Even if I searched for it for a long time, I could never play an octave that sounds like an octave. The intonation of any single note is just somehow all over the place. Maybe that's the secret of their sound? I just need a clear intonation so I can't use the Pyramids.
I suppose the 9050M are thereabout tension-wise. So G is 68.8lbs, my God... I've been tempted for a while to try them out on one of my Pbasses (and replace the current LaBella 760FS set) but I am literally afraid I'll ruin the bass with this monstrous tension.
