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Why won't string companies do this? (Purists beware: De-Tuning content)

#22
THRILLSEEKER said:
I actually joined the forum to ask a question about this. I am reasonably new to playing bass but have been playing in bands for around 6 years, so I have seen my fair share of bass players, and guitar players for that matter, complaining about finding strings they really like.
I own a Fender Jazz Geddy Lee, and the band I am playing bass in now is playing in drop B tuning. I spoke with a friend of mine who also plays in drop B and he said the only way to get decent strings for that is to buy a 5 string set of D'Addario strings that start at a 135 or 140 gauge. Does anyone know of any other types of strings I could try for this?
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Seriously, if you're playing a 4-string all the way down in drop B, you might as well just buy a 5-string bass. Drop D on a 4-string is fine, but if you're going down that far, just get a 5-string. You'll thank yourself later for not having to detune and retune and do setups all the time.

If that isn't an option, at least get a 5-string set of strings so you have a real B string instead of having to drop tune a string too small for the task. You can do that easily without custom orders; Rotosound and D'Addario make standard 5-string sets that are both relatively cheap and have good tension. You can also order single B strings from Link Removed but that's not as economical as buying full sets, especially if you're using full drop BEAD tuning on your 4-string.

Just my thoughts, anyway.
 
#23
Surly said:
I find that a I can downtune to a D good enough with regular strings. The Fender 8250's have a taperwound .110 E string that works very well too.
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Yep. I use a Hipshot D-tuner on my Aerodyne to switch between standard and DADG, and my strings are nothing special, just a regular pack of Fender 9050M flats, 55-70-90-105. No big shakes there. And when I REALLY want to go low, I have my 5-string...
 
#24
NortyFiner said:
Seriously, if you're playing a 4-string all the way down in drop B, you might as well just buy a 5-string bass. Drop D on a 4-string is fine, but if you're going down that far, just get a 5-string. You'll thank yourself later for not having to detune and retune and do setups all the time.

If that isn't an option, at least get a 5-string set of strings so you have a real B string instead of having to drop tune a string too small for the task. You can do that easily without custom orders; Rotosound and D'Addario make standard 5-string sets that are both relatively cheap and have good tension. You can also order single B strings from Link Removed but that's not as economical as buying full sets, especially if you're using full drop BEAD tuning on your 4-string.

Just my thoughts, anyway.
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Big +1 to this post. Several makers offer sets with a low B, and leave off the G, (specially for BEAD tuning). I use regular 5 string sets, and keep the G's as spares for other basses. A 125 is plenty big enough for a low B.
 
#29
I have a question about changes to my bass that need to go along with tuning my bass to B-F#-B-E. I have a four string bass that I'm going to have restrung with a 5 string set. I will be up-tuning my bottom three strings as I need F#, B and E instead of E, A and D. Should I go with lighter gauge strings to accommodate for the up-tuning to my bass? I know I'm gonna need to adjust my truss rod, intonation, string height, and nut filing> Anyone have any experience they can pass on to me?
 
#31
iamdenialNJ said:
I have a question about changes to my bass that need to go along with tuning my bass to B-F#-B-E. I have a four string bass that I'm going to have restrung with a 5 string set. I will be up-tuning my bottom three strings as I need F#, B and E instead of E, A and D. Should I go with lighter gauge strings to accommodate for the up-tuning to my bass? I know I'm gonna need to adjust my truss rod, intonation, string height, and nut filing> Anyone have any experience they can pass on to me?
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When I tuned that way I had a good experience w/ 135, 90, 70, 50. It's fairly balanced in terms of string-to-string tension and gave me a nice, tight low B. At the time, I ordered direct through daddario.com -- it's the cheapest option if you're a d'Addario kinda guy.
 
#32
dystopiate said:
When I tuned that way I had a good experience w/ 135, 90, 70, 50. It's fairly balanced in terms of string-to-string tension and gave me a nice, tight low B. At the time, I ordered direct through daddario.com -- it's the cheapest option if you're a d'Addario kinda guy.
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I don't know what type of string guy I am. I just play with whatever works and sounds good.

So you had to file the nut? adjust truss rod? etc? What type of d'addario strings did you use (cause there's a whole bunch)? More info would be appreciated.
 
#33
iamdenialNJ said:
I don't know what type of string guy I am. I just play with whatever works and sounds good.

So you had to file the nut? adjust truss rod? etc? What type of d'addario strings did you use (cause there's a whole bunch)? More info would be appreciated.
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I only had to file down the E slot. It was a graphite nut, but I used an old B string to widen the slot (I didn't make it any deeper, just wider). If you do it yourself, be patient when you do it, and make sure that the groove is angled (deeper on the tuner side than on the fretboard side).

The truss rod required a little bit of loosening as the total tension was a little lower than on a typical 45-105 set, but the difference wasn't huge.

I was a d'Addario Nickel XL guy for years before my recent love affair with DR Highbeams, so that's what I was using. I tried the ProSteels once, but found them rough feeling and clackity sounding. I always got the tapered 135s b/c I find them easier to intonate on many bridges.

That said, the only way to really know what you like is try lots of different strings. Some basses will respond better tone-wise to some strings than others, so it's lots of trial and error. I keep hearing good things about Circle K, and they have pre-fab balanced tension sets for drop tuning, so it might be worth giving them a go as well.

Let me know how it goes.

EDIT: Just noticed that you might live in NJ. I'm in NYC. If you find yourself in the area and want, I'd be happy to set up a bass for you pro-bono. You'd just have to bring some strings (or buy some off me).
 
#34
Ok so I have a 4 string Fender Jazz bass & Ive been playing in dropped C for awhile. I want to go to dropped A but still retain some of that muddy crunch you get using lighter gauge strings (for a death metal/grind/hardcore band). I looked up some DR Hi-beams 50 70 90 110. I was thinking a 115 or 120 on top instead. Or mabey just the 110. Im not quite sure, Ive had the same strings for 6 years now. Any suggestions?
 
#35
bassman1185 said:
It seems to me that it would be in the string manufacturers' best interest to make sets of bass strings designed for playing in drop D or drop C tuning.
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Check out Drop Zone and Drop Zone Plus strings by Rotosound: Invalid Link Removed. Rotosound's website describes the strings as follows: "Two specialist sets from the Swing Bass 66 range [http://www.rotosound.com/swing66.html] aimed at bass players who use drop tunings. These sets allow players to lower their tunings down to B and an earthshaking F#, respectively."
 
#38
T-Bird said:
Hi.

Skull Strings make drop-sets.

Link Removed

No affiliation, just a happy customer.

Regards
Sam
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That's closer to what I am talking about. Their set for bass would probably work great for drop D, but .110 is still a little light for drop C.

For anyone who is interested, I broke down and ordered a custom set of Pro Steels from www.daddario.com. I got a set with .050, .070, .090, and .120. It works great for drop C, there is no significant difference in tension between any of the strings, which is what I was going for, and they sound great on my jazz. The only downside was that I had to file out my nut a bit to make that giant low C fit in. The set was about $23, plus a few bucks S&H. I'll probably go ahead and order a few sets pretty soon, and a few extra .120s, since I've been known to break my low Cs on occasion.
 

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