Gauges

[lukey_pukey31]

What does the gauge of string effect? im interested in buying some ernie ball hybrid bass strings n im not sure what gauge would be suitable to my style i have quarter punders in my jazz at the moment so im looking for a gauge that would help manipulate the really beefy sound of my pickups. I tryed some rotorsound gauge 45 string n they were way to slack for my liking what do you suggest??

Or could u just tel me a whole load about string gauges please!

Luke

[dlloyd]

What does the gauge of string effect?

The heavier the gauge, the higher the tension.

Increasing the tension has a number of effects.

You can get more volume with the same amount of string travel.

Similarly, you can get the same amount of volume as with a smaller gauge with less string travel... this means you can get a lower action.

The pickups will have less of an influence on the vibration of the string, meaning higher order harmonics are retained better. You get a better tone. (this one's a bit more subjective.)

The string resists finger pressure more... it's takes more pressure (and is therefore more difficult) to fret the string.

You need to use a heavier right hand style.

im interested in buying some ernie ball hybrid bass strings n im not sure what gauge would be suitable to my style i have quarter punders in my jazz at the moment so im looking for a gauge that would help manipulate the really beefy sound of my pickups. I tryed some rotorsound gauge 45 string n they were way to slack for my liking what do you suggest??

Well, Rotosounds run fairly high in tension. I'd go with EB power slinkies if I were you.

[BigStrings]

dlloyd - Interesting information. I've found that the larger strings I use, the more aggressively I can play without fret buzz, clanking and other unwanted noise. I just bought a '03 Sterling (a few months old) that had the original strings on. I guess they must have been EB regular gage. I replaced them with my old standby D'Addario regular gage (105 to 50) and can play more aggressively without having to raise the action to avoid unwanted string noise. I did like the feel of the EB's though and see that they offer a Power Slinky gage (110 to 55) and I'm wondering if they would give me the same benefit as the D'Addario's but with a softer feel? I agree with you that larger gage strings have better tonal quality.

[dlloyd]

dlloyd - Interesting information. I've found that the larger strings I use, the more aggressively I can play without fret buzz, clanking and other unwanted noise. I just bought a '03 Sterling (a few months old) that had the original strings on. I guess they must have been EB regular gage. I replaced them with my old standby D'Addario regular gage (105 to 50) and can play more aggressively without having to raise the action to avoid unwanted string noise. I did like the feel of the EB's though and see that they offer a Power Slinky gage (110 to 55) and I'm wondering if they would give me the same benefit as the D'Addario's but with a softer feel? I agree with you that larger gage strings have better tonal quality.

I've never used the D'Addarios so I wouldn't know how they compare. The Sterling came with EB super slinkies which are .045 to .100... They have an intermediate set, regular slinkies that are .050 to .105 that might be more comparable with your D'Ad's

[backagain1]

dlloyd - ... I did like the feel of the EB's though and see that they offer a Power Slinky gage (110 to 55) and I'm wondering if they would give me the same benefit as the D'Addario's but with a softer feel? I agree with you that larger gage strings have better tonal quality.

I just tried the Power Slinky's on my Stingray 5. I like the sound of them. I think the string height increased just a hair, since the tension is higher than the Regular Slinky 5's that came on the bass. But I don't know if I want to mess with the truss rod adjustment. I don't know which way to turn it to lower the strings (straighten the neck), and the action's not too much higher, so I may just leave it.

backagain1

[dlloyd]

I just tried the Power Slinky's on my Stingray 5. I like the sound of them. I think the string height increased just a hair, since the tension is higher than the Regular Slinky 5's that came on the bass. But I don't know if I want to mess with the truss rod adjustment. I don't know which way to turn it to lower the strings (straighten the neck), and the action's not too much higher, so I may just leave it.

backagain1

You want to tighten the truss rod:

Righty tighty

Just turn it a little at a time.

What you're looking to do is get the correct amount of relief on the neck, which is measured by fretting a string at the first fret and the fret where the body meets the neck and measuring the distance between the fret at the midpoint and the string. It should be about a credit cards width.

Then you'll need to adjust the saddles to get the correct action and intonation.

From the faq:

A: Virtually all the adjustments to string height can be made with the truss rod. Turn clockwise to raise the finger board, counter clockwise to lower. The ideal string height for our basses is 3/32" or 2.4mm between the bottom of the string to the top of the fret on both the E and G strings at the 12th fret. The G string can be slightly lower due to the fact that it is the smallest string. This affects the bow of the neck.

The factory specifications for the pickup height is 5/32" or 4.0mm from the top of each pickup pole piece to the bottom of each string. The angle of the pickup may have to be adjusted to match each string. However, if you haven't already adjusted the pickup or changed to a very heavy gauge string set, you shouldn't have to do any adjustments on the pickup.

[backagain1]

Thanks!

backagain1