Strings

[midopa]

How do you wind your strings?

In the past, I've always tried to keep the number of revolutions around the tuner to a maximum of three. Most of the time, I'd end up with one to two revolutions.

However, I played another bassist's bass today and noticed he had many, probably five or more, revolutions around the tuners. I also noticed that the strings were very good for slapping. That is, they were tight, but not tight enough to ruin the sound of a good, clean slap. So I got to wondering if the number of revolutions around the tuners affects the sound of slap.

If you've got many revolutions up there, how will the string tension and sound be affected?

 

[jubjub721]

i read ur question first off and found my self laughing my head off
then i read it again
i thought u said how do u? liek u didnt kno how.

u kno how i wind them
i dont cut any extra off the string
i put the new string deirectly into the tuner. but thats just me

ur dumb freind
jubjub

 

[midopa]

Haha

How's the tension on your bass, then? It is like the guy's bass I talked about, tight but not tight enough to hinder the sound of slap? How about the sond of regular fingerstyle?

Thanks

 

[Aussie Mark]

The number of windings on the tuner post has nothing to do with string tension. Whether you have 10 winds or just 1, the distance between the tuner post and the other end of the string is exactly the same, which means that the tension will always be the same.

The only ways to change string tension are -

(1) change the action, either via truss rod or bridge saddle adjustment; or

(2) use different gauge strings; or

(3) use strings of a different brand.

 

[Psychicpet]

3 wraps is usually a good number to keep it to. On basses that don't have angled headstocks or string trees, the number of wraps affects the angle that the string breaks over the nut which makes a huge difference, the more wraps the lower on the post the string is, the more angle at the nut when the string breaks over it. As to that other guy's string tension, it was probably the gauge of string that was a bit heavier than yours.

 

[giddy4geddy]

I find that it is better to wrap the string so that when you finally get the string to the right tension (in tune), it has wrapped all the way to the bottom of the post, but not on top of any other wrappings. This way the angle of the string from the post to the nut is such that it keeps the string tightly seated in the groove on the nut, preventing the string from lifting (or rattling) out of the groove.

To achieve this on an E string, you may only wrap it 2-3 times around the post, but a G string may take upwards to 5-6 times around the post.

In the end it may not matter at all...... that's just the way I do it.

 

[giddy4geddy]

Guess I could have read some replies to this before posting...

Yeah, like Psychicpet said......

 

[fifthorange]

how much excess string do you guys cut before you put the string on the bass?

 

[jubjub721]

well first off is ur name sposed to be like rush or what, thats my guess

what gauge do yall do

 

[shaver]

yeh, pitch on the bass and guitars depends on the tension of the string. and E will always be an e. I never realy understood about changing tensions, it seems impossible becuase changing tension would change pitch. The only way i can think of anytihng makeing a difference is changeing the guage of the string ( heavyer or smaller) however i dont see how this will change tension, it would only change surface area for contact...

can anyone explain this to me?

 

[dlloyd]

yeh, pitch on the bass and guitars depends on the tension of the string. and E will always be an e. I never realy understood about changing tensions, it seems impossible becuase changing tension would change pitch. The only way i can think of anytihng makeing a difference is changeing the guage of the string ( heavyer or smaller) however i dont see how this will change tension, it would only change surface area for contact...

can anyone explain this to me?

Not sure if this is what you're after...

Generally speaking, the greater the string gauge, the lower the pitch it will sound at, if the tension is kept constant. To adjust the pitch of a string at a constant gauge, you have to adjust the tension (using the tuning peg). If a 0.040" string has a tension of maybe 10 kg to tune to G, an 0.045" string would have a tension of maybe 12 kg to tune to the same note.

Different materials (nickel vs stainless, different types of stainless), different core to winding gauge ratio, different core shape, flatwound vs roundwound, different production techniques may all have an influence on the tension required to tune to pitch. It's safe to say that different brands of string will have different tensions.

Another thing that might influence a player's perception of feel is the string length between the nut and the tuning peg. Apparently, the shorter this distance is, the easier it is to bend (and presumably to fret) the string.

 

[giddy4geddy]

You guessed right, the name refers to RUSH. My playing style has mostly been influenced by the man.....

 

[mike jewels]

I bought my Stingray brand new, and when I first changed the original strings, I took them off very carefully, and measured the new ones as closely as possible to the strings that were put on at the factory. I think each string goes around the post exactly twice. I have continued this practice with each succeeding change.

BTW, the latest set I put on are the LaBella "Deep Talkin' Bass" set:

G - 043
D - 060
A - 082
E - 104

They're flatwounds, and they sound great. All the bite that a Stingray can offer, with a slight bit of thump to them. And they're not too heavy.

A nice change.

Mike

 

[armybass]

Mike, those are the LaBella 760FL's and Iprefer them to the heavier 760FS's. They are a smoother sounding string to my ear. Not quite TI's but getting there.


BTW 2 to 3 wraps around he old post for me.

 

[LeftyLB]

I can't cope with this stress!

You mean I now have to go home and check how many winds round the pole my strings are, to see if I am getting the ultimate tension?

I wind them round the pole and stop when the E string is in tune with the E on the piano etc.

What gauge strings, what make Strings, which cleaning materials to use, lemon oil, orange oil, gun oil, ultra fine glass paper; Subs, Bongos Sterlings, Stringrays, 2band, 3band, set up, string height, trussrod, blah blah blah

So much science, it is driving me around the bloody pole

With Kind regards

Stressed of West London

 

[dlloyd]

I can't cope with this stress!

You mean I now have to go home and check how many winds round the pole my strings are, to see if I am getting the ultimate tension?

No. The number of winds will not affect tension.

I do, however, admit to using the same approach as Mike does... I cut the string (IIRC) 3" beyond the tuning capstan, except on the G where I use 4". Reason why? Because that's how they were set up on the bass when I got it. No other reason

There are exactly two winds on the E, A and D and a bit more on the G.

The only influence on the bass that I can think of is that more winds may increase the break angle over the nut on the E and G strings. I expect this would be subtle enough to be indiscernable.

 

[cgworkman]

This all has nothing to do with tension. The rule has always been to pull the string through the bridge up to the tuning peg - then cut the string about six inches longer than where it meets the tuning peg. I've been doing this on every bass I've owned including my SR5 for twentysomething years...

However, if the truss rod is adjusted along with some minor bridge settings the strings may feel they give more, etc. when plucked. but i don't believe this has anything to do with how many times the string wraps the peg.... the point of pressure between the tuning peg, the nut and the bridge saddle (as long as it's a secure winding on the peg) are the same whether you wrap 3 times or 6... I remember once i cut my strings to short and barely got one wrap on the peg - and it played and felt like every other set i'd ever had.

but that's just my opinion.

 

[midopa]

How about intonation? If I have say one revolution around the tuning peg, will that string fall out of tune more readily than other strings?

 

[bovinehost]

Some people might say yes, that string with one wrap is more likely to slip....but I've had the same "oops" experience mentioned above.

In fact, I had a beta set of extra-long TI Flats to try out and report back on, etc, and the D string wasn't QUITE long enough on the prototypes. I ran them through the body on my Lakland 55-94 and was just barely able to get one wrap around the D post.

Guess how many problems I encountered? Zip, nada, none.

 

[dlloyd]

Yeah, okay this is sad, but...

No. The number of winds will not affect tension.

I do, however, admit to using the same approach as Mike does... I cut the string (IIRC) 3" beyond the tuning capstan, except on the G where I use 4". Reason why? Because that's how they were set up on the bass when I got it. No other reason

There are exactly two winds on the E, A and D and a bit more on the G.

...actually it's 4" on the E, A, and D. 5" on the G.