What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

[Artie]

My bass came with 45-105's. But they're real old. So I ordered some DR Pure Blues of the same gauge. Then I got to thinking about using a smaller gauge to make it easier to play. So I ordered some DR Pure Blues 40-100's. What tonal impact might these smaller strings have? We're only talking about 5 thousandths difference.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

That’s the gauge I use, only a 5 string set. I like them because if you hit them hard you get a nice attack. And they are great for more nuanced playing, i.e., vibrato and bends.

I find no lack of low end or fatness.


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[Artie]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

Thanks Dave. That's good to know. Do you re-adjust your action, or setup, with the smaller gauge strings.

 

[Demanic]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

You might want to check the intonation .

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[Artie]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

Yup. I'll definitely do a full setup after the new strings. Or, to be more accurate, my luthier friend will. My "Badass" bridge should arrive tomorrow.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

Thanks Dave. That's good to know. Do you re-adjust your action, or setup, with the smaller gauge strings.

Yes, any time the action changes you need to set the intonation. Your truss rod will probably need a slight loosening too.


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[Artie]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

Thanks again guys. I understand about re-doing the setup. My main concern is about losing the basic "bass" snap 'n grind. I don't want to take my strings down so light that I effectively have another guitar. If that makes any sense.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

Thanks again guys. I understand about re-doing the setup. My main concern is about losing the basic "bass" snap 'n grind. I don't want to take my strings down so light that I effectively have another guitar. If that makes any sense.

You get more snap and grind.

These are D’Addario XLs on an ‘87 Ibanez SR885LE. It’s running direct into Logic Pro X, with one of the amp plugins.

https://soundcloud.com/davidravenmoon/supercollider


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[Artie]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

Wow. Nice bass licks. That's encouraging. I guess I'll need to practice more.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

One of the local guys uses a really light set with a 90 on the low E. He had one of the clearest, most present bass tones I've ever heard.

The only bass I currently own is an Ibanez Mikro, but I'd like to try a really light set on it.

 

[Artie]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

I just "googled" that. Nice little bass. Part of the reason I want to try lighter strings is because I can't help playing my bass like a guitar. It's a hard habit to break. I'm wanting to try the more traditional "finger stroking" thing, but I keep coming back to thumb picking.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

I just "googled" that. Nice little bass. Part of the reason I want to try lighter strings is because I can't help playing my bass like a guitar. It's a hard habit to break. I'm wanting to try the more traditional "finger stroking" thing, but I keep coming back to thumb picking.

I play with a pick most of the time. But sometimes with fingers.


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[donaldr]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

I put a set of DR Black Beauties 40-120 on my Jazz V, very good bass sound and I think more balanced with the smaller B string. Sounding as good as my medium (45-130) set.
No you won't sound like a guitar.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

You get more snap and grind.

These are D’Addario XLs on an ‘87 Ibanez SR885LE. It’s running direct into Logic Pro X, with one of the amp plugins.

https://soundcloud.com/davidravenmoon/supercollider

Yep... I thought I couldn’t slap on bass, then I put light gauge stainless on and wow... slap and pop fest!

It’s probably best to have a jazz with light roundwound strings and a P with heavier flats for ultimate tonal versatility.

 

[Adieu]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

You get more snap and grind.

These are D’Addario XLs on an ‘87 Ibanez SR885LE. It’s running direct into Logic Pro X, with one of the amp plugins.

https://soundcloud.com/davidravenmoon/supercollider


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Dunno about the '87's (JJ pups, right?), but later Japanese 5string Soundgears with the soapbars really, and I mean REALLY benefitted from ditching the preamp and swapping in Duncan Actives with basic pots

Moved them up from just plain good to downright ridiculously superior to anything you can buy off the shelf

 

[Artie]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

My luthier friend did a setup and fixed the nut after I swapped the bridge for the Fender Badass clone. But there's a couple things about that bridge that I don't like. So I already ordered the Hipshot version. Hopefully, will arrive tomorrow. My friend is going to do a new bone nut at that time. However, she plays great, sounds amazing right now.





The bridge I ordered:

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

Dunno about the '87's (JJ pups, right?), but later Japanese 5string Soundgears with the soapbars really, and I mean REALLY benefitted from ditching the preamp and swapping in Duncan Actives with basic pots

Moved them up from just plain good to downright ridiculously superior to anything you can buy off the shelf

This is one of the first SoundGears made in the FugiGen factory before it burned down. It was $900 in 1987! Mine had active J size pickups and the two band preamp. They sounded good but were noisy. Then for a while in the 90s I had EMGs in it.

Now it’s passive with dual rail neodymium jazz pickups I make. You are hearing both pickups with the bridge slightly higher in the mix. It was direct into Behringer UMC22 interface into Logic Pro X. I’m using the amp and effects plugins there.

I like the Duncan active pickups. Had a girlfriend that played bass, so I built her a PJ style bass with the active pickups with the DIP switches back in the 80s. That was a great sounding bass.

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[Artie]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

Nice setup. Wasn't Soundgear associated with Ibanez? Or am I thinking of something else? Do you sell those pups?

 

[Adieu]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

Nice setup. Wasn't Soundgear associated with Ibanez? Or am I thinking of something else? Do you sell those pups?

Soundgear is an Ibanez bass subbrand. For some reason they started putting that instead of Ibanez on most bass headstocks right around '87, when they began phasing out the RG-series' pointy and passive counterpart basses the RD series for the rounded, mostly active, often 5- and 6-stringed Soundgear/SR basses

Since the 80s pivot from Fender and Gibson copies to own original designs, all high end Ibanez stuff is always made by Fujigen Gakki, a prolific Japanese contract manufacturer (also known for some Fender Japan, Jackson, own brand FGN, etc.)

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: What's the tonal impact of smaller gauge strings?

You should pick the strings that give you the amount of push back and "rubberiness" that feels best to you. The tone can all be tweaked with various adjustments (pickup height, e.g.).

To me, light strings feel bad, on both hands. They are harder to control, because they don't "settle" well to my taste. Heavier strings feel far more stable and predictable to me; they are always right where I expect them to be, and I never miss a beat. On light strings, I stumble, sometimes even after I get used to them. Others who play differently will have different experiences with light and heavy strings.

Also remember that string height goes a long way. Light strings can be made hard to play if they are set high...and heavy strings can be made easy to play if they are set low.