Bass Guitar String Gauges

Very informative !

Thanks awesome👍🎶

I used to play my 5 string with something like 65-135 something like that, but now I play my 5 string in drop A# with very light strings minus the lowest one to hold tuning, to me strings that have more slack are not only way easier to play because it takes no pressure to fret notes but also the tone is nicer in my opinion, I’ve noticed thin strings have more fundamental frequency, the thick strings have way more overtones which can be muddy as hell with distortion

Very good video with great advices and comparisons.
IMO every player has own preferences - which could change with getting older, playing different bands, styles, genres etc...
I started with light 0.40 gauges about 25 years ago, then changed for medium 0.45 when I couldn't buy the set I preferred, and kept the thicker. One year ago I tried 0.50 for a lower speed/thrash session, and that gave so strong and massive sound, so I kept and using it for normal tuning for everyday gigs - I feel both of my basses reborn with the heavy gauges, no matter what is the price with the comfort - you have to practice more on it and you'll be OK with it, not to use threads on a bass - I love Victa but not really love his sound for by that, to sacrifice the sound for the comfort ...

And if you got muddy sound, I think it not comes with heavier gauges, it has nothing to do with it.

i Play Roto sound 30 to 90s 😂😂😂

I've been playing 40-95 for years now, and I can say that they go well with some basses and some others less so. Different strings will play differently, and gear does matter if you want the tone in your head to translate into the music that you make. Thicker strings will sound better and fatter with single coils and parallel wired humbuckers placed near the bridge (as is the MM style hb), but thinner strings sound much better with humbuckers wired in series and neck focused pickups in general. If you're a serious musician, your gear is almost as important as your playing (obviously skill needs to come first), if you can't translate the sound in your head accurately to the music then what's the point? You're not going to have double bass like tones on a Jazz bass plugged into an markbass, nor are you going to get Marcus Miller slap tones out of an EB-3 into an orange.

James Jamerson played the same strings for the whole of his carer! 52-110. He never changed a string. The dirt kept the funk!

I guess it's the persons ear.. I play in bands & use light gauges & prefer these. Also don't agree at all about Victors tone being too light because I went to one of his shows and his bass was soooooo thick & punchy but clean & articulate sounding that had to back up from the stage because it felt like someone was hitting me in my chest with their fist 👊🏼...

The advice on playing vs gear at the end! I need to loop that for days.

Geddy Lee uses Rotosound Funk Master strings .30 -.90. I'm guessing he compensates with EQ to get the lows.

Victor W. Vs MM two different basses.... Of course it's going to sounds different.

Best channel. Period

I dont like the light guage because they are to bright and dont fill like the Mediums. Wooten solos alot. thats what hes known for. But if you play in a band and want a great full sound. I like Elixir Long Scale NanoWeb's. And they last for 4 months to.
So you get your moneys worth.

I use 40-95 on my basses I can easily get that Marcus sound. I use DR Black Beauty’s

Sir, which strings do you perfer round wound or flat wound,just wondering. thanks!

Couldn't the tone issues be fixed with a few turns of the knobs on the amp and bass guitar? I'm new to bass playing so this is a real question

Yeah I just bought extra slinky,and super slinky strings to see which ones will work for my style.I bought the JB used so I don't know what gauge the strings are.The action is rather stiff,so I'm changing them hopefully I hit the jackpot 🤖🛸

I’ve always thought the same thing. Of playing bass since 1981.
Thin strings just don’t sound like BASS!

Just ordered 45-100 with D'Addario Chrome flat wounds. Not many brands have the lighter gauges...D'Addario also have Chromes 40-95

Read that the grandaddy of funk slap Larry Graham uses light gauge too.
Experimented myaelf back in the day but went back to standard as I'm just not a melodic player

Eq boost the lows! Ty

Turn bass UP on amp

What kind of strap is that?

I've been playing 55-110's for most of my bass playing but recently switched to 65-130's. I like staying in B Standard

It is so funny to hear something like: „don’t focus too much on your gear” from guy who have a 5 string stingray bass that probably costs around 3k bucks😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

I'm just seeing this now but it is still relevant after 4 years. Thanks for the good info and the clear explanation. Well done.

Ernie ball has that kind of strings

i play 30-50-70-90 mark king rotosound strings on my stingray with very low action. i started to play some kinds of punk with it too. just boost the low frequenzies a bit and your good to go. you can play faster with the same energy too :)

I completely ignore the shifts in high/low frequencies when choosing string gauges, because it's basically what an equalizer already does.
The main reason I use low gauge strings is because they don't become muddy as fast when using overdrive or distortion.

@TheBassWizard Hey man, I edited this video by separating the bass from the voice, then processed the bass sound by itself and rejoined the audio and the video to show that the 'thin' vs 'beefy' difference of light vs thicker gauges isn't so huge when you adjust your amp and pedals for it. I would really like it if I could send you this edited video to show you what I mean. And, maybe, pass on the information, because people seem to have a sense of finality about it that I think is incorrect. (PS I'm not going to do release the video edit somewhere or anything, it is your property, not mine)

Who gets calluses on bass anyway??

Rotosoumd Funkmaster. 030-90

Add to the plan! I am, thank you!

Cliff Burton used 35-90 rotosound strings, there was nothing thin about the bass sound on the first three Metallica albums, I think you need to sort your EQ out, amp end or bass end.

This was a really good video

I can only play flatwounds. .045 or .050 preferably. Anything thinner than .045 sounds like too close to a guitar for me

Speaking of cables.. mines starting to go

thanks for the video

I just bought a used Squier P bass and it has the Ernie Ball Extra Slinky 95-40. I like them a lot. They're very easy to fret and the action can be set really low.

I love ultra-low tension on my strings. I’ve tuned to B standard using 40-95’s before. I probably wouldn’t go that low with that gauge nowadays, but maybe as low as C#, and it’s my go-to gauge. I even use a pick with those strings, you just gotta pick really lightly, more like just gently tapping the pick onto the string. But the overtones sound incredible, the sustain is super long, and it requires almost no effort at all. I love it!

I'm trying to figure out if length matters for accoustic, but I'm willing to hear out if girth matters too.

i use 45-100

Both light and heavy sets are pretty hard to find. Wanting a low B with the same tension as the rest is a challenge too. Many companies don’t make a .135 and a .145 at 40lbs tension on a 34” is specialty only. I love GHS strings for their weird sets, I used a 55-115 set for years in C standard and they sound fantastic and I didn’t have to special order them.

Looking to the day when string packs are labeled by their average tension, not the gauge.

I mixed my strings like you described at end of video. In mid 1980s I left the E and A string normal guage and went light on D and G. I've been playing Rotosound and Swing 66 since I started in 80 so it was one of those 2 types of strings. I liked the chords and tapping in D/G but loved having the Trusty heavy tones of E/A. When I wore out those strings I never did that again but you can always dedicate one bass to it. Try it. You may like it. Great video. Thanks.

yes it does matter, and it's a matter of personal preference, playing style, style/s of music, & what bass guitar you're playing, & how it's set up

Mark king used 30 50 70 90 and still does I think. I did too for years.

Geddy Lee used light Rotosounds - 90 E I think. The timbre of a lighter E is closer to the famous Ric A string tone imo