ilovefuzz.com

I use a .142 for my low A on my 5-string. You get used to the gauge, honestly, and now anything smaller feels floppy to me.

bigchiefbc wrote:

jwar wrote:If you buy a 5 string set you'll more than likely have to file the nut of your bass and then hope you want to keep it in that tuning forever, because you'll be replacing the nut if you ever go standard.

Yes you can use a normal set of strings. I used to tune BEAD sometimes drop A without any issues of staying in tune. I would obviously buy a heavier gauge but would use brands like DR and Ernie Ball with no issues at all.

Ugh, I've done that (tuned down to BEAD with a standard set) and absolutely hated it. The strings are so flappy and sproingy. I really can't stand it when there isn't enough tension in strings.

Maybe it depends on how you have it set up? The tech I used to send my basses to was really fucking good. There was really good tension on my strings even dropped like that. He was a wizard and always set my shit up just the way I wanted. Alas, he quit and don't know where he went. So my set up's have sucked dick since.

I did buy heavy gauge string when doing this, but never 5 string and throw one out. That just seems wasteful to me. Why not just play a damn 5 string then? I've never understood that.

The g string is the sexiest of strings.

kbithecrowing wrote:What kind of bass did you get anyway?

I got it for xmas. It's one of them Squier VM Jaguar basses. As far as I can tell, it plays nice. I did some setup adjustments when I put the big strings on it so the tension is better and the action is lower. I might re-check the intonation though, I wonder now if even slightly lengthening the strings would help with the flop.

jwar wrote:
I did buy heavy gauge string when doing this, but never 5 string and throw one out. That just seems wasteful to me. Why not just play a damn 5 string then? I've never understood that.

The g string is the sexiest of strings.

I like to keep the extra string because I'm always deciding to change strings at random moments and end up making franken-sets. I thought about getting a 5 string, but the fuzz breaux talked me into a 4 banger for my first bass

Pfffttt my first bass was a 4, second was a 5. I like both but I like the low B. It blows your ballsack through your ass. THROUGH YOUR ASS!

Pretty much exactly why I was considering a 5 string.

I'm tuning down to Bb anyways though, so for now.....

well… you could get a 5er and put a low F# on it… they are a lot of fun...

one step at a time

I use DR DDTs for when I tune down my 4 string. Right now it's in drop C and I'm amazed at how well it stays in tune. The low C is a 110...I might bump it up to 115 but I'm not sure.

I do play 5 string as well but I'm not in love with any particular brand/gauge yet. always experimenting lol