# What gauge for A standard on a 34" 5-string bass?



## Seedawakener (Sep 9, 2007)

My bassist is buying strings tomorrow. What gauge should he get? Info provided in the title. Im no bassist so I can't give him any advice really. That is why I post here! We play metal, so nothing weird. I just need to know what gauge will sound good for ADGCF tuning!


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## Ror3h (Sep 9, 2007)

It's all down to personal preference really, just like guitar strings.

On my 5 string bass (34" scale too) I have a pretty heavy set of strings, can't quite remember what the higher ones are but I know the low string is a .140, works well for me (I usually tune it down a half step to Bb).


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## Desecrated (Sep 9, 2007)

I kinda like thin strings on bass, but thats probably because I am a guitarplayer. 
But for your tuning I don't think that I would go over 50-135. I use 40-125 right now and I drop the E and the B sometime so it tunes ADADG. I don't think that is to sloppy.


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## Beta (Sep 10, 2007)

A .135 is probably your best bet as far as readily available strings.


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## MF_Kitten (Sep 10, 2007)

.135 is standard tension for B, and holds up really good for A, i wouldn´t use anything else for that tuning, maybe a .140 if i wanted to be a perfectionist... i tend to like tight strings with bass guitars, because that´s kinda what makes them sound like basses... it gives them alot of fuundamentals in the tone, which is what a bass needs, especially when tuning low...


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## Seedawakener (Sep 11, 2007)

I couldn't give my bassist the info in time and he got a .125  Will this work?


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## Naren (Sep 11, 2007)

Seedawakener said:


> I couldn't give my bassist the info in time and he got a .125  Will this work?



It'll work, but I think it'll probably be a little floppy for A.


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## Desecrated (Sep 11, 2007)

I have 125right now and it works fine. it get's a little sloppy around G.


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## Naren (Sep 11, 2007)

Desecrated said:


> I have 125right now and it works fine. it get's a little sloppy around G.



Maybe I like them kind of tight then. I liked around 130-135 for B, so I'd assuming 140-145 would be good for A.  125 would definitely work. I'm just thinking it might be a little floppy.


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## Desecrated (Sep 11, 2007)

personal taste


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## guitarjitsumaster (Sep 11, 2007)

.135 is fine for B, Its usable for A but not as tight as I would like it.

.125 only equals about 14lbs of tension at B which is riding on the edge of floppdom to begin with. At A its  11 lbs 

.140 is 17lbs at B and almost 14lbs at A. Which is pretty good.

.145 is 18lbs at B and 14.5 lbs at A. To me this would seem the most Ideal/logical gauge tension wise but as you know they dont carry .145's at most stores. Which means youll have to order it.


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## MF_Kitten (Sep 11, 2007)

guitarjitsumaster said:


> as you know they dont carry .145's at most stores. Which means youll have to order it.



where would one order custom size strings, or at least more rare size strings, for bass?

looking for a string to uphold good tension when tuned down to G... thinking about .150 or so... anywhere i could get that? i know i could get it from conklin, but buying that one string from conklin and shipping it to norway, would cost a fortune 

also, i want to be able to go down to sub-octave E (don´t ask why ), and up to A, without snapping the neck when i tune it up to A... what i need is a string that would be the same tightness as a .135 tuned to Bb/A# when i tune to G...

if anyone replies to this, thanks in advance hehe


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## guitarjitsumaster (Sep 11, 2007)

juststrings.com has up to .145's. I dont know about .150, if you find out let me know!


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## bostjan (Sep 11, 2007)

Hell, whatever he uses for B standard will probably work for A. Heavy bass strings are kind of hard to find.


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## MF_Kitten (Sep 12, 2007)

guitarjitsumaster said:


> juststrings.com has up to .145's. I dont know about .150, if you find out let me know!



conklin sells .150 and .165 strings... S.I.T makes as thick as .195 i believe...


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## BrutalExorcist (Sep 18, 2007)

A .125 tuned to A, the few times I do it, works perfectly fine. Also, my bass amp setup, though only 200W (I don't play much metal bass), is great for the lower tunings, which probably helps. Just something else to think about.


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