# 80 Gauge Bass string on an Ibanez RG8



## Naruke (Apr 21, 2013)

Hey, I was looking for a heavier gauge string to put on my Ibanez RG8 and I was thinking about using an 80 gauge string for the low E string (I tune to EAEADGBE) the question I have though is will an 80 gauge bass string fit through the tuning peg or will I have to drill the hole to make it bigger?


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## Winspear (Apr 21, 2013)

You'll likely have to drill, most guys here are doing that or unwinding the string (drilling is much much easier). 
I would avoid bass strings as they are constructed differently and the tone will be off. They don't sound or feel right at low tension. 
An exception is Elixir Nanowebs or Circle K strings which are the same for guitar and bass. 
D'addario do a NW080 for guitar.


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## Johnathan (Apr 21, 2013)

Naruke said:


> Hey, I was looking for a heavier gauge string to put on my Ibanez RG8 and I was thinking about using an 80 gauge string for the low E string (I tune to EAEADGBE) the question I have though is will an 80 gauge bass string fit through the tuning peg or will I have to drill the hole to make it bigger?



I'm currently using an .080 fender basstring on my RG2228, which is the same scale length as your RG8. I got it tuned into F-standard, it works. But it's a bit floppy still, im considering to switch to a .086 set. If you are considering to tune into EAEADGBE, i would recomend getting a .090 string to get the desired tention and avoid string buzzing and attack cause of a floppy string. Remember that you might need to make room in the tuner and definetly more room in the nut for the string to fit.



EtherealEntity said:


> You'll likely have to drill, most guys here are doing that or unwinding the string (drilling is much much easier).
> I would avoid bass strings as they are constructed differently and the tone will be off. They don't sound or feel right at low tension.
> An exception is Elixir Nanowebs or Circle K strings which are the same for guitar and bass.
> D'addario do a NW080 for guitar.



I guess it depends on the type of string you get. But i did not need to drill out the tuner to fit the .080 i have, the end that goes into the tuner was smaller than the rest of the string, so it fitted perfectly. Allthough i did had to make more space in the nut.


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## Naruke (Apr 21, 2013)

Ahh okay. Thanks for the info. Didn't want to buy the strings without knowing what I'd have to do first. Looks like I'll have to ask my friend to help me drill the hole bigger as I am not very good with power tools


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## Johnathan (Apr 21, 2013)

Naruke said:


> Ahh okay. Thanks for the info. Didn't want to buy the strings without knowing what I'd have to do first. Looks like I'll have to ask my friend to help me drill the hole bigger as I am not very good with power tools



I would not do any adjustments to the size of the hole in the tuner OR the space in the nut until you have the string you actually want. You don't want to overadjust, you just want to make the right amount of adjustments to fit your needs. And it don't have to be a power tool. You can use a round shaped file aswell.


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## Zhysick (Apr 21, 2013)

I am using an Ernie Ball 80 bass string (well, today I changed it for a 74 for guitar) and you will need to file the tuner... but I will suggest you also to unwind the string better.

I've been using the 80 for Drop D# tuning and it wasn't too floppy, but not the best, specially fretted notes sounded a bit bad.

I read here something about using less string gauge and adapting the picking technic so I put a 74 and it sounds a bit better, mainly because is a guitar string not a bass string, but is floppy as hell. I think 80 is a good mid point between string tension and intonation, but must be a guitar string... bass string sounds bad! Slow slow attack, muddy as hell.

Also, if you haven't read it in other thread, if you are still using stock pickups, I will recommend you to change pups positions (using Neck PUP for bridge and vice-versa) as the neck pickups it's only 10Kohms and it sounds a LOT clearer on the lower strings side.

It improves a LOT the sound of the guitar and its "free".


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## GreatWhiteYeti (Apr 21, 2013)

I just got my set from Curt Mangan Strings, and the 84 appears to be tapered at the end. I'm also pretty sure they sell single and custom sets. If you want I can let you know how it works once I get it all set up on my fiddle.


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## Arcanerain (Apr 21, 2013)

I use an 85 gauge bass string in E which has a good feel to it. I'd put a 90 in but I feel that the 85 is pushing it a bit with the nut on an rga8. I unwound the string to get it to go into the tuning peg.


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## ite89 (Apr 22, 2013)

I tried the 80 but i used ghs boomer bass strings. I think the tension is good enough though it's quite difficult to intonate. I don't know how tosin plays with drop E using a 74 considering 80 is still quite loose and while looking at some of his videos it seems like his action is set quite low! While trying to intonate my guitar (an RG8) i noticed that everything above the 12th fret on the 80 Low e with just stop vibrating all of a sudden, which was quite strange since my action was set at roughly 2.6-3.00mm and the neck had a good amount of relief. But i read somewhere in this forum that the pickup height will cut off vibration and somehow affect intonation. I lowered the pickups and everything was just right hahah. Could you guys explain why guitar strings sound better than bass strings, i don't really see the difference.


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## berzerkergang (Apr 22, 2013)

An .86?? Youll be able to cut cheese with that haha


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## Johnathan (Apr 22, 2013)

ite89 said:


> I tried the 80 but i used ghs boomer bass strings. I think the tension is good enough though it's quite difficult to intonate. I don't know how tosin plays with drop E using a 74 considering 80 is still quite loose and while looking at some of his videos it seems like his action is set quite low! While trying to intonate my guitar (an RG8) i noticed that everything above the 12th fret on the 80 Low e with just stop vibrating all of a sudden, which was quite strange since my action was set at roughly 2.6-3.00mm and the neck had a good amount of relief. But i read somewhere in this forum that the pickup height will cut off vibration and somehow affect intonation. I lowered the pickups and everything was just right hahah. Could you guys explain why guitar strings sound better than bass strings, i don't really see the difference.



I'm not really that qualified to answer. But i believe it has to do with the magnetic properties of the string.


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## Winspear (Apr 22, 2013)

It's the construction of the string - wrap to core ratio, number of wraps, tension it was wound at and designed for etc.


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## berzerkergang (Apr 22, 2013)

berzerkergang said:


> An .86?? Youll be able to cut cheese with that haha



Seriously? I get neg repped for this? Gutless.


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## MikeK (Apr 22, 2013)

I have an RG8 as well with a Circle K .80 on it and it feels just fine for a low E. Most bass strings don't feel as high tensioned for some reason when I have tried them on guitars.


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## Konfyouzd (Apr 22, 2013)

berzerkergang said:


> Seriously? I get neg repped for this? Gutless.



Why don't you know everything? Come at me bro!


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