Anyone here not like hi tension bass strings?

[lumgimfong]

Meaning 170lb range and above?

I have been playing flats ranging from 40-100 thru 50-110 in the ~ 175-240lb range my whole time playing bass and I just always felt like they are too hard and painful to play. I have low action with flat neck and have safe left hand technique a la Carol Kaye.
Now I am starting to try low tension flats in the 135-165 range. Much better but I wonder how the pros of the 60's and 70's survived constantly playing hi tension flats. Maybe they are not for some people like me. Maybe I need to bust out the hand grips.

Is it just me?

[teb]

Having played flats through the mid sixties, seventies and beyond, I don't remember them seeming terribly high tensioned. They were just what we had available. I don't remember ever seeing string tension as an issue before the days of internet forums. These days, I usually use TI Jazz flats on my Hofner and my '69 Hagstrom eight-string for their sound properties, as well as the fact that they may be easier on the necks. My 2030 has half-rounds and my 4003 has stock RIC strings but they are there for the sound quality, not for tension issues.

[lumgimfong]

Thanks for your thoughts on this.
Internet opens a whole new broader population to bass discussions.
So that may be why formally unheard of issues materialize.
I also remember no one talking much about modding instruments and other issues when I was young and before internet. We had to just use what we had. And we had almost no access to the many options available now. You just played whatever you could get from your local music shop.
But I do remember some people who wanted to learn guitar (for instance) starting and then giving it up because they could not handle the left hand discomfort.
So maybe you do have to be built a certain way at minimum to play certain instruments.
Or just have the willpower. I remember when I first started playing it was like torture until my hands adjusted.

[iiipopes]

Part of it is setup. If there is too much relief in the neck, then it takes more effort to fret heavier strings. If the neck is set up per the RIC owner's manual, then heavier tension strings do not necessarily feel that much stiffer, especially if the player has a light touch and the frets are dressed for the lowest action possible consistent with no buzz.

That said, I like to "dig in" a little occasionally. So my action is a little higher. A few years ago, my hands started telling me that they did not like "Fender standard" 34-inch scale and 3/4 inch spacing at the bridge. So I have either sold or have leftover parts ready for the chopping block and got out my 4002 and reacquainted myself with why it has been my favorite 4-string bass. Why not resume the 4002 as my main bass? Alas, I need a 5-string for my party band, so I had a custom 33-inch scale neck made for it. Also, I went with D'Addario 170BT with a 130 to lower the tension even more from the traditional 170 45-105 set and, of course, make the tension and feel more uniform from string-to-string.

That, and for flats, because some repertoire just needs flats, I have a 32-inch scale bass for flats. That is about the same as tuning down a Fender standard to Eb on tension, and yes, with La Bella 760FL-M, which are 42-106, also eases the feel and what it takes to play the instrument.

So yes, I have lightened up, not from high tension, because I never really ever used high tension (my definition of high tension is any set that starts with a 50 G string [at least for standard tuning instead of drop tuning] instead of a 45, which I consider medium tension), but from medium tension strings, by lowering the gauges in the middle (a D string is notorious for being stiffer, and it takes another thread to explain the traditional reason why) and by shortening the scale so there is less tension, either from Fender standard to Rickenbacker 33 1/4, or 33, or 32, since tension varies as the square of the scale, not linearly. With these changes, I am back in a position to gig regularly for the forseeable future. Now, if only GHS would get Progressives 2.0 back into production before I run out of NOS singles for my 4002.

[lumgimfong]

Yes, my hand revolted against Pbass scale after 10 years of playing pbasses.
Now I play 4003 or my 30.5" Starfire.
I revisit the Pbass I have sometimes but the hand reminds me it's not for me anymore.
But the tone of the 4003 I like better anyway, and the Starfire, too.
But I will say the Pbass structurally is the most stable of all my basses. It is built like a tank and the adjustments never move and it stays in tune.

[teeder]

I also remember no one talking much about modding instruments and other issues when I was young and before internet. We had to just use what we had.

I remember my brother doing all kinds of mods in the '70's - early '80's. Mainly with pick-ups and/or wiring changes, but could have been tailpieces or tuners too.

[Korladis]

I mainly play D'addario XLs. Are those high tension or medium or low? I'm not sure.

[jps]

I mainly play D'addario XLs. Are those high tension or medium or low? I'm not sure.

That depends on what gauge you use.

[Kiddwad57]

I don't like high tension bass strings.

[Korladis]

I mainly play D'addario XLs. Are those high tension or medium or low? I'm not sure.

That depends on what gauge you use.

On my E standard basses, I use 105s or 100s.

On my B standard basses I use 130, 100, 80, 60

[jps]

I would consider those on the medium high side, tension-wise.

These days, two of my basses have TI Jazz Flats (Snowglo 4004L; fretless Martin Keith Elfin 5), one has TI Jazz Rounds (JG 4004L SPC), and the fretted Martin Keith Elfin 5 has a set of D'Addario XLs (40-125). The latter will eventually be getting a set of TI Jazz Rounds.

[brianeharmonjr]

I like the lightest gauge TI flats on my Ric to save on tension. The other basses I have mostly played were short-scale, so less tension feels better to me

[ilan]

Bass is not Olympic 10-meter diving, you don't get bonus scores for difficulty.