Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello all,

Reading a few topics and I had this in mind for a while...I'd appreciate a listing of strings by different manufacturers as to they are Low or High tension ??

Thanks for the info...

From experience Fender 9050 flats are HIGH TENSION. Very high.

From reputation TI Jazz Flats are LOW Tension. Very low.

I am using cheapo Musician Friend bulk RW's on my Laredo, and they seem to be fairly low tension, I have no idea who makes these strings, but they satisfy me.

Brand: DR

Hi-beams - low tension
Lo-riders, nick and steel - medium tension

Brand: Rotosound

RS77 Monel Flats - medium tension
RS55 Solo Bass - very low tension

Brand: D'addario

Chromes - high tension (people have told me they had low tension with these, so I think my setup might have been messed up)

XL Nickels - medium tension

All of these string sets are .045-.105

Chromes are not high tension strings at all. I use them on my V63 and C64. They are 45-100 medium light guage and are lower tension than Rotos which I've also used. Medium tension yes, high tension, no. As far as the other brands go everything else Bobcat stated is correct. I use the DR nickel Lo-Riders on my 4003, Fender Jazz, and Music Man SR basses. They are very good medium tension strings. I tried High Beams, but the sound was too harsh and the tension was too loose for my liking.

BTW, The TI Jazz Flats, and the DR SS High Beams, and the nickel Sunbeams are probably the lowest tension normal guaged strings around. The Roto Tru Bass are also low tension, but the guages are quite heavy IMHO.

LaBella James Jamerson: HIGH TENSION!

repeating Edski - Tomastik Infeld Jazz Flats: very low tension

repeating Randy - Rotosound Tru Bass: very low tension

question for Bobcat - are the DR Highbeams and LoRiders that different in terms of tension? I haven't used Highbeams in a long time.

AfAIK, the lowest tension roundwounds are TI Jazz Rounds. The D'Addario Chromes (40-55-75-95) I use are quite low in tension, not as low as the TI Jazz Flats but close.

I looked around the net to see if I could get some numbers on string tensions, and I got nothing. I couldn't even find the numbers on Rick strings, because their boutique pages are down for inventory or something.

I happen to like the way Ric strings sound for fingerstyle, but they seem to be really low tension. It's a big adjustment for me if I have to use a pick.

I've had DR Highbeams and Low Riders before -- how close are these strings in tension to the Ric strings, and does anyone know where to go to get the actual numbers?

I'm leaning toward just sticking with Ric for awhile, unless the High Beams or Low Riders turn out to be real close, because I have enjoyed DR strings in the past. But where do people go for Rick strings these days?

D'Addario and Thomastik-Infeld show the tension of their strings on their websites.

"DR Highbeams and LoRiders that different in terms of tension? I haven't used Highbeams in a long time."

Yes. I don't have any numbers on this, but once my first set of Hi-Beams finally died (six months later!!!), I decided to test out the Lo-Riders; everyone said great things about them, so I figured it wouldn't hurt. I used Nickel Lo-Riders first and then Steel Lo-Riders. Both types are amazing strings, and I would absolutely recommend nickel Lo-Riders for anyone in a funk band. They last forever too. But they were *significantly* higher tension than the Hi-Beams. The funny thing is, they're not that high tension, compared to a lot of other stuff; I think I was just so used to the Hi-Beams and their looseness that the Lo-Riders were just too much. I can play Hi-Beams really aggressively for maybe 3 hours and not get tired. I could play the same way on Lo-Riders for an hour, and I'd have to rest my hand.

But yeah, Lo-Riders aren't high tension. Hi-Beams are just ridiculously low tension. Personally, I would recommend DR to anyone and everyone, except flats players, because I've never played DR flats. But seriously, these strings last forever and when they "go dead", they don't sound "dead" . . . just different. Then, three months later, they actually die. It's the closest thing you'll get to flatwound longevity in a roundwound string. And they sound amazing too. And they're cheap. Do it. You know you want to.

As for the Chromes, yeah, I know they're low tension. I must've had a bad setup or something with mine, because they felt like freaking double bass strings. They sounded great though. But I'm sure my setup was weird, because every other person here who has tried them says they're low tension, and I can't imagine that those people got duds and I didn't.

"yeah, I know they're low tension. I must've had a bad setup or something with mine"

A lot of it depends on what gauge you tried.

My friend has a Hofner bass he got when he was in high school in the 60's. It has strings that are SUPER low tension. It feels like fretting an overstretched rubber band. They are flatwounds and he said they were from Germany or Austria or some place like that. I forget the name...anyone know what they're called?

The difference between the DR High Beam and Low Rider strings is that the High Beams are wound on a round core, which eases the tension load. the Lo Riders are wound on a hex core, which increases the tension load a little. I prefer the nickel Lo Riders, which are are medium tension strings as a whole.

David wrote:

I looked around the net to see if I could get some numbers on string tensions, and I got nothing.

I found a similar situation for guitar strings, although one manufacturer (I don't remember which one) did have tensions listed. Another manufacturer refused to provide tension values when I e-mailed customer service with a request for them.

What are the recommended round wound stings with "modern sound"(deep fundamental bass together with crispy highs and mids that can growl) that have low tension and do not grind into the frets too much (nickel, I guess)???
BTW: TI are very rare in Germany, don't know why?
I only saw the TI set IN344 (superalloy, roundwound, 45-105)