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Balanced tension strings


Drog

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Well I finally tried a set of balanced tension strings, I like them! The guitar even stays in tune a little better. I put on D'Addario EXL110BT, string gauges are: 10,13.5,17,25,34,46 . I had been using EXL110 gauges; 10,13,17,26,36,46. As you can see the 2nd string is a bit larger, the 4th and 5 th strings smaller.

 

Anyone else try a balanced set? I know there are probably some that have done custom sets for years.

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Wait. What?

"D'Addario EXL110BT Balanced Tension electric guitar sets are comprised of mathematically optimized string gauge combinations, resulting in greater control and playing comfort. Combined with the distinctive bright tone of XL nickel wound strings, each set offers greater dynamic control and a more consistent feel between strings for evenly balanced bending, strumming, fretting, picking, and plucking."

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I tried them for a different reason...

 

I bought a Vintage (brand) VS6 (SG copy) used on eBay,

 

vs6large.jpg

 

 

and found it must have been constructed with a neck from a piece of wood that wasn't fully seasoned enough and is terribly responsive to environmental changes, especially temperature. The neck goes back and forth out of adjustment constantly. It's so cantankerous I named it "Johnny Reb."

 

Up 'til that axe, I've had exceptional luck with both online buys, even used, and new especially the Vintage brand. I have found them to be exceptional economically priced imported guitars, from Korea I believe. And the Seth Lover inspired (both Trevor Wilkinson and Seymour Duncan were personal friends-with and students-of; Seth Lover) Wilkinson pickups are fantastic!

 

I would put Vintage a notch above Epiphone to be honest, you win some you lose some, this could also be a product of this guitars treatment by it's first owner who apparently threw it in a closet and piled crap on it for over a year. I can't blame the guitar for that. It's possible I suppose that the wood is actually fine and it's purely a case of abuse that warped the neck...

 

It barely made any difference so I simply raised the bridge and made it my slide axe and have tuned it to Open-E...

 

Johnny Reb's good for slide and has some great tone, but not even the balanced tension strings could help it for a standard style playing guitar, I had to relegate it to slide work...

 

I didn't really notice any beneficial feel or action from the balanced tension strings before I raised the action for slide... What I did think I noticed was an increased tension. Whether that was from a proper balance or not I couldn't really tell...

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Hello!

 

I did try them too. I can't feel any difference between them and the average strings.

 

Not to mention they faded away so quickly.

 

Best wishes... Bence

They should make some for bass guitars. Most bass string sets are even less balanced than average guitar string sets. Here are two examples, either D'Addario Pro Steels which I don't use any longer for their thin sound and sandy feel:

 

19.00 - 21.45 - 20.36 - 16.92 kgs for a regular light top/medium bottom long scale set .045 - .065 - .085 - .105.

 

The regular light long scale set with .080 - .100 bottom reads

19.00 - 21.45 - 18.35 - 15.61 kgs.

 

Even the heavier bottom strings have a lower tension than the lighter top strings, let alone the entirely regular light set... [confused]

 

Perhaps not too funny for bass necks in the long run I think. [unsure]

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I tried them for a different reason...

 

I bought a Vintage (brand) VS6 (SG copy)

 

vs6large.jpg

 

 

and found it must have been contructed with a neck from a piece of wood that wasn't fully seasoned enough and is terribly responsive to environmental changes, especially temperature. The neck goes back and forth out of adjustment constantly. It's so cantankerous I named it "Johnny Reb."

 

Up 'til that axe, I've had exceptional luck with both online buys, even used, and especially the Vintage brand. I have found them to be exceptional economically priced imported guitars, from Korea I believe. And the Seth Lover inspired (both Trevor Wilkinson and Seymour Duncan were personal friends-with and students-of; Seth Lover) Wilkinson pickups are fantastic!

 

I would put Vintage a notch above Epiphone to be honest, you win some you lose some, this could also be a product of this guitars treatment by it's first owner who apparently threw it in a closet and piled crap on it for over a year. I can't blame the guitar for that. It's possible I suppose that the wood is actually fine and it's purely a case of abuse that warped the neck...

 

It barely made any difference so I simply raised the bridge and made it my slide axe and have tuned it to Open-E...

 

Johnny Reb's good for slide and has some great tone, but not even the balanced tension strings could help it for a standard style playing guitar, I had to relegate it to slide work...

 

I didn't really notice any beneficial feel or action from the balanced tension strings before I raised the action for slide... What I did think I noticed was an increased tension. Whether that was from a proper balance or not I couldn't really tell...

 

LOVE THAT NAME !! (uh, yeah, i'm in Alabama)

but a guitar named Johnny Reb w/no custom Confederate battle flag paintjob??

that just AIN'T right (bless your heart)

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They should make some for bass guitars. Most bass string sets are even less balanced than average guitar string sets. Here are two examples, either D'Addario Pro Steels which I don't use any longer for their thin sound and sandy feel:

 

19.00 - 21.45 - 20.36 - 16.92 kgs for a regular light top/medium bottom long scale set .045 - .065 - .085 - .105.

 

The regular light long scale set with .080 - .100 bottom reads

19.00 - 21.45 - 18.35 - 15.61 kgs.

 

Even the heavier bottom strings have a lower tension than the lighter top strings, let alone the entirely regular light set... [confused]

 

Perhaps not too funny for bass necks in the long run I think. [unsure]

They do make sets for bass. The nickel series.

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They do make sets for bass. The nickel series.

Thanks for the tip, Drog. [thumbup] I instantly researched these and found out that Thomann sells them since of September, 2013. Interestingly I only found long scale sets. I hope they will also make nickel-plated steel roundwounds and flatwounds balanced ones in the future, and short scale as well.

 

Several months ago I have switched back to rounds and flats of my beloved Optima brand, still have some spare sets, so I'm in no hurry.

 

I remember that Gibson released the tension balanced Equa Series guitar strings around 1980. It seems they didn't catch on then, so they were dropped only a few years after. I can't remember their material composition though.

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LOVE THAT NAME !! (uh, yeah, i'm in Alabama)

but a guitar named Johnny Reb w/no custom Confederate battle flag paintjob??

that just AIN'T right (bless your heart)

 

I am a Yankee... Hence the name after being aggravated by it... msp_biggrin.gif

 

I come from a long historic line of Yankees here in The Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts USA... My family is fairly well known for being conductors on The Underground Railroad and had a huge aristocratic mansion for generations with secret rooms and passageways to hide the "passengers." They lost it all in The Great Depression... We became a family of rural farmers after that... We've served in every war since and even prior to The Revolution after steppin' off the boat in The New World... That pesky French & Indian thing hit home with my family...

 

My family was known to associate with Abolitionist John Brown, we're founding members of the area's Utiopian Society that traveled the circles of Walt Whitman and Oscar Wilde, and at the time were rather politically rebellious themselves... We opened the very first free Kindergarten in The United States. The Hill Foundation still stands today and I'm a direct decendent of it's founder...

 

And I hate this state! Way too friggin' liberal for me! I'm lookin' ta relocate eventually. I plan on joining the mass exodus of people with a brain that are leavin' The People's Republic of Massachusetts as far behind them as possible...

 

 

I'm certainly not against adoring "Johnny Reb" with a rebel flag either... I'll toy with that idea! Thankx for the notion!

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Cool the way you turned this into a political thread, Jimi. The tradition of racism in Boston, and in Massachusetts, is well recognized, even by many Southerners. Come on down... your forefathers would be proud of you.

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Cool the way you turned this into a political thread, Jimi. The tradition of racism in Boston, and in Massachusetts, is well recognized, even by many Southerners. Come on down... your forefathers would be proud of you.

 

 

No sir, not a political thread hijack, I try very hard to steer clear of politics on this forum, I've seen too many a good discourse disintigrate into a furball of political fury... I hate that...

 

I only meant to clarify my guitar nickname and the whole north/south issue touched-upon by my friend from Alabama, in a light-hearted/friendly/amiable way... My long-winded nature may well make it appear to be of a more political intent than is the case.

 

Thought I'd exemplify to him my Yankee (I actually prefer a deeper/older historic accuracy of Pioneer) roots, especially since I detest the current definition of the political winds that blow the course now in these parts & what "Yankee" became accepted to encompass...

 

Besides, to our Limey bretheren, we're all Yanks!

 

I'll happily pursue this tangent in a PM if U like Ziggy. I find the point piquant and intriguing... I tend to agree with what you said on it's face value.

 

I truly do not wish to hijack our thead host's endeavor...

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I try very hard to steer clear of politics on this forum, I've seen too many a good discourse disintigrate into a furball of political fury... I hate that...

 

 

 

 

Try harder. [thumbup]

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Guest Farnsbarns

Try harder. [thumbup]

 

[lol] . funny and true!

 

@jimi, your second to last paragraph didn't come over very light hearted or amiable To be fair :P . Not that I could give a toss, just amused me.

 

BTW, you're the Limies, the Europeans that left for America took limes to stave off scurvy. That's you lot, not us, no limes required for staying home. I wonder how that term stuck really. Still, I can think of worse things to be known as/for. [thumbup]

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[lol] . funny and true!

 

@jimi, your second to last paragraph didn't come over very light hearted or amiable To be fair :P . Not that I could give a toss, just amused me.

 

BTW, you're the Limies, the Europeans that left for America took limes to stave off scurvy. That's you lot, not us, no limes required for staying home. I wonder how that term stuck really. Still, I can think of worse things to be known as/for. [thumbup]

 

Your Empire, and especially the Navy, ruled the world at one point without question... I believe there were more British sailors around the world at one time than any other nationality... U guys broke the back of the Spanish Armada, and their world conquest. That was quite a feat!

 

I do believe that is where the term came to stick... I use it completely with reverence and fondness.

 

And yes, I know full well I need to try harder! But I'll stand by my words, even if U think it wasn't very light-hearted it was indeed accurate and that is undeniable. A simple fact...

 


In general I like the D'Addario strings, but don't happen to purchase them very often. They are the brand that came on my daughter's nice Takamine E/A so we stick with them on that axe...

 

I truly couldn't notice much difference or advantage to them, but suspect in axes that have a very slight issue with buzzing they might make a difference and alleviate some of that...

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Well I finally tried a set of balanced tension strings, I like them! The guitar even stays in tune a little better. I put on D'Addario EXL110BT, string gauges are: 10,13.5,17,25,34,46 . I had been using EXL110 gauges; 10,13,17,26,36,46. As you can see the 2nd string is a bit larger, the 4th and 5 th strings smaller.

 

Anyone else try a balanced set? I know there are probably some that have done custom sets for years.

Yeah, just put a med. set of the balanced tension d'addario's on a hollowbody with ceramic pu's. I was using pure nickel but was opting to change for reasons of having different strings on the hollowbody. I use the pure nickel with the alnico v bb pros in my lp. I always thought d'addario makes a middle of the road great string. sounds great and lasts long, priced right too. how much difference can you really feel between similar string sets?

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