Light vs Medium Gauge Epiphany

Dale Griffith

Dale Griffith

Jun 6, 2016
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327
4,551
#1
I've used light gauge flats on all of my basses for decades - I've been playing since the mid '60s. Never liked rounds and still don't, so whenever I've gotten a new or used bass with rounds I changed them to light gauge flats before I even played them.

Recently I bought a made to order bass from Kiesel (Carvin). One of their options was to ship with flats for $20 extra. I ordered this option because If I got rounds I would have immediately changed them anyway.

The bass is VERY well made and quite a bargain for the quality I got. I can heartily recommend Kiesel for a customized bass. I love the sound and playability and it quickly became my "go to" favorite. I like the sound so well I considered contacting them to find out what strings they used so I could replace them with the same strings when I needed them down the road. Before I did that I got curious, got out my micrometer and measured the strings. They are MEDIUM gauge.

I also have a Reverend Mercalli 4 which has an excellent build quality and with their "copper fire" finish it's the best looking bass I have. With the action set as low as most of my other basses I was getting a lot clacking noise although no buzzing. This noise wasn't showing up in an amplifier but it still bugged me. I decided to try medium gauge flats on this bass and with the action even lower, the clacking is gone.

Looks like I have determined that medium gauge flats beat light gauge flats for me! I never would have thought it.

The bad thing is that I'm wondering if I've simply changed my preference over that last year or two or if I've been using the wrong strings for over 40 years.
 
#2
There's more than just gauges though. What were the brands? Tension differences? Also I can play light flats without clacking so play style might have done it too. That being said, I've had basses that just didn't agree with certain gauges. I had to shim one of mind to make a set work and even then, it never played as well as it did when i threw that same set on another better built bass.
 
#4
I don't think you've been playing the wrong strings for all those years. You've just not gone out of your way to find something different. But with the new Bass, you found something different that you like more.
 
#5
Mechayoshi said:
There's more than just gauges though. What were the brands? Tension differences? Also I can play light flats without clacking so play style might have done it too. That being said, I've had basses that just didn't agree with certain gauges. I had to shim one of mind to make a set work and even then, it never played as well as it did when i threw that same set on another better built bass.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's due to my playing style. I don't hit the notes very hard, and I currently play in bands doing classic rock/pop/oldies, western swing, original soft rock and praise and worship. My string heights on the E and A strings range from 2mm to 2.5mm, depending on the bass. Height on the Reverend was 2.5mm. With medium gauge strings I've lowered it to 2.25mm.

It MAY have something to do with the bass itself, more than my playing style. I still have light gauge flats on my other 7 basses. I still think the lights work fine on most of them, including my cheapest, sub-$250 Peavey and my American Standard Precision. I also don't know if light gauge strings would be OK on my Kiesel PB-4. It came with medium gauge flats and I love the way it plays, but I haven't tried lights - they could work fine. The only bass so far that I can say absolutely plays better with mediums is my Reverend Mercalli.

I do have a 5-string MIM Fender Dimension bass which I don't think is very playable, so I'm definitely going to try medium gauge strings on that one before I give up on it.

Over time, I may try medium gauge strings on some of my other basses, just to see if I like that better, but I won't try them until I'm ready to change strings.
 
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