Need help identifying strings on used bass that I bought.

BornAgainBass

BornAgainBass

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Jun 21, 2017
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Houston Texas
#1
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I recently purchased my first bass used from GC and I was wondering what strings were on it. The squiggly stuff in the pictures is my dogs hairs and not scratches on it. They got curious while I was trying to snap pictures lol. It's a Yamaha TRBX304 Bass and I know that Yamaha puts strings on their basses that are not available to the public to buy and the guy who owned it probably restrung the bass when he got home. So I was wondering what strings are on it and where would I measure with my digital calipers to find out the gauge on bass strings please. They are probably a medium gauge set but I would like to know to base what gauge to try out from there. They could be EB's with the colored balls but I don't know because I just got back in to learning bass after taking some lessons over 2 decades ago lol. I played guitar and realized that I am a bass player and have been playing the wrong instrument all these years lol. I can play the guitar fine but my heart is in playing the bass. I know how to set up guitars and have the LMI string depth gauge, Stew Mac understring radius gauges so changing string gauges won't be a problem for me in setting it back up. I am going to post another thread asking for help on which DR's would be good for my style of playing since I am thinking about going to a lighter gauge. Having to set the string height higher wouldn't bother me since I played acoustic guitars with medium gauge strings for decades and used Grip Master's for years. Thanks for all your help on this everybody! Much appreciated.
 
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#5
michael_t said:
Anywhere within the speaking length, ie the main body between the nut and the saddle where the thickness is consistent.
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Thanks again michael_t. Appreciate it. They feel like medium gauge strings and I like them but I am wondering how a medium light gauge set of strings would be like on it and if I would like the way they feel. Only one way to find out lol. Thanks again.
 
#7
BornAgainBass said:
They turned out to be light gauge. Might be old and stretched out to feel like a heavier gauge. I might go to a medium light gauge for the next set.
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You might want to consider the light-gauge balanced tension set, EXL170BT (45-60-80-107) if you like a set that's nice and even across all strings.

I personally find the regular light-gauge set (EXL170, 45-65-80-100) too uneven tension-wise.
 
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#10
Pier_ said:
how light? the exact gauge?
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They turned out to be the
D'Addario EXL 170M Nickel Wound Bass, light strings 45-100 - Medium Scale.
E .10 in
A .08 in
D .06 50 in
G .04 50 in
The Yamaha has a 34" scale. I can play them fine with my fingers from the neck PU and can 3 finger gallop to a 2 finger run at a pretty good speed from the bridge PU. So I was thinking while practicing at 6am this morning that it would probably be a good idea for me to stick with a light gauge. I am going to get a set of the EXL170BT's that michael_t recommended. He is spot on about the EXL 170M's being really uneven with the tension and even as a beginner I could feel it. I just thought it was normal for the bass strings to be like that and didn't know.

I read up on D'addario's bass strings after he identified them for me and noticed that they sell matched tension sets but I was wondering if a beginner bassist would have a hard time playing them. I have a feeling they are going to make life a lot easier for me since he recommends them when I am just starting to get back in to playing bass now. I am basically at a beginner level but I can use my fingers pretty darn well, work them fast and keep in time. I need to work on my change ups more and my fretting hand a lot more when working around the low frets. So I am learning certain parts of songs that are all over the fret boards up there and practicing them over and over right now.

I am going from 35 years off and on of playing acoustic and electric guitars to playing bass after taking two months of lessons over 20 years ago. So I gotta get used to the different fret board and string spacing lol. But I love playing bass and am determined to get good at playing it. One thing I really like is how a lot of bass gear is reasonably priced compared to guitar gear! I have heard and read that you can use some guitar gear like effects for a guitar with a bass but I want to go with getting some dedicated bass gear and set it up right.

Like getting a wah pedal made for a bass or hopefully scoring a Deltablab DBFX1 bass multi effects processor with the built in vol/wah pedal. At some point I want to get a Line 6 POD XT Live floor pod when I can afford it. I have their FVB Express MKll foot switch pedal with the built in vol/wah pedal for my guitar set up and really like it. The Line 6 Spider lV 75w guitar amp sounds good with my set up. I have the DeltaLab DGFX1 guitar multi effects processor for my guitar and like it a lot. It has a bunch of odd effects in it but if you spend some time tweaking them and making your own patches then it's pretty darn good for effects. Plus you can get them for cheap money used these days.

But trying to find a Deltalab DBFX1 bass multi effects pedal for sale is hard to come by these days! I have found one for sale all the way out in Austin but it's for pickup only and that's a long ways from Houston lol. Then another one that's an hour away from my Dad's place in MA but it's also for pickup only. It's also in a really seedy bad part of the city where the guy is selling it and I wouldn't want my father going through it to score me the processor and send it to me through the mail. I guess they must be a pretty good unit because people are just not selling them. UUUGHH lmao. Hopefully someone puts one up for sale or sells me theirs after reading my thread on how I am looking for one lol. Have a great day Pier_.
 
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#12
michael_t said:
You might want to consider the light-gauge balanced tension set, EXL170BT (45-60-80-107) if you like a set that's nice and even across all strings.

I personally find the regular light-gauge set (EXL170, 45-65-80-100) too uneven tension-wise.
Click to expand...
Thanks michael_t. I am definitely going to go with the EXL170BT's for the new set of strings. I was first thinking that maybe the EXL170M's on it were old and possibly just stretched out to the point where they were wound tight on some strings but now it makes sense after you informing me that they are uneven in the string tension. I first thought that it was the way bass strings were supposed to be.

Then after you identified the brand and that they were XL nickels, I started looking in to the D'addario's bass strings and seen that they sell matching tension sets. But I was thinking that they were probably for people who are more advanced at playing bass so they might not be good for me. But since you recommend them then I am going to pick up a set and try them out. Thanks a lot for the great string recommendation. They sound like they are really good and I am sure that I will enjoy playing on them. I will send you a message on here and let you know how they work out for me. Thanks again and have a great day.
 
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#13
BornAgainBass said:
after you identified the brand and that they were XL nickels, I started looking in to the D'addario's bass strings and seen that they sell matching tension sets. But I was thinking that they were probably for people who are more advanced at playing bass so they might not be good for me.
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I'm a former acoustic guitar player in my younger days who didn't take up the bass till I was in my 50's.
The very first set of strings I tried were the D'Addario EXL170 (45-65-80-100), which I didn't like because of the way the 65-D felt so much tighter compared to the 100-E. That's when I started researching on string tensions and found "balanced tension" did help me with my playing technique.

Believe me, the "balanced tension" does make a difference and it's certainly not just for "advanced players".
 
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#14
michael_t said:
I'm a former acoustic guitar player in my younger days who didn't take up the bass till I was in my 50's.
The very first set of strings I tried were the D'Addario EXL170 (45-65-80-100), which I didn't like because of the way the 65-D felt so much tighter compared to the 100-E. That's when I started researching on string tensions and found "balanced tension" did help me with my playing technique.

Believe me, the "balanced tension" does make a difference and it's certainly not just for "advanced players".
Click to expand...

So you know exactly what I am going through with the fretting here lol. Yeah the D seems to be so much tighter tension on my set too. It says on D'addario's site that the EXL170M's are for a 34" scale bass and my bass is a 35" scale. Also they don't say the scale length under the EXL170BT's anywhere for them. I am wondering if I need the REGULAR or LONG SCALE length for the EXL170BT's. I called D'Addario but got a answering machine for their customer service. GC only carries the long scale set so I am wondering if I am supposed to use the long scale since the EXL170M's say it's for a 34" scale length on their REGULAR size. I am wondering if the long scale EXL170BT's are for a 35" scale basses and up. I don't want to get too long of a set. Do you happen to know the scale length that I would need for the EXL170BT's please. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!
 
#15
BornAgainBass said:
So you know exactly what I am going through with the fretting here lol. Yeah the D seems to be so much tighter tension on my set too. It says on D'addario's site that the EXL170M's are for a 34" scale bass and my bass is a 35" scale. Also they don't say the scale length under the EXL170BT's anywhere for them. I am wondering if I need the REGULAR or LONG SCALE length for the EXL170BT's. I called D'Addario but got a answering machine for their customer service. GC only carries the long scale set so I am wondering if I am supposed to use the long scale since the EXL170M's say it's for a 34" scale length on their REGULAR size. I am wondering if the long scale EXL170BT's are for a 35" scale basses and up. I don't want to get too long of a set. Do you happen to know the scale length that I would need for the EXL170BT's please. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!
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The D'Addario "Balanced Tension" sets only come in "long scale", meaning it has a winding length of 37.1" from the ball end to the taper.

My suggestion to you is to measure the physical distance on your bass between where the ball end sits and the nut. If it's less than 37", then you'll be okay with the "long scale" set; if more than 37", you will need "super long", which has a winding length of 38".
 
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#19
michael_t said:
The D'Addario "Balanced Tension" sets only come in "long scale", meaning it has a winding length of 37.1" from the ball end to the taper.

My suggestion to you is to measure the physical distance on your bass between where the ball end sits and the nut. If it's less than 37", then you'll be okay with the "long scale" set; if more than 37", you will need "super long", which has a winding length of 38".
Click to expand...
CORRECTION.......MY SCALE IS 34" lol. I have been up for over 10 days with only getting 3 to 4 hours of sleep in the morning due to insomnia from the Flowmax meds that I have to take to get this kidney stone out. Plus I aggravated my sciatic nerve in my one good side from having to lay on it for so long lol. So my brain isn't working so well these last days lol. I actually found that they do sell the EXL170BT's in regular length now too. But my string length from the ball of the string to where the nut touches the fret board is 35 7/8" so the long scale set should work for me. Thank you so much for helping me on this. It was driving me nuts that I couldn't find the string length suggestions anywhere. I also called D'addario 3 times and was never able to get through to anybody or receive a call back from them. They must be busy today. So your help on all of this is seriously appreciated!!!! I am going to go out and buy them tonight.
 
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