Double Bass and Beyond - Gary Upton of Upton Bass
Double Bass and Beyond - Gary Upton of Upton Bass
Harnessing String Tension: Elevating Bass Playability with Gary's Setup Secrets
Unlock the secret to transforming your bass playing experience with Gary's insights on string tension and setup. Imagine driving a dump truck with a jerky gas pedal—would you swap its powerful engine for a smaller one just for a smoother drive? Gary uses this metaphor to challenge the common belief that lighter tension strings automatically make your bass easier to play. By understanding how to optimize your instrument's setup, you can actually make higher tension strings work to your advantage, offering a more dynamic and responsive playing experience.
This episode is a treasure trove of knowledge for bass players of all levels, exploring the critical components of a proper setup like sound post positioning, bridge height, and even the choice of ebony for your fingerboard. Gary delves into how these elements affect sound and playability, empowering you to make informed decisions rather than defaulting to a string change. With practical advice and myth-busting insights, this discussion equips you to enhance your instrument's performance and your overall playing satisfaction. Don’t miss out on learning how to get the best sound and feel from your bass.
Hey guys, it's Gary here and we're going to talk about strings. There's so many kinds of strings. This is a minuscule example of different kinds of strings. The biggest thing I want you to get from this lesson is that lower tension strings will not make your bass easier to play. Wait what You're going to say. Of course they will. You're right. If your setup sucks and you have stiff strings on you, put lighter strings on. Your bass is easier to play.
Speaker 1:But imagine you're driving a dump truck and that dump truck is perhaps a little, you know. You push on the gas and it's a little jerky, but it's got a lot of power. Push on the gas and it's a little jerky but it's got a lot of power. Would you smoothen out the drive of the dump truck by taking the big, huge diesel engine out of it and putting in a four cylinder high efficiency gasoline engine from, say, a Honda Civic or something of that size? The vehicle is going to be underpowered, so the gas pedal might now become a little smooth. Is going to be underpowered, so the gas pedal might now become a little smooth. It's easier to drive. Get ready to go up a hill and you're going to be this is what I see happening a lot of times on basses that are poorly set up.
Speaker 1:So really, we're really talking about setup first, not strings. Oftentimes I can actually make a bass play easier with a higher tension string. That's right. The bass can be easier to play with a higher tension string. Why we can set up the fingerboard scoop that's the length of the fingerboard, the fingerboard scoop. We can lessen the relief, we can get the strings closer to the fingerboard and we can actually make it result in you having to give the bass less energy for what you then receive back. I'll say that again you get to give the bass less for what you then receive back. We can put on a set of synthetic, you know, non-steel core strings and then to get, say, your volume level of a fictitious number eight out of the bass, the amount of digging in you have to do, the amount of string movement you have, which then results in buzzes on the fingerboard, and we have to overly scoop the board and leave the strings high. The strings are a lesser tension all of a sudden, but you're overplaying your bass to get it to make sound.
Speaker 1:That being said, there are stylistic setup reasons to do that, but what I see done so often and it's a misconception. Guy is playing a bass, doesn't like the sound, doesn't like the feel, it's stiff. His first go-to is obviously something he can control. He can go online, spend two, three hundred bucks, buy a different set of strings comfortably, change the strings himself and he says, hey, these strings insert brand of strings, insert tension of strings are better because my bass, which was set up with these other strings, is now easier to play. So what I'm trying to say and I know that some of you might say well, I'm over here in Arkansas or Alaska, wherever it be, and I don't have a bass luthier the place to start is setup, the setup of your instrument, the sound post positioning. I'll also throw another one out. I said there was only one point, but the other big point is this when you change the strings, we want to change the sound post.
Speaker 1:That being said, your strings may be poorly suited for your current sound post location. So, again, you might throw on a set of Thomastik, spirocore, vikes and because your sound post happens to be in a certain place, maybe further away from the bridge, and the mediums were stifling its sound, you put on the Vikes and oh, it's better. Now I know that Thomastik Spirocore strings that are Vike sound better than the mediums. No, they might just be working better for your current configuration. They might not be pushing the top down as much, so the top might be able to come up. That might reduce the tension of the instrument. Your tailpiece, your tailpiece wire, your bridge, your bridge height, your adjusters, your fingerboard, the cut of your fingerboard, even the type of ebony on your fingerboard can be massively impeding. You want to get that low G to go? Whoa, I'm going to tell you. Let me see your bass. Hey, thomastik Spirecore Mediums and a Stark, which is a heavy E string might get you that, but I'm probably going to reduce your string heights.
Speaker 1:So I'm here to say don't just buy into lesser tension strings will make your bass easier to play. Sometimes, often, I'll use a stiffer string. I'll even use an orchestra string in a situation where a player is telling me they want a darker kind of more roots-ish kind of early Americana jazz sound. They don't want that kind of modern sound that comes out of growl. So I'll gravitate towards an orchestral set of strings, which wouldn't be at all what you would pick based upon the descriptions of strings, but it is based upon your bass and your setup. So the most important thing to start with is your setup how your bass is playing. Get that nailed in and I'm going to say it, there's a handful of people in the country that can get you a killer setup on your bass. I know that's difficult Pairing the right strings. It's an expensive adventure, right?
Speaker 1:If you want to get into fiddling with what strings are best on your bass, it's a little bit haphazard if your bass hasn't been seen by someone that really knows what's going on. I take the time to listen to what your bass is, what your sound is, what you don't like about your bass, what's going on with your setup that I see as an impediment to your sound, before I then turn around and say this set of strings or this set of Spirocore mediums, it's just going to be the end-all, be-all that fixes all of your problems. No way. There's so much we can do and I can tell you the same set of strings can react so differently on one bass to the other that I just want to warn you from going the gamut of all the different strings and trying to find out what works. Realize that really what you're doing is changing the tension on your bass and just trying to find a string that matches your setup rather than the string that matches your bass. So that's bass strings.
Speaker 1:There's a couple misconceptions that I've broken there. I hope you understand I'm not coming to this with a couple examples. I have hundreds and hundreds and thousands of customers I've seen go through so much money in the string business trying to find kind of the holy grail and it ends up being a fingerboard dress, some bridge adjustments, sound post adjustment and maybe some other random string set they were never thinking they were going to use. So approach it intelligently, guys, and let's talk about what's on your bass, what you're starting with and what's going on there, and what your bass is and what your sound is. And also, you know, you right, what's going on with your right hand, what's going on with your left hand, what kind of sound do you pull, what kind of playing do you want to do? And learning that overplaying your bass is often what's happening with low tension stuff.
Speaker 1:That's it for this video. I hope that starts to get your brain turning on. Huh, is that why I like those strings? Is that why I like that bass? Those are the thoughts that I want you really applying, rather than just spending 3, 6, 9, 12, 15. Plus dollars of strings here in my hand and they're all different and you'd love to try every single one on your bass and come up with some random configuration. That's an expensive endeavor. I'll talk to you soon, guys. Thanks.