As far as tensions of strings, I find that the exact same set feels different on some basses because of the bass itself. If measured on a machine you might have something to go on but on a bass, loose the numbers. They don't help.
I have been pretty definite on the set-up of my various D.Basses over the years. A few days ago I was invited to see an English Chamber Orchestra playing in Philly. The Principal bassist is Leon Bosch. After the concert I went back stage to look over his bass and play on it. Leon is one of the better players in the world today and watching him on stage you would think his action is like that of a guitar. He told me he uses 10-12?mm on the G at the end of FB and about 14mm on the E. His spacing on the G and D was closer than the A and E and from D to A was a bigger gap. He prefers this by choice. I could barely press the strings down and play anything on his beautiful Gagliano bass. I only had a few minutes to try the Bass before it went into the trunk for shipping out but I did learn something. What works for one person may not work for another. He CAN and did play on my action set-ups a few weeks ago when I lent him a Bass for a Master class and Solo concert but in NO way was I able to play HIS set-up. Also, he uses Original Flatchromes for both Orchestra or Solo. He tunes up the regular set a step up to A tuning for solos, WITH 10/12mm - 14MM action. That is some strong playing.
As I have mentioned before, there are so many things that make a bass play better or worse for any player besides the strings. What do you do to save 100s or 1000s on testing strings? Ask people that might know the real answer. I do this myself all the time. Sometimes it works and sometimes, my BASS doesn't like that particular set.
Now, write down what you put on a bass, when and how the set-up is. Then monitor how the strings are the first hour, day, week, month, etc. and save that information. 1, 2, 3 years later changing strings, your notes written down will tell you more than your memory does. It might save you money. In the last few years, the bass I have used the most is my Hart. I remember to a degree how I liked certain sets and didn't like others on 'that' bass. Some of the strings tried I liked more on other basses or not at all. I didn't write it down but I don't need to as much because I might use another bass the next month. The saying goes, "do as I say, not as I do". In this case, you should apply that rule as my goals with basses are different than most other peoples goals that use or have one main bass.
If I had to live for 10 years just playing the Hart, I would start writing down what I remember.
Now, where did I put that paper with my string notes?
