Tightness

[Calvin Marks]

Hi there. Just a quick question. I played a wonderful modern instrument the other day and it had on the exact same strings I'm using but the tension felt looser and softer under the hands. Also, the strings were very flexible and there was a lot of air to the sound. Made me feel as if I was playing on gut strings. Is there any way to reduce the tension/tightness of the strings on the E and A? It had a very big sound with a lot of "air". Does this have something to do with the sound post? I just want my strings (especially the lower two), to feel looser under the left hand.


Thanks in advance!

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Perhaps the E and A were lower to the fingerboard on the other bass? Also, if the soundpost is far south of the bridge, it can make a bass feel tight.

[Ken Smith]

Some basses are just tighter than others. This can be from a combination of string length, design overall, neck pitch, neck stand, bridge height, tailpiece material or tail wire length or whatever.

I have personally owned and played on dozens of basses. I totally except the fact that some are looser and some are tighter. I just set each bass up tweaking it to where I like it and then just play it. For instance, my Martini is slightly looser than my Hart. Big deal. In about two minutes of playing either bass, all is forgotten.

I prefer my soundpost set for the darker sound on each bass. Try what Arnold said and see if a 'Post position change gets your bass to where you like it. I think for the most part basses vary quite a bit in tension due to all the above mentioned and in combination of them. Set the bass to where it feels best and go from there. On a new bass you can sometimes see huge changes from season to season as just a slight swell from humidity approaching the summer months or a contraction in the wood as the fall season starts the bass is adjusting itself for the months to come. Get used to this. It's life with a carved bass..