Anyone have experience with balanced string sets?

[Nightbat]

I buy my strings in bulk, and I'm about to go through my last few sets
Since it's been a while since I've oriented myself on what's available, and I'm contemplating the switch (back) to 9's, my eyes were caught on the d'Addario balanced set
and was wondering if anybody here was using them

[toejam]

I've got a set of the balanced D'Addarios for my 8-string Carvin and really like them (NYXL 9-80). The tension is pretty even across all strings, and bending doesn't feel harder for any one string as compared to the other.
I've even ordered custom sets of individual strings in the standard D'Addarios as well as custom LaBellas for the same guitar that I'll sometimes use depending if I want the lowest string to have a slightly greater amount of tension. Their string tension chart is pretty cool for putting together your own custom sets, too. http://www.stringtensionpro.com/

[Nightbat]

It also got me thinking, watching some reviews, with people raving about double stops being more natural AND better in tune, that these things may also have a more positive (musical) effect on guitars with (floating) trems
Now, it'll definitely won't save you when you break a string, but, though I sincerely doubt you'll divebomb a chord perfectly in tune from full tension to flub, it in the least makes the individual pitch change between strings less severe
and also double stops are somewhat easier on the ears and fingers

And thanks for that tension chart
I did a few comparisons between the 09 balanced and regular in 25.5 and 24.75 and also for the 10-46 balanced and regular in the same scales
I was quite surprised that in the regular sets, there can be as much as 2 pounds difference between equal note strings and as much as 4.5 pounds between the highest and the lowest tension in the set
(Anal as I am, I did notice though that for more equality between using the same pack in both 25.5 and 24.75 scale, the D string should actually be 0.001 thinner in both the 09 and 10 sets )

Now if only we could get all strings in equal thickness as well


Well, it seems that in my neck of the woods the NYXLs are not available in balanced sets, but even if they are, they are bloody expensive!
Think I'll order 2 packs of the standard balanced XLs for each of my guitars to try them out
(guess I'm gonna be needing to trussrod the lot again as well, if I go for the 9's)

[toejam]

Let me know what you think. I'm amazed at how unbalanced most sets are, especially on the lowest strings being much less tension than the others.

[Number Of The Priest]

Now if only we could get all strings in equal thickness as well

Would need a very drastic multiscale fretboard for that. And then you'd lose the balanced tension between each string!

Damn you, physics!

[Nightbat]

Would need a very drastic multiscale fretboard for that. And then you'd lose the balanced tension between each string!

Damn you, physics!

Renewable energy, uhhh, I mean Stemcell,... uhh, I mean Nanotechnology will save us

[Nightbat]

Well, had some time now with the new setups (still got 3 guitars to set up)

I gotta say, there's not much going for the left hand (except that I'm occasionally bending sharp, but that's because I've been playing 010's for 18+ years)
But for the right hand, the picking feels noticeably more consistent, I like it, I get less "hangup" alternating strings


I did however take a spring out of most of the floyded guitars, figured the 22 lbs it differs with 010's (and 5lbs with regular 009's) justifies it
Although on my oldest guitar - Charvel fusion, I had to keep the 3rd spring, probably its age, I'm expecting similar with my Jackson Fusion
Luckily I got a load of never used springs lying around, (Thanks to Schaller 'quality' baseplates, necessitating total replacements)
So after setups have been finished concerning, -if necessary, neck relief, action etc. I'll probably see what happens when I throw those in

[toejam]

Cool. I'll have to try the standard balanced D'Addarios soon. The NYXLs definitely have a slightly different tone, like a little more high mids and crunch. It's a little weird and I have to mess with my eq a bit more.

[z1n]

wow this is good stuff guys. Ive been playing Slinky's for years and never really thought much of it, but now that I see this thread I can definitely see how it could affect things and that stringtensionpro IS cool! Thanks

[Nightbat]

Cool. I'll have to try the standard balanced D'Addarios soon. The NYXLs definitely have a slightly different tone, like a little more high mids and crunch. It's a little weird and I have to mess with my eq a bit more.

I seem to also have lost some body, but I relate that to the drop in string gauge

[Nightbat]

Short revisit:

I recently pulled my last guitar with regular strings from its case, and must admit, alternating and bends on certain strings were b*tch to pull off. making it feel like hitting the brakes
I gotta say, I love the consistency balanced springs give when playing

[Number Of The Priest]

I thought about this thread recently when I visited a local music shop and they were selling about a dozen packs of D'Addario EXL110BT strings in their clearance bin for about six dollars Canadian, about $1.30 cheaper per set compared to the normal price of a pack of EXL110 or EXL110BT.

Since I have never played a balanced tension string set before and I always love a bargain, I was tempted to buy them all. A few things stopped me:

1) I enjoy the feel of hybrid string sets and the purposeful massive imbalance in string tension between the 3 top strings and the 3 bottom strings. For my playing, I need unwound strings to be very light relative to the heavier wound strings.

2) Most of my guitars are 25.5" scale and tuned to standard, and over the years I migrated away from playing normal 10-46 to hybrid 9-46 (coated D'Addario and uncoated Ernie Ball) and it's difficult to go back to the heavier set. I still have a small handful of standard-tuned 25.5" scale guitars strung with old 10-46 sets and I feel like I'm "fighting" those guitars more compared to the hybrid-strung guitars, so I'll eventually migrate all standard-tuned guitars to 9-46. Reverting to 10s (whether a normal set or balanced set) would be a step backwards in my playing. (If these blowout string packs were the balanced 9s, I might have deliberated further.)

3) Comparing the gauges of the EXL110 (10, 13, 17, 26, 36, 46) with the EXL110BT, (10, 13.5, 17, 25, 34, 46) I notice that the B string has INCREASED in gauge and the D and A strings have DECREASED in gauge. As a hybrid string player, I want my unwound strings to be lighter if even possible, and my wound strings heavier. A balanced set basically achieves the opposite of my objective. I don't particularly want that B string to be harder to bend and I don't want the D/A strings looser for riffing. (I'm weird.)

4) I still have so many assorted unopened packs of strings in my "stringventory" that I bought on a whim because I thought they'd be nice to try eventually, but it's hard to gravitate away from the familiar when I've found that the 9-46 hybrids really work well for me. And even my uncoated strings tend to last months before requiring changing so it will be a while before making my way though the experimental string sets. I figured I should get through those before buying anything else, otherwise I'll just be forever adding to the experimental pile.

Obviously, different strokes for different folks, though my curiosity still remains about how a balanced set feels.

The funny thing is that I have three 25.5" scale guitars tuned half-step down and strung with EXL110 and those "feel right" for that tuning despite not being hybrids and those guitars would be better candidates for trying EXL110BT if it weren't for the fact that I'd still be INCREASING the B string gauge and DECREASING the D/A string gauge.

If the local shop still has the balanced strings in the clearance bin the next time I visit, I might pick up just one pack to experiment.

I think the "perfect" string set for me would be a hybrid set where the E/A/D strings are balanced and with a relatively heavy gauge, and where the G/B/e strings are balanced with a very light gauge. And coated for longevity.

[Nightbat]

3) Comparing the gauges of the EXL110 (10, 13, 17, 26, 36, 46) with the EXL110BT, (10, 13.5, 17, 25, 34, 46) I notice that the B string has INCREASED in gauge and the D and A strings have DECREASED in gauge. As a hybrid string player, I want my unwound strings to be lighter if even possible, and my wound strings heavier. A balanced set basically achieves the opposite of my objective. I don't particularly want that B string to be harder to bend and I don't want the D/A strings looser for riffing. (I'm weird.)

The reason is to give a more balanced feel to the sum of all parts, it's not about gauge, it's about pull
Take a look

http://stringtensionpro.com/SetBuilder?set=EXL120BT

	0.0090 in.	13.14 lbs
	0.0120 in.	13.11 lbs
	0.0150 in.	12.91 lbs
	0.0220 in.	13.28 lbs
	0.0300 in.	13.89 lbs
	0.0400 in.	13.18 lbs

I'm sporting the 040-009 set and every string hovers around the 13 lbs figure (highest 13.9, lowest 12.9)
This means every string takes about as much effort as the next
(A could be 13.11 lbs if 0.029 was available, I asked D'Addario, it's not)

Whereas a regular set of 042-009 will vary between as high as 15.7 to 11 lbs (with the B string being as much as 2-3.5 lbs less between the G and e string)
http://stringtensionpro.com/SetBuilder?set=EXL120

	0.0090 in.	13.14 lbs
	0.0110 in.	11.02 lbs
	0.0160 in.	14.68 lbs
	0.0240 in.	15.73 lbs
	0.0320 in.	15.50 lbs
	0.0420 in.	14.37 lbs

The B takes less force than any string next to it, suddenly I need a different (bigger) force to bend the e or G the same range (which is what I mean with "Hitting the brakes")
So if you don't want to increase the gauge of the B, because it would give you trouble bending, you would currently have that same problem bending the much stronger e and G

[toejam]

I've now got a set of D'Addario's balanced tension 40-95 bass strings on my Fender Jazz and love them.

[toejam]

I think the "perfect" string set for me would be a hybrid set where the E/A/D strings are balanced and with a relatively heavy gauge, and where the G/B/e strings are balanced with a very light gauge. And coated for longevity.

Not sure if you're into Ernie Ball strings or not, but they have a whole bunch of new hybrid sets that came out. Instead of their regular Hybrid set which is 9-46, they've now got Primo Slinky, Ultra Slinky, Mega Slinky, Burly Slinky. I've been using the Ultra 10-48 and the Burly 11-52 with good results.

Also just tried out the new D'Addario XT 11-49 set (very lightly coated for much longer life, can't even tell they're coated).
I switch back and forth between GHS Boomers, D'Addario, EB, and I seem to like them all.