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Old 01-12-2020, 10:03 PM
guitar344 guitar344 is offline
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Default Low tension bass strings

Why do bass strings have twice the amount of tension of guitar strings, even through they are tuned lower. What if the tension was the same?

Last edited by guitar344; 01-12-2020 at 10:12 PM.
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Old 01-13-2020, 07:32 PM
JLT JLT is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by guitar344 View Post
Why do bass strings have twice the amount of tension of guitar strings, even through they are tuned lower. What if the tension was the same?
It's a complicated question, really, but the simple answer has to do with the mass of the strings. As a thought experiment, think about taking the high E string on a guitar and tuning it to B, the same pitch as the next lower string. You'd get the same pitch, but with the lesser tension the sound would be really wimpy, wouldn't it? And that's why the B string is thicker ... has more mass ... so it can reproduce that B with more clarity and volume.
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