Acoustic Bass String Help Please

[Jim Comeaux]

Well, I went and executed a perfect knee-jerk impulse purchase, and now I’m feeling the onset of buyers remorse(?). No, not really, it’s just that I sometimes amaze myself with how juvenile I can be when It comes to guitars. The culprit this time was a Michael Kelly Dragonfly 5 string acoustic/electric bass at a price that even I can afford and a generous return policy and it’s at a local store! But, and of course there is always a “but”, string sets for a 5 string acoustic are about as common as lips on a chicken. Maybe I’m just too used to having a plethora of choices when it comes to strings for my other guitars. Now I know what life is like for an octave mandolin or a bouzouki player. Any suggestions?

[Mandobart]

Is the 5th string on the high end (higher than the G string) or low end (lower than the E)?

Here is a thumbrule that's never failed me with all my exotic instruments (10 string mandola, octave mandolin, mandocello) with octave pairs:

You can halve the frequency by doubling the string gage and tuning an octave lower and maintain the same string tension. Let's suppose your 5th string is a 4th below your E, tuned to B. It would be three octaves below a regular 6 string guitar B string. What is the gage of a medium 6 string guitar B string? .017". So one octave below that would be .034". Another octave below that would be .068. One more is .136". That is a very fat string.

But if you Google "5 string bass guitar strings" you'll see the strings are typically .045, .065, .080, .100 and .130. So it adds up. You need about a .130 for that low B.

Ernie Ball

D'addarrio XL

DR Black Beauties

[121]

I use Magma acoustic guitar strings and I noticed
Magma also carries about 12 different choices of 5 string acoustic bass strings.


https://magmastoreusa.com/collections/acoustic-bass

[Melt in the Sun]

You can also just use electric strings. I've got a set of nickel flats on my acoustic bass and like them much more than the fat PB bass strings.