Oh man, if there’s one phrase that’s quickly become the “buzz” on forums over the past year or so, it’s ‘balanced-tension string sets.’ And there are people on both sides of the camp; those that say that balanced tension has revolutionized their playing, and others that say that the packaged set at the local music store is the best. We’ll talk a bit about the difference between the two, and hopefully let you figure out what one is right for you.

Traditional Tension
Back when Fender was THE standard, radiused fretboards with angled pickups had some issues in creating even volume and sound from string to string. To combat this, they created a formula to come up with a set of strings that would provide even sound and volume consistently with the pickups that were used (another way was to have a set of pickups with raised pole pieces, as seen in the Antiquity “Raised A” Twin-Coil pickups), at the sacrifice of having some strings have a higher tension than others; for instance the D string would pull, on average, an extra 10lbs of tension as compared to the other three strings. The result of this is what we all know today. Given the advances in pickup design and bass luthiery, this tried-and-true formula has come under scrutiny from players searching to find their perfect set of strings.
Balanced Tension
The concept behind this is simple, and I’m assuming it came from addressing the issues of an older style of creating a bass set. By developing a string set that has the same amount of tension on each string across the board, you will have a uniform sound and feel. This benefits musicians in that it’s easier on the fingers as you’re playing, since you don’t have to compensate for more tension on one string over the other.
Where It Gets Confusing
There are a very small number of dedicated balanced tension sets out on the market. That’s not to say you can’t make something that’s close; in fact there has been a large group of musicians that do just that. In order to make your own set accurately you just have to use a tension chart. The problem is that many manufacturers have not published this kind of information, leaving people to guess or use charts from other companies. Since the D’Addario Tension Chart has been around the longest, there are a lot of people that will put together a set of strings by, say, GHS Strings and assume that the D’Addario tension chart holds true across the board because it’s been around the longest.
However, all strings are not created equal. What I mean by that is that core-to-cover ratios, number of wraps, the gauge of those wraps, etc. are different between companies. This will result in a .045 string that has a tension of 42.5lbs from one company and 44.8lbs from another. And if we’re talking about making a balanced tension set, accuracy is needed to ensure you get the closest set possible. At this point, there are three companies that have their tension guide for bass strings published: D’Addario, GHS Strings and Circle K. And that can make it tricky to make a set that’s not any of those.
Then there is the matter of “feel,” or how a string feels to your fingers. Many assume that if you want a stiffer feeling string, going to a bigger gauge will fix it, because bigger strings equal heavier tension, right? While tension will play a part in that, it is NOT the only factor. Core wire is a big factor. If you have a .045 string with a hex core and a .045 with a round core, the round core string will “feel” looser under your fingers, although on paper it might actually have more tension.
Which Is Better
I’ll admit, a couple years back my interest was piqued on the concept of balanced tension, so I grabbed a set for my Warwick Streamer LX six string. It did take a little bit of getting used to, since many of the strings felt much different than what I was used to. Did it revolutionize my playing? Absolutely not, but it was something new and interesting.
After about five months of balanced tension, I switched back to traditional on that bass. The biggest reason for me was that the C and G strings were a lot thinner and had more harmonic content than the other four strings, which were tight and focused with a solid fundamental. Combined on the same bass, it became difficult to transition across the fretboard because at some point the tone and timbre of the instrument would change and depending on how the EQ was set, could immediately get lost in the mix.
I will say that playing a balanced tension set and then going back opened my ears to what was important to me, and made me think more about the strings I was using. Since then I’ve done a lot of custom orders of sets (being an endorsing artist has its perks) to come up with a set that tonally fits my needs. And that was ultimately what I was after.

The Final Verdict
Play whatever you want. Honestly. If a balanced tension set is what you’re after, go get it! If you’re happy walking into your local store and grabbing “your” gauges, do it. If you’d rather hand pick your own set that’s neither balanced tension or traditional …wait for it… do it! It’s more important that you’re out there playing, and finding that perfect set is half the fun. And who knows? Maybe you’ll find that one bass prefers balanced tension, one prefers a more traditional gauge and then another likes something completely different.
Let’s hear from you: what’s your favorite set/tension? Do you use it across the board on all of your basses, or do you have different sets for different basses?