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Ouch - my hands hurt! Help me choose lighter strings!

I'm sorry to hear that you’re having difficulty. Perhaps you've tried some various "light" strings, and you're still dealing with strain and pain shortly after you start playing. So you've come here looking for solutions in our string section - maybe an "extra light" string set can make things better?

However, before I would provide a list of strings to try, I’ll first mention two other things that are each a very common cause of the issues you may be having that are not string-related. If you’ve tried (and presumably spent a fair bit of money on) a few "light" string options, it might be worth checking these other things before you keep chasing strings as a solution – especially if those light strings still aren’t helping.

So… I’ll ask both of these things because, frankly, I don’t know what you do (and don’t) know. So please, if you’ve already addressed these things, let me know and we can talk about strings, or whatever.

  1. Have you ever had your bass properly set up? A luthier would be able to give a full instrument work over to improve the playability of your bass substantially, if it’s a bit out of whack. They would do this by adjusting the string height, sure – but they’d also ensure that the “scoop” (relief) on the fingerboard was properly cut into the fingerboard to allow for low action all the way up the neck. It shouldn’t HURT to play the bass. Here’s a list of luthiers sorted by US state and by country: https://gollihurmusic.com/upright-bass-luthier-repairperson-directory/

  2. Have you had any instruction for playing the upright bass – specifically, have you been shown how to properly address (hold) the instrument? It’s a very common oversight – especially for those jumping from electric bass to upright – that they are using their left (fingering) hand to also HOLD the bass in position. One should use the upper bout of the bass against their body to steady and hold the instrument with their body, leaving their left hand free to PLAY it without having to support it. And not knowing this is a VERY common reason for strain and pain in the fingering hand.
     

So again, I ask these things simply because I don’t know what you don’t know – and they are common reasons for hand and wrist strain when taking on the upright.

So, with that said, consider those points, and if we want to delve further into giving you insight on lighter tension strings, we can.