ShortScale.org

plopswagon wrote: Mon Dec 08, 2025 12:39 am

Gavin wrote: Sun Dec 07, 2025 7:50 pm I like play my guitar like a I make love to a beautiful woman, and as such I haven't snapped a string in years. (try my best for 5 mins and then have a nap)

Do you use a capo?

What a strange and personal question.

Capo numbs your guitar feel and allows you to play longer.

I make love to my guitar like a proverbial wife beater(I don't really know any proverbs about wife beaters), I beat it. But my strings still don't snap for some reason.

My hands are unhealthily dry too, so I have to use a lot of moisteriser. Otherwise it's painful and there's scabs and it doesn't look good. But no rust on them strings, yay

Bacchus wrote: Mon Dec 08, 2025 6:06 am

plopswagon wrote: Mon Dec 08, 2025 12:39 am

Gavin wrote: Sun Dec 07, 2025 7:50 pm I like play my guitar like a I make love to a beautiful woman, and as such I haven't snapped a string in years. (try my best for 5 mins and then have a nap)

Do you use a capo?

What a strange and personal question.

In a forum for guys with shortscales

I always try to use D’Addario strings because I use the Player’s points program to order more. I do have a lot of Gretsch Chet Atkins strings though, with a choice of plain or wound G strings. Can’t remember how I came into so many of those but I have sets for all my guitars on standby.

On bass and ukulele, always D’Addario. Sometimes Martin strings for acoustics, but often D’Addario on those too.

And yeah, I pretty much never snap strings anymore which is cool.

after being mostly a D'Addario fan for a while, i got a new strat like 25 years ago that came with Fender Super Bullets, and i've really never looked back. the schtick is the shape (and maybe the colour lol) of the bulleted end maintains stability in Fender tremolo systems. is that true? maybe. maybe not. maybe... what i've enjoyed most is they last a while. i don't remember my last string breakage, though i admittedly play a lot less. even in the heavy gigging days, i replaced strings once per month or so for the guitars i played the most.

the difference between the Supers and Standard bullets is nickel coating on the latter. they feel good and come in gauges that suit your style. i always go with 11-49s on shortscale guitars and 10-46 on anything Gibson- or Fender-scale.

two exceptions are the SG and Bronco. the trems on those don't fit the bullet, so i get the standard-end Fender nickel coated. they feel the same. i could simplify and go this way for all my electrics, i suppose, but meh.

at the time i made the switch and for many years, bullets were way cheap. they were like $3.50/pack in the earlier days and slowly rose to about $5 or $6 until the pandemic hit. now you find them around for about $11 - $13/pack now, or $10 if you buy in sets of 3 (which i usually do).

I've used Elixir for 2 decades. For my needs they are great. Exceptthey dont do 8's and I want to go down to 8s now because I'm a Blues Lawyer and I have no cartilege left in my fretting index finger.

I just used the common Ernie Ball green package..for my Strat and tele..some other e-guitars too I’ve owned

But then I felt the cosmic energy to try out flatwounds .. got them for my Gretsch 5622.. and now I don’t play it.. so I suppose not a flatwound guy a after all.. wanted that mellow sound, but somehow don’t enjoy the feel while playing, going back to the green Ernie Ball ones hah

flat wounds for me are like The West Wing... listening to the chatter, i almost expect all my life's problems to melt away, but then the experience immediately leaves me underwhelmed and afraid there's something wrong with me because i cannot find whatever it is that all the cool kids gush over.

then idwiw, and everything works out fine.

I used to put on D’Addarios when I started, but switched to Elixir at some point for the longevity. Then someone suggested Pyramid and never tried anything else since. http://www.thomann.de/gr/pyramid_e-git ... 011_48.htm

I dont know how to describe it but the metal of Pyramid strings feels “softer” and more pleasant to use. Sound nice and bright and I think they are relatively cheap also.