Page 1 of 1

shortscale bass string advice please...

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 9:30 pm
by stewart
i need to change the strings on my musicmaster bass, it's currently strung up with the ones that were on it when i bought it and they're really floppy and shit, and the low E string sounds particularly horrible. i'm not really a bass player, so don't have much of a clue about suitable string gauges for shortscale basses. i want something fairly hefty, roughly what gauge should i be looking at? 100 at the thickest? i'm not bothered about flatwounds at the moment, just ordinary ones.

ta.

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 9:38 pm
by serfx
someone needs to answer this, as i need to get some new strings for my bronco
and i haven't the foggiest.

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 9:40 pm
by stewart
yeah, i kind of need them by tomorrow afternoon too, so step up please, don't be shy now!

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 9:46 pm
by Shaguar
Squier lists these gauges on their website for the Bronco : .040, .060, .075, .095. Fender have a set of strings for SS basses, Fender Super 5250XL P/N 073-5250-002.

Just make sure if you get anything from D'addario or the like, that its strings specifically for short scale, I learned this the hard way when I bought regular bass strings for my Bronco and the low E was so long that I had to cut into the string and had a unwinding mess that I couldnt tune.

http://search.store.yahoo.net/cgi-bin/n ... earch.html

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 9:49 pm
by stewart
aye, i know they have to be specific for a shortscale. i don't really trust fender's recommendations to be honest, seeing as they ship their shortscales from the factory with fucking spider silk instead of proper strings.

i know there's less choice for shortscales, i just want the heaviest i can feasibly get. googling just brings up a load of nonsense and i don't have time to wade through it all.

edit: i suppose i could just phone the guitar shop in the morning and see what they have in stock...

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 9:52 pm
by Shaguar
The highest gauge that juststrings.com has for SS is .050 to .105. Sorry I couldnt be any more help. :?

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 9:56 pm
by endsjustifymeans
serfx wrote:someone needs to answer this, as i need to get some new strings for my bronco
and i haven't the foggiest.
Sx sells shortscale bass stings, no?

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:09 pm
by stewart
right, i've had a look, i think 90 is too light given that long scale ones seem to go way beyond 100.

these are 45-100 and are marked as 'regular light gauge'.

Image

these are 45-105:

Image

aha, here's 50-107, these are the heaviest i can find:

Image

problem is i have no comparison, 107s could be nonce-in-a-box for all i know.

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:09 pm
by robroe
i went the complete opposite direction with my mustang bass. i bought a pack of Bass VI strings and put on the top 4.

so mine go like this:

32 - 45 - 65 - 85

its fucking awesome!!

plays like a guitar, sounds like a bass

Image

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:11 pm
by endsjustifymeans

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:15 pm
by JamesSmann
i can vouch for D'addario XL bass strings, no matter what scale. i love them.

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:15 pm
by robroe
if you want some thick ass fucking string's buy the pack for the bass VI and string it up 65-135

that would be nuts. you would have to hack the ends off them though, just like you do with strings for shortscale guitars

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:52 pm
by James
La Bella make roundwound strings, but you'll struggle to get them by tomorrow afternoon unless you happen to have a dealer near you.

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 11:31 pm
by benecol
robroe wrote:if you want some thick ass fucking string's buy the pack for the bass VI and string it up 65-135

that would be nuts. you would have to hack the ends off them though, just like you do with strings for shortscale guitars
Aren't they the same scale length? Both 30"?

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 3:18 am
by light rail coyote
I got a 5 string set, and threw away the littlest string! It's a little to heavy though.

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 3:28 am
by robroe
true.....

i never tried the bigger strings though. i didn't need to for the top 4

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 7:45 am
by stewart
i'll ring a few local shops and see what they have, the bass VI thing's quite a good idea but i imagine they'd be an internet order fo sho.