Cat Burrito Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Having always avoided short scale basses (I'm 6' 3") I hadn't really ever thought about the strings. However having recently picked up a short scale bass I want to put my usual flats on it. I always use heavy gauge flats but googling around they tend to mainly come in light gauges. Is this to do with neck tension? Also what happens if you buy regular strings and cut them shorter? Is this terrible or is it ok to do? Oh and if somebody here has some old flats they don't want, I *may* be your man depending on what I learn from this thread. Or Trubass. Either way not looking to spend megabucks. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voxpop Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 (edited) Hi Tim, I have a 5 string set of TI flats that are only 3 months old. Please see the thread for string lengths. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=122531"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=122531[/url] Thanks Marc Edited February 10, 2011 by voxpop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretlessguy Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 [url="http://www.juststrings.com/lab-760fm-s.html"]http://www.juststrings.com/lab-760fm-s.html[/url] [url="http://www.juststrings.com/lab-760fl-s.html"]http://www.juststrings.com/lab-760fl-s.html[/url] [url="http://www.juststrings.com/dad-ecb81s.html"]http://www.juststrings.com/dad-ecb81s.html[/url] Good luck with your search. I actually prefer GHS short scale Precision flats (.45-.95) myself, but I know you want a heavy set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 [quote name='BurritoBass' post='1123212' date='Feb 10 2011, 09:06 PM']Also what happens if you buy regular strings and cut them shorter? Is this terrible or is it ok to do?[/quote] If you do that then the string just sounds dead - the winding is no longer attached to the inner core at both ends of the string and just sort of 'floats' if you can picture that? Making sure you put the 90 degree bend in the string just before the 'cut' does circumvent this a little bit though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 I wouldn't cut down regular scale flats - they seem much more prone to breaking than rounds (based on experiences with LaBellas and Pyramids). I'd suggest Picato for a custom set? I know Mo Clifton had a few sets made up to fit his 30" cherry basses, and he said something about the core wire being the important bit (ie a heavier core wire worked best on a shorter string)...but that was a few years ago, and I could be spouting utter bollocks..... Time for bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 With long scale flats on a short scale bass I've read there's more danger of the string breaking because of stress where it's wound round the post. On the other hand, I've done it and survived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Tut Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I had a set of regular length fender flats that I hated. I needed some for my mustang so cut these to length and they sound - great. Just my experience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I had a spare set of rotosh*te flats i put on a squier musicmaster - The E string disintegrated at the tuner after a while. I use Thomastic TI JF324 on my mustang which is so called as it is a 32" 4 string set. 30" strings are too short for the thru-body stringing. LaBella short flats are available in several guages - I've used a heavy set on a musicmaster, but the G was too short to reach the tuner, so I had to use one from a 34" set. The danelectro specific LaBella flats are also 30" but very different - perfect for my longhorn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_m Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 I've got TI JF324s (.43 - .106) on my old Musicmaster. No problems with the neck, although being TI's they're pretty low tension anyway. As you can see, they also aren't quite a perfect fit - both the E and A strings are a wee bit too long, and the windings wrap round the posts (the E by a whole turn, the A by about three-quarters)... [attachment=71934:musicmasterhead.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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