Gretsch String Sizes

[Tripehound]

Feel bloody stupid now.

It's the first time I've restrung my Gretsch Broadkaster. Taking the 30" scale as the clue, I ordered a set of D'Addario ECB81S Short Scale Flat Wound strings; no local shops seemed to stock decent short-scale flatties hence a bit of a wait.

Anyway, tried to fit them tonight and they seem a weird combination of too short and too long! Pardon the lack of technical language but the metal string bit is about 2" short meaning I would have two frets worth of the fabric wrapped bit. Said fabric-wrapped bit then seems inordinately long. Would these need to be cut? Never had to do that before.

I'm guessing that a more typical short-scale would have the ferrules near the bridge whereas the Broadkaster requires the strings to go to the tailpiece.

Any advice very very welcome!

[Billy Apple]

I've just put La Bellas on my Coronado which is a 30", but the scale of the La Bellas is medium. I can't remember if it's Stringbusters of Stringsdirect, but they give you each string length. You can't have a length of silk over the nut, so don't cut them, bag them up and exchange for medium scale

[iiipopes]

Contact D'Addario customer service. Explain you exact model of instrument and which strings are too short or too long. They will help you.

[Tripehound]

[quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1381975115' post='2246327']
Contact D'Addario customer service. Explain you exact model of instrument and which strings are too short or too long. They will help you.
[/quote]

Thanks - I did just that and the very nice people at D'Addario are sorting me out, which they were not obliged to do at all. It's refreshing to see that customer service is alive and well. Suffice to say, they will now become my supplier of choice. Not sure that my endorsement is worth anything but it's the thought that counts!

[EssentialTension]

Looking at the distance to the tailpiece on the Broadkaster, I wouldn't be surprised if you need long scale strings.

[pete.young]

I have just put some Status half-rounds on my Duesenberg, which is a short scale with a similar tail piece, and they needed to be medium length.

You need to measure the distance from where the string goes in the tail piece to about 1" above the nut, and this gives the 'speaking length', the minimum distance between the ball and the beginning of the windings. You will probably find that you need to cut the string about 2 - 3 inches past the string post before you fit it.