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1970’s Fender Mustang Bass. Best strings for through body?


MungoBass
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I might have an early ‘70s Mustang on its way in the not too distant and wonder what strings other BC’ers recommend?

 

Should I avoid flats as many manufacturers state ‘not suitable for string through body’ and bearing in mind the extra length on account of going through the body, would all short scale strings (flats or rounds) be long enough?  The picture shows what I imagine to be a short scale set fitted - if these had silk windings, the E string nut and heading towards the first fret would be silk!

 

My preference would be a set of nickel roundwounds - lightish gauge.

 

Any recommendations out there please?  Thank you.  David 

1E8F20F5-AD97-4ED2-8FC6-EFFCD1DF82AA.jpeg

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You should avoid short scale strings, apparently. Because of the through body stringing, medium scales seem to be the way to go. However, I have long scale Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats on my JMJ Mustang and it came fitted with Fender long scale flats, neither have had any issues.

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la bella do mustang flats La Bella 760F-MUS Deep Talkin Bass - they say on the blurb made for string thru - i had them on my 66 and 77 and Vintera mustangs  - just ordered the Squier FSR Orange- so will get some la bellas again

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Just look for any medium scale nickel rounds if they’re your preference. Short scales won’t always work on Mustangs, as I found out in the past.

 

And definitely, the La Bella Mustang flats are spot on in terms of fit, nice balance of tension as well. I did get a duff set once (the D + G were super bright and zingy, totally at odds with the E + A) but their quality control is generally spot on, don’t rule them out if you ever decide to go down the flats route.

 

Good luck with whatever you go with 👍 (early 70’s Mustang, quite jealous!)

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18 hours ago, ezbass said:

You should avoid short scale strings, apparently. Because of the through body stringing, medium scales seem to be the way to go. However, I have long scale Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats on my JMJ Mustang and it came fitted with Fender long scale flats, neither have had any issues.

 

Thanks very much - interesting to know that long scale flats may not be an issue....

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18 hours ago, Duroc17 said:

la bella do mustang flats La Bella 760F-MUS Deep Talkin Bass - they say on the blurb made for string thru - i had them on my 66 and 77 and Vintera mustangs  - just ordered the Squier FSR Orange- so will get some la bellas again

 

Thank you. This specific set of La Bellas had not hit my radar - they have now!

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18 hours ago, Clarky said:

Another vote for La Bella Mustang flats. Specifically made for through-body Mustangs, with same comfortable gauges as light DTFs (760FL), suit a Mustang really well

 

Brilliant - thank you.  Would you say the tension is reasonably light?  I have a set of LFTs on a Precision and certainly like the feel and sound.

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1 minute ago, MungoBass said:

 

Thank you. This specific set of La Bellas had not hit my radar - they have now!

Thomann have them in stock. But I’ve just order GHS Light flats less money than la Bella  but 32” seen good reviews so thought I’d try those 

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16 hours ago, meterman said:

Just look for any medium scale nickel rounds if they’re your preference. Short scales won’t always work on Mustangs, as I found out in the past.

 

And definitely, the La Bella Mustang flats are spot on in terms of fit, nice balance of tension as well. I did get a duff set once (the D + G were super bright and zingy, totally at odds with the E + A) but their quality control is generally spot on, don’t rule them out if you ever decide to go down the flats route.

 

Good luck with whatever you go with 👍 (early 70’s Mustang, quite jealous!)

 

Thank you.  If the bass lands, I’ll share a picture on this thread!

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1 hour ago, Sibob said:

La Bella’s Mustang set, flats with more silk at the ball end to accommodate the through-body stringing.

Had them on my Mustang when I had it and they’re the best!

 

Si

 

Thank you.  Strong recommendation for the La Bella MUS set.....

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Fender® 5250XL Nickel Plated Steel Roundwound, Short Scale, (.040-.095 Gauges), PN 0735250402

 

These are what Fender USA fit to the current through body Performer Mustang basses. I've got one and these strings feel perfect and sound good to me.

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Just for clarity for anyone who's unsure, the point with any through-body stringing and flats is simply noting whether there's bare winding at the break-point when travelling through the bridge, or whether silk is protecting the string at the break-point. The former will potentially cause you problems with the winding becoming damaged and unravelling (ie broken string), if you have silk covering the break-point, you're golden.

 

Si

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5 hours ago, Sparky Mark said:

 

Fender® 5250XL Nickel Plated Steel Roundwound, Short Scale, (.040-.095 Gauges), PN 0735250402

 

These are what Fender USA fit to the current through body Performer Mustang basses. I've got one and these strings feel perfect and sound good to me.


Thank you and a light gauge too! No issues with the length as in the picture? 

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19 minutes ago, P-Belly Evans said:

I have medium scale TI Jazz flats on my Vintera. Lovely they are too. Couldn't find the Labellas for love nor money at the time. Glad now coz the TI's sound lush.

TI are the only flats I've ever really enjoyed playing. I think it's because of the lower tension. 

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47 minutes ago, Adee said:

Yep anything Medium scale or indeed regular longs will do the job just as well


Well, if they’re long flats, means you’ll likely have some wound length going around the tuning post. Again, could potentially damage the winding and cause the string to break/unravel. 
Rounds are less of an issue, but looks unnecessarily ugly IMO.

 

Si 

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6 hours ago, Sibob said:

Just for clarity for anyone who's unsure, the point with any through-body stringing and flats is simply noting whether there's bare winding at the break-point when travelling through the bridge, or whether silk is protecting the string at the break-point. The former will potentially cause you problems with the winding becoming damaged and unravelling (ie broken string), if you have silk covering the break-point, you're golden.

 

Si

 

Thanks.  I remember many years ago cutting down the length of a brand new roundwound E string and watching it unravel!  I should have put a couple of 90 degree bends in it first.....  It’s only ever happened once!  Live and learn!

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1 hour ago, Sparky Mark said:

TI are the only flats I've ever really enjoyed playing. I think it's because of the lower tension. 

 

I enjoy the La Bella flats on my Precision but they are the Low Tension set!

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