Strings for Short Scale Bass?

[hieronymous]

So there are two basic issues for Alembic short scales - strings too short, the silk winding may extend past the nut - strings too long, you may be wrapping a portion of the string around the post that you don't want to.
 
Unfortunately, I think it comes down to experimenting with different brands. Which is kind of a bummer since bass strings can be so expensive. Too bad we can't have stickies in this forum showing the results of our experiments.

[flpete1uw]

Harry, that?s at least 1 part of the way that this can be broken down. Is there a problem with officially or real world experience in wrapping part of the playing side of the string to the post?  
 
~Pete

[rustyg61]

I was just looking at my SCSD & the E string is much smaller where it is wrapped with thread than the main part of the string. If you cut a long scale string to fit & you have to cut all the way down to the fat part of the string, it may not fit into the hole in the tuner. One thing you can do is measure the length from the tailpiece where the string is anchored, up to the tuner & then measure the same length on a long scale string & see how much you will have to cut off. If you have to cut all the way back to the fat part of the string, personally I wouldn't do it. I just held a long scale Ernie Ball E string up to my SCSD & while it could be cut to still have part of the thread wound skinny part of the string to insert into the hole in the tuner, you would still be wrapping part of the fat part of the string around the tuning peg, & the fat part is not really designed to be bent at that small of a radius so that could cause problems. There are several brands who make short scale strings, but finding them in your local store can be a problem. The Guitar Center by my house doesn't carry a large stock of Short scale strings.

[jacko]

Rusty's hit on the main issue with using long scale strings on a short scale bass..
the fat part is not really designed to be bent at that small of a radius  
I didn't know that when I made my first bass and snapped the E string on two sets of rotosounds - just tuning up - before the shop keeper asked what scale length my bass was.

[hieronymous]

Too bad this board doesn't support polls - we could have people check in on a) when they've had long-scale strings break on short scale basses and b) when short scale strings didn't fit on a short scale bass. Results might be interesting!

[hieronymous]

So this isn't an Alembic bass but it's an illustration of one of the potential issues:
 


 
 
These are the only GHS flats available for long scale bass - the M3050 set, called long scale plus - the packaging states:
 
LONG SCALE PLUS - 38 WINDING LENGTH
THIS SET FITS 34 AND 35 SCALE BASSES
 
You can see how much of the un-silked portion had to be wrapped around the post, but so far so good! Doesn't affect the sound, hasn't broken or unraveled. We'll see how long it lasts, but I don't foresee and problems. Now, if it was a low B it might be a different story. And admittedly it's a Fender post so a little bit bigger perhaps than the tuners Alembic uses.

[flpete1uw]

Well my first attempt in putting short scale D'addario EXL170S on my Short Scale series had the taper part in the playing section . Also the thinner taper lowered the action to an unusable buzz. I'm just going to use long scale strings and be done with it.

[cntrabssn]

Hello Pete,
 
Maybe this post is a bit late.
 
I think you'll find that in most cases, medium scale strings will be a better fit for your short scale bass. It does depend on the string, but I've broken long scale E-strings on a couple of occasions with my short scale Alembic.
 
The following string sets worked for me in medium scale:
- GHS Boomers
- D'Addario XL170
- Rotosound Swing Bass (though the standard gauge was quite light)
- Fender Nickel round wound
- GHS Pressurewound
 
DR does make a short scale High Beam set that fits nicely. I'm currently using those.
 
-nate.