blue steels and 35" scale

[tranceFusion]

I read a couple posts from the archive here from people saying that Dean Markley Blue Steels were cool for 35". Well, when I tried to string the B string through the body on my Lakland, it seemed like the silk was going to fall beneath the nut..

what is going on? am i just an idiot?

[metallicafan18]

I use blue steels on my 35 scale bass. I always snip the strings a bit (about 5 inches) from the tuning key tip. It'll fit then.

[tranceFusion]

what do you mean you snip them? I don't understand.. the silk wrap doesn't clear the nut..

[20db pad]

The Blue Steels will work on a 35" scale bass if you have a top-loading bridge. On a string-through-body bass like a Lakland, there won't be enough extra string length for the silk wraps to clear the nut.

Lakland bridges allow for top-load stringing as well, so you can install the B string that way, and the silk will clear the nut.

[lindseyp]

Beat me to it; that was the same thing I had to do on my Lakland 55-02. I switched to another brand's extra-long scale, everything's fine now. Full disclosure, I like my B string to go through the body.