d'addario scale length

[dominus]

Is there a sure-fire way of knowing the scale length of d'addario strings? I'd assume that they'd all be 35" by now, but I could be wrong. I've bought they're xl-170-5 in the past and had the taper on the low b string begin before clearing the nut. I'm nut sure it affected the sound, but it couldn't have helped any.

[jasper383]

I do know, from experience unfortunately, that D'Addario has really short long scale strings.

If it's through the body, or on a 35" scale bass, go super long.

[JTE]

Regular long-scale D'Addarios will fit most, if not all, 34" scale basses with a top-load bridge. They often don't fit on string-through-body basses. For those and for a 35" scale you'll need to get the extra-long scale strings. There're two problems with this. First, most places don't carry the extra-long strings so you'll have to special order. Second, they use the "SL" SUFFIX (that means at the end) to designate the "super long" sets, but it's too much like the "XL" PREFIX ("pre" meaning before) to identify their nickle-plated steel strings. They use "XL" for all the strings made of the same alloy, whether that's bass, electric guitar, pedal steel, etc. So, if you want a set of D'Addario nickel strings in 45/65/85/105 you want set # EXL-165 SL.

For the most accurate information regarding their string, go straight to their web-site. They publish probably more information about each string set than anyone else in the biz.

John