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03-17-2010, 09:53 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2009 Location: Louisville, CO | | | D'Addario Short Scale Too Short?
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I just purchased some D'Addario short scale strings to restring my new Waterstone Indra bass. The strings themselves are plenty long, but the taper on the string starts really low on the string, well below the nut when it's on the bass. I'm assuming the taper needs to be above the nut?
The back of the package even mentioned a 30" scale (which is what the Indra has), so did I just manage to get a faulty string? |
03-17-2010, 11:43 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Northeast, US | | | Can you post a pic? That sounds odd.
Are all the strings looking the same way?
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Frank
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03-18-2010, 12:05 AM
|  | Looking for Opportunities to Create Harmony | | Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Vancouver, BC Canada | | | Is your bass a STB?
Only possible solution is to cut back the threads. A razor works well for this.
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03-18-2010, 08:45 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2009 Location: Louisville, CO | | | Nope, just the E string, the others are fine. I'll try and get a picture. |
03-18-2010, 08:54 AM
|  | keepin' the beat since the 60's | | Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Studio City, SoCal, USA | | | I have the same problem with my old Hagstrom. It is actually 31" and I think that the tailpiece pulls the strings back a little further than expected. I find that I have to use Medium Scale strings on it.
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03-18-2010, 09:19 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brookfield, CT | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Gio S  I have the same problem with my old Hagstrom. It is actually 31" and I think that the tailpiece pulls the strings back a little further than expected. I find that I have to use Medium Scale strings on it. | I'll bet that's the problem with the OP's bass. |
03-18-2010, 09:22 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2009 Location: Louisville, CO | | Quote:
Originally Posted by ::::BASSIST:::: Only possible solution is to cut back the threads. A razor works well for this. | these strings aren't silk wrapped, the problem is the actual taper of the string itself. Photos coming
momentarily. |
03-18-2010, 09:24 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Red Hook, New York | | | Just use normal length strings. You'll be fine. |
03-18-2010, 09:28 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Durham NC | | | Your bass has a trapeze style bridge, and even though your bass is a short scale, that kind of bridge requires longer strings. Short scale strings will be too short.
Looking at pictures of the Indra, medium scale strings might even be too short.
Go to the D'Addario website, they list exactly how long their strings are. |
03-18-2010, 09:40 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2009 Location: Louisville, CO | | I checked D'Addario's website and didn't see any mention of length ( http://store.daddario.com/category/1...t_Scale_45-100). However I measured the string and it's 48.5", which is plenty. The problem is that the taper starts over 16" down the string (on the E and A strings, the others are fine.  
So it sounds as if the problem is just the bridge is messing things up, and I'm stuck with strings I can't use. How can I be sure I get strings of the proper length? Once opened they're unreturnable.
Last edited by Frettage : 03-18-2010 at 09:45 AM.
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03-18-2010, 09:43 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Red Hook, New York | | | I played a Mustang almost exclusively for about two years and I found that the best fitting strings were normal strings for 34'' basses. You have to cut a bit more of the excess off of the end, but other than that they work perfectly fine.
I'm not really sure why string companies even sell differently sized strings for shorter basses. The distance between the bridge and the nut is going to be exactly the same no matter how long the strings were to begin with, so the tension/playability will be exactly the same as well as long as the gauges are the same. |
03-18-2010, 10:03 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Durham NC | | | |
03-18-2010, 10:08 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2009 Location: Louisville, CO | | | Thanks, Jasper383. According to that, I need medium length strings (the length from tail to nut is 33.5"). |
03-18-2010, 10:17 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Durham NC | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Frettage Thanks, Jasper383. According to that, I need medium length strings (the length from tail to nut is 33.5"). | There you go.
The whole string length thing between the string companies trips everyone up at one point or another.
I remember stringing a bass up, only to find that the long D'Addarios were too short, so I ordered Super Longs. $20 wasted dollars. The next set of strings I bought for that bass were DR strings, so I ordered the Super Long set. They were like 40 feet long! Argh! |
03-18-2010, 10:21 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Pioneer CA | | | The short scale strings barely fit on my EB3 with about 1/2" clearance at the nut.
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03-18-2010, 06:20 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Northeast, US | | Quote:
Originally Posted by adamrobertt I'm not really sure why string companies even sell differently sized strings for shorter basses. | Because when winding full width around a tuner, instead of a tapered part, all kinds of problems follow. Including strings that will just Crack at the winding.
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03-18-2010, 06:24 PM
|  | Evil Alien | | Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA | | | Wow, there isn't really an excess of space between the bridge and the tailpiece. Looks like they actually made those strings too short.
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03-18-2010, 07:00 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Durham NC | | Quote:
Originally Posted by lunarpollen Wow, there isn't really an excess of space between the bridge and the tailpiece. Looks like they actually made those strings too short. | When I look at that bass, I see just the opposite.  |
03-18-2010, 07:35 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: richmond.bc | | | i've used these strings a lot including right now on both my custom dano type 5 and a beater hamer slammer and there's no doubt in my mind that this is a bad string. even with the tailpiece set back the tapered windings on the E should still line up with the tapered winding on the A. |
03-18-2010, 07:40 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Durham NC | | Quote:
Originally Posted by nic salsus i've used these strings a lot including right now on both my custom dano type 5 and a beater hamer slammer and there's no doubt in my mind that this is a bad string. even with the tailpiece set back the tapered windings on the E should still line up with the tapered winding on the A. | No. Frettage measured it. It's 33.5" from nut to bridge. This bass will need D'Addario Medium scale strings.
Now, some other brand short scale strings might work, but not the D'Addarios. | | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
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