Labella Beatle bass strings on non Hofner bass?

trentice · #1 11-12-2011, 06:23 PM

Hello.

I have a Gibson SG bass, and have found it quite hard to find short scale flats for her.
The guy in the store sold me some Labella beatle bass flats.
I was wondering if anyone has ever strung their bass (shortscale) with beatle flats before?
If so, does it work? And how does it sound?

Cheers.

hdracer · #2 11-12-2011, 06:26 PM

No, they will not fit the SG. You need standard short scale strings.

trentice · #3 11-12-2011, 08:18 PM

Thanks.
You sure they won't fit?
The Beatle bass is 30" scale and the SG is around half an inch longer (so they are just about the same scale length).

eddiemac · #4 11-12-2011, 08:37 PM

I put a LaBella Hofner set on a 31" scale Kay bass and they fit perfect.

254 stringer · #5 11-12-2011, 08:43 PM

I have them on an ibanez artcore they fit perfect.

groooooove · #6 11-12-2011, 08:45 PM

i put them on a beatle bass and they fit.

i think they'd be likely to fit your SG though. but i will say, i did not even need to cut the ends of the strings- they're measured to fit a beatle bass perfectly, so it could come really close.

trentice · #7 11-12-2011, 09:29 PM

Thanks guys,

Once you have the strings on your non-Hofner bass, how do they sound?
Are they any good?

mordechai · #8 11-12-2011, 10:13 PM

The thing about "beatle bass" strings is they are made to accommodate the hofner tail piece, so they are actually closer to a 32" string. You could end up with some of the non tapered string part on the post.

Pilgrim · #9 11-12-2011, 10:25 PM

They are actually standard Labella flats in 32" scale - that's what the "Beatle Bass" models require even though their scale length is 30". They market them as Hofner strings, and I kinda think it's for the people who can't be troubled to find out what strings they need.

Those are great strings - they sound super. If they're too long, just cut them shorter. No sweat, no foul, no problem. Having some of the "non-tapered part on the post" makes absolutely no difference to the sound.

trentice · #10 11-12-2011, 10:39 PM

Thanks Pilgrim,
Your insight was very helpful. Just to be on the safe side I am going to take my strings and SG to a tech and get them to have a look before attempting to fit them.
I'd rather they put them on and do any subsequent tweaking than myself having a go.
Cheers!

96tbird · #11 11-12-2011, 11:15 PM

Huh?, you mean you don't have the wherewithal to unwrap a string and lie it on your bass to see if it fits? Dude turn in your man card.

Seriously, un-coil the E and A, lay them on your bass and look at them! Man card safe.

mordechai · #12 11-12-2011, 11:34 PM

Thank you Pilgrim for saying what I did in a much more coherent manner!

I've become somewhat of a hofner freak lately. Just got my first, an icon club. Played a contemporary series today, what a difference.

It had flats with light blue silks and the ends were really thin. Any idea what they are?

JimmyM · #13 11-12-2011, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trentice

Thanks guys,

Once you have the strings on your non-Hofner bass, how do they sound?
Are they any good?

They sounded good on my P Lyte the precious few moments I've had with them. For some reason I've had two strings go ka-flooey in this set and Labella already sent me one replacement. Got a second set on my violin bass that's working out real well, though. I like them because you can get them to go dead almost immediately if you grease up the strings.

SLaPiNFuNK · #14 11-13-2011, 02:08 AM

LaBella makes most of their other Deep Talkin Flatwounds in other string lengths... Short Scale / Medium Scale / Extra Long scale...

Correct me if I'm wrong... The main thing about the Hofner Beatle Bass Strings is the end of the string for the tuning post is only a silk wrapped core wire (so very thin for small tuning posts), and the string is made for an instrument of "Short Scale" but with a longer section from ball end to bridge.... The over all length of the string is probably that of a Medium scale instrument... And by the way... The Hofner Beatle Bass strings measure 34" from Ball End to Silk.

trentice · #15 11-13-2011, 03:29 AM

Thanks for your input.

Rest assured I have already laid the strings over the bass to see if they measure up. There isn't a lot of room for error, for if I apply the strings and tighten them up only discover they don't fit or sound right, then I cannot send take the strings back. They are expensive, and different to other strings I have used in the past, i.e. being flats and short scale.
As you can appreciate, it's not about the "man card", rather my "bank card" as these strings are expensive and I don't want to be stuck with them if they are duds.
You can see also see from the variation in responses that this is not a clear cut case. Labella says they are only for the Beatle bass, however I have heard of people using them on other basses. Therefore want to see how others have faired using them, for I don't want to be stuck with expensive strings I'll never use.
Cheers!

SLaPiNFuNK · #16 11-13-2011, 10:24 AM

I guess I was not 100% clear in my post so I'll try again.

LaBella Hofner Beatle Bass Flats are designed to fit the Hofner Beatle Bass. However, this does not mean they will not fit other instruments with similar designs.

If you were to measure your bass from the Ball End of the string to the tuning peg how long is it? I bet it is not 34"...

Well, the Hofner Beatle Bass Strings have a full winding length of 34" from Ball End to Silk. Meaning, that if you were to string these on a "Short Scale" instrument, most likely they will be too long.

These strings were made with a Beatle Bass in mind. The silk wrap at the end is over very thin wire rather than some string winding so it fits into the tuning pegs of the beatle bass. The strings are also Longer than standard Short Scale flatwounds so they fit the design of the hofner beatle bass.

For example:

Ball End to Silk the Hofner Beatle Bass strings are 34" You do not want to wrap the full wound string around the tuning pegs they will break.

Rotosound Short Scale Flats measure 32" from Ball End to Silk
GHS Short Scale Flats measure 32.25" from Ball End to Silk
D'Addario Short Scale Flats will fit an instrument where Ball End to Nut is under 32"

So what does this mean tl;dr?

Measure from Ball End to the tuning peg on your instrument. If it is longer than 34" these strings will "work" but i also have a feeling the way the string is constructed by the tuning peg they may not hold tight.

Measure from Ball end to the Nut on your instrument and if it is about 32" you need regular short scale flats which are made by LaBella, and many other companies.

JimmyM · #17 11-13-2011, 10:50 AM

If they measured up ok without being strung, even if there's only a little room for error, then they're fine. As long as the silk covered part is on the other side of the nut, you're good to go.

SLaPiNFuNK · #18 11-13-2011, 10:54 AM

I have a feeling these strings are going to be too long JimmyM...

Just because an instrument is "Short Scale" does not mean the strings for it are "Short Scale" in the case with the Hofner. Being the Ball to Silk length is 34", beatle bass strings would be considered Medium Scale strings...

JimmyM · #19 11-13-2011, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLaPiNFuNK

I have a feeling these strings are going to be too long JimmyM...

Just because an instrument is "Short Scale" does not mean the strings for it are "Short Scale" in the case with the Hofner. Being the Ball to Silk length is 34", beatle bass strings would be considered Medium Scale strings...

Oh, you mean the thick part will get wound around the post, eh? I don't think I'd worry so much about that with a Gibson. The posts on their tuners are wide enough to where that shouldn't be an issue, plus I always thought Gibsons were 32" medium scale anyway.

SLaPiNFuNK · #20 11-13-2011, 11:07 AM

If it is a 32" scale then they will probably work. I mainly read he was looking for "Short Scale Flats"

I just did a quick lookup on the spec's of the SG: Scale: 30-1/2"

and it does not look like there is any extra length between ball end and bridge on those...

I cant say weither or not the strings will or will not break on the tuning pegs of the SG, but it is not recommended for the wound string to go on the tuners... However the strings are not very "thick" to they may work. But if OP is concerned about the $ and having a useless set, he may not want to bother if he has to wrap much full wound string around the post.

OP is going to need to measure the distance from Ball End to Nut to be sure.