Long Scale Flats on a 34" Bass

[CPplaysBASS]

So I searched, and can't find an answer to my question elsewhere ....

Just some context first ... since I've started playing bass, I've always just walked up to the store counter, asked for the make and guage of string I use (typically RotoSound Jazz77 .045-.105) and no problem ...

Last week I bought a set of LaBellas for the first time ... no indication of scale length. If anything the model code "760FM" I would have assumed meant Flat Medium ... with medium meaning scale since the guage was already shown elsewhere on the package. Anyway, the silk part was way beyong the E tuner on my P Bass and I know LaBellas break if you bend/wind them on the non-silk part. So that sucked.

So then I went to the store I usually go to, and not learning my lesson yet, walked out with their last set of RotoSound Jazz77's ... realizing once I got home that it, and another set of SwingBass strings I bought for another bass were both long scale. Is 34" not the most popular scale?? I live in the biggest city in Canada, and finding it increasingly difficult to get regular/medium scale strings even though the stores have Fenders lining their walls.

Anyhow, I put the long scale strings on my P Bass, and it's not bad ... just a fraction of the thick part of the string is wrapped around maybe one-quarter of the tuning post. I adjusted the truss rod, action ... everything feels OK.

Except the tension seems tighter than the Jazz77's I have on my Fender Jazz ... despite both having the same strings, same guage, and same bass scale length (34"). Only difference is the Jazz has the proper scale length strings.

Now question ... is this my imagination (the tendons in my fingers don't think so)? lol

I know the same string on a longer scale bass will have more tension. But does it make any sense at all that long-scale strings would have more tension when on a medium scale bass? It doesn't to me since it's the same thing on both the P and the Jazz between the nut and the bridge.

Any comments from string scientists out there is appreciated ...

[CPplaysBASS]

Another point ... the Jazz (which to me feels like it has lower tension) is strung through the back, the P not.

Maybe I just have to work the strings in a bit since technically the extra length needed for through the back would, I presume, make the scale length on the Jazz longer than the P bass.

Too many variables!!

[fretlessguy]

I think you hit it on the head when you said that there are too many variables.
I once owned the Fender Stu Hamm Urge I that had a medium scale and body through strung bridge. It would use light gauge 34" strings, with some of the thick body of the string on the post. While this is not a wise thing, I never had trouble with the long scale strings breaking. The body-through feature probably kept the strings from going around the post when it would have on a normal bridge thru model. Since it didn't go much further than merely touching the post, that probably explained why I never had it break, even with long scale light gauge strings.
As for why there is a difference in the tension between the basses? There would probably be a lot of discussion and cussing on that one here. There seems to be a great difference of opinion on whether going through the bridge or having a shorter scale makes a whole lot of difference. I guess that would come down to the bass, the type and gauge of the string, and personal experience/opnion.
As for mine, I have noticed that shorter scales (at least the ones I own) tend to have less tension with the same gauge of strings than their longer scale brothers with the same make and gauge of string.
Then perhaps I am daft.....

[Thangfish]

Originally Posted by CPplaysBASS

Now question ... is this my imagination (the tendons in my fingers don't think so)? lol

Some strings are higher tension than others.
Your bass IS a long scale bass.
Scale length is normally measured from the nut to the 12th fret x2.
String thru has nothing to do with scale length. It DOES mean that different brands of strings may or may not be more appropriate for a given bass.
String manufacturers vary in the length of a string for a given scale and in the length of the taper part and the silk wound part.