Looking for short scale flatwounds...

[jlsheetz]

Hello all..I'm brand new to this site, and I think some of you might be able to guide me.
After noodling around on my Ovation acoustic/electric bass, I decided I'd like to try fretless. I bought a nice fretless short scale Applause acoustic/electric that had roundwound strings on it. I decided to get some flatwounds, and after some internet searches, I picked the Rotosound RS88S set, which are wrapped in black nylon.
The A, D, and G strings sound fine- kind of a soft upright bass sound. The E string, however, is really loose and floppy. My first thought was that Rotosound used the same guage in the E string for the short scale as they do on the 34" scale, which would cause less tension on the stort scale. (These E string seems huge at .115", and I even had to make a new nut.) So, after my $30 failed experiment, do any of you have recommendations on a kind of soft-sounding string that would have the proper tension on my short-scale bass? Thanks everyone, for your time and guidance
Jim.

[Slats]

Pyramid Gold Flatwounds. They have a reputation for sounding great and lasting a LOOOooooooooong time!

[sedan_dad]

i have chromes on my shorties. nice tension. Flats never wear out.

[jlsheetz]

Tell me, sedan dad, what are "chromes"? Who makes them and what guages do you use?
Thanks!

[senorblues]

D'Addario Chromes are under $25 and come in short scale 40-95
I like them better than Fenders which have to be cut and are too stiff.

[jlsheetz]

Yeah, one problem I had was that the E string was too long, and I had to cut it down and rewrap the eye on the end (is this called a ferrule?) Otherwise, the fat part of the string would have had to go throught the tuning post, which it won't.

[P-BASSLOVER]

GHS Precision Flatwounds. www.juststrings.com

[FenderP]

I have the Rotosound RS77 short scale set on my Mustang, but there are other brands (LaBella, T-I) which are also well regarded. Then you get into variations like tapewound (RS88 set, Labella with the N suffix).

[Number27]

Originally Posted by Slats

Pyramid Gold Flatwounds. They have a reputation for sounding great and lasting a LOOOooooooooong time!

thing about the golds is they were designed for basses with long tail pieces, ala hofner. so chances are he'd have to cut off the silk wrapping so it wouldn't go over the bridge.

also they might be too tight for an accoustic electric

one more thing, the e string is very boomy and sounds quiet different to the other 3, which takes some getting used to (some don't like it at all).

all that said, i use them on my short scale brice and love them

[fretlessguy]

I would use either GHS Precision Flats or D'Adarrio Chrome flats. I tend to think anything above .100 is too thick and unbending for my playing style.

www.juststrings.com has pretty much the widest selection of shortscale bass strings that can be had anywhere.

[markjazzbassist]

Originally Posted by sedan_dad

i have chromes on my shorties. nice tension. Flats never wear out.

+1

i use the same. d'addario chromes are great on short scale.