Need ultra light gauge short scale rounds

[JimmyM]

I just bought a danelectro longhorn, on which i have a set of d'addario xl long scale strings 40-95. they work fine for the G and D strings, but the fat part of the windings is going into the string posts on the E and A. It's holding up, but the dano uses guitar tuners and winding the fat part of the strings around that thin a post can't be good for them.

i would like to bump down the gauges a little from this current set, like to 35, 50, 70, 85 or 90. that means i'll be buying single strings as there are no sets like this. unfortunately, d'addario only sells single strings in long scale. fine for the G and D, not so good for the E and A.

i'm emailing d'addario on monday to see if they can be special ordered, but in the meantime, does anyone know any other company where you can get single rounds in short scale? i've looked a little and haven't found much at all. i'm not real particular about brands, but they have to be nickel rounds in short scale. thanks for any assistance!

[JimmyM]

oh sweet! i just answered my own question! ghs sells them in the gauges i want in short. nice! i'm still open to suggestion. haven't ordered yet.

[hdracer]

Hay Jimmy, that is why I changed the tuners on mine. I got sick of them snapping strings. Now I can put any type of string I want on it. I just put a set of Roto 88's on and have been playing it all night. Thump-Thump. LaBella makes some that fit the stock tuners & sound great on the Dano but they are spendy when they break. As long as you don't try and take them off they will last but if you need to remove them they break.

[knuckle_head]

Ernie Ball Nickel wounds for electric guitar can be got as singles in a .090 - I used their six string Bass VI set on my Bajo Sexto. They fit into Fender's Klusons.

[JimmyM]

thanks for the suggestions guys, but i went and ordered the ghs's. could have been my most pointless thread ever

but since you brought them up hd, did you get regular bass tuners installed or just heavier duty kluson style guitar tuners? i used to have an old framus bass that also came with a cheap set of guitar tuners, but i put klusons on it and they held up. but even though they're a little flimsy feeling, these stock tuners turn out to be not too bad. they hold a tune very well. don't know if i'd want bass tuners on it but a better set of guitar tuners is probably in its future.

[JimmyM]

so i got the strings today (juststrings.com rocks), and i'm really digging them. it's made a big difference in the stress on the tuners and now i think maybe i won't have to be replacing the tuners any time soon. made a nice difference in playability, too. they're tense enough to dig into, but a lot lighter on the left hand, especially down by the nut, which i thought needed to come down a little with the 40-55-75-95 set. best thing is i can bend up a 4th on every string easily. not that i ever need to bend up a 4th, but i do like to bend notes, and now it's effortless.

used to use a set like this on my precision back in the 80's. loved the gauges, but i could only find sets in prosteels, which i don't really dig, so i went back to the 40 xl's. this makes me want to go back to the 35 set on the fenders again...but you can get twin packs of the 40 xl's for $20 so i think i'll stick with them

[JimmyM]

a month and a half later...

i hate these ghs strings. the E and A are totally dead, which is what i wanted, but the D and G won't go dead no matter what greasy crap i rub on them. they also go out of tune constantly. plus one thing i didn't count on is how much finger pressure affects the intonation. danos already have iffy intonation, and the last thing i need to do is cause the string to go out of tune just because i get a little hamfisted now and then.

so even though i normally use d'addario rounds 40-95, i may just bump up to 45-100 because of the instability of the light strings. not sure yet, though.

[anonymous122511]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

could have been my most pointless thread ever

....uh, if you say so.
After two Danos, three Jerry Jones and a custom Dano-esque bass all with those stupid little Kluson style guitar tuners I'm of the opinion the best mod you can do to these things is put on a set of Hipshots so you can use whatever damn strings you wanna use.

[JimmyM]

lol! probably right jeff, but i'm keeping it stock for now.

[pinebrookjohn]

does your longhorn have the rosewood bridge or the metal one? mine has the metal one and has little issue with staying in tune but i do have flats on em and want to change em asap.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by pinebrookjohn

does your longhorn have the rosewood bridge or the metal one? mine has the metal one and has little issue with staying in tune but i do have flats on em and want to change em asap.

metal with a rosewood bridge. those adjustable bridges for danos are getting pretty rare. considered one, but nah

[anonymous122511]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

metal with a rosewood bridge. those adjustable bridges for danos are getting pretty rare. considered one, but nah

Good call.
As much of a pain as the original style bridge seems to be at first it's also part of the distinct sound of these little basses. The Dano inspired bass I had built by my pal and very talented luthier Dave Reimer has a traditional wood saddle bridge and it sounds great. Once you've settled on the strings you want to use any decent luthier with half an imagination can intonate the thing. When we were designing my bass Dave said he'd carve the saddle or even cut it in half if need be. Turned he didn't have to do much but it's certainly not impossible to accurately intonate a Dano. It's just a bit more work.
Shouldn'ta listened to him when he talked me into the Klusons though... Someday I WILL hear what a Dano sounds like with TI flats!

[ixlramp]

Hey JimmyM How about using long scale roundwounds, cutting to length, then unwinding the outer 1 or 2 wrap wire layers off the string. I know that some guitarists do this to use bass strings and insist it works.

[R. Laevinus]

Originally Posted by ixlramp

Hey JimmyM How about using long scale roundwounds, cutting to length, then unwinding the outer 1 or 2 wrap wire layers off the string. I know that some guitarists do this too use bass strings and insist it works.

I've done it. It works.

[ixlramp]

I unwound a string at the other end to make my own taperwound with the shortest possible tapered section, member knuckle_head gave me some advice about compressing the string with pliers.

It seems a good idea to compress the section of string that will be between the nut and tuner, to secure the outer wrap from un-spiralling and therefore loosening itself from the layer below. Also when unwinding grip the string firmly with pliers just ahead of where you are unwinding, to avoid the unwinding process un-spiralling the outer wrap.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by ixlramp

Hey JimmyM How about using long scale roundwounds, cutting to length, then unwinding the outer 1 or 2 wrap wire layers off the string. I know that some guitarists do this to use bass strings and insist it works.

i could do that, but i think it'll be easier to get a short scale set.

[pinebrookjohn]

i have one of the second reissue longhorn with out the rosewood bridge i like it better i think it intonation is better and the sound to me is the same.

[TheSuzie]

You can also solder the windings on many strings to keep them from unraveling after you remove some windings. I have one or two strings like that on my EUB. They came that way from the builder. It may be best to solder first in the desired position and then remove the windings above the soldered location.

I think that once upon a time there used to be some short scale tapered strings sold under the Danelectro brand but they are long gone.

I agree that the best mod is to install some bass mini tuners. Also if your Dano has high string height at the nut, as many do from the factory, it will not only be uncomfortable to finger in half position but also tend to pull sharp while playing.

[Handyman]

Looks like D'Addario makes a set called "Jerry Jones Short Scale" that might work if you throw away the top two strings. You'd get a 0.044 to 0.84 set.

The gages match the ones listed on the JJ site for the Longhorn Bass 6 (also 30" scale), so these might actually work. They're certainly cheap enough.

http://www.juststrings.com/dad-xl155.html

[JimmyM]

handy, i did consider the jerry jones set, but when i got home from my trip, i put the d'addario long scale 40-95 i had adopted for it back on, and i like them much better so i ordered a short scale set that should be here in a couple days. honestly, after the ghs experience, the 85 E in the jerry set scared me.

suzie, point taken about the nut. it is slightly high. not unbearably high, but just slightly. might have to work on that in the near future, but it doesn't bother me too much. i'm ready to accept the fact that to get the most out of this bass, a slightly high action is probably better than a low one.