Share what strings Do & Do Not fit *and* intonate on a Fender Mustang Reissue

[OldDog52]

By "work" I mean they physically fit correctly (without trimming silk for example); and that they intonate correctly up and down the fretboard.

It's frustrating how little solid information there is on this. The Mustang RI's 30" scale + thru-body bridge means short-scale strings generally don't fit it correctly. I can find people claiming they install some particular Chromes flats (or whatever) and say they like the strings but people rarely mention whether the strings fit correctly *and* will intonate. I'm pretty sure many Mustang owners would appreciate having concrete info like "Yes the XYZ Brand Model #123 Strings fit the Mustang RI without modification and the strings intonate correctly".

Here's an example of strings that *don't* work to get this thread started...

GHS 3020 Flatwounds, said to fit up to 31" scale. They don't work on the Mustang. The silk overlaps the nut by over 1". If you trim the silk back, the strings won't intonate, especially the E & A strings.

Knowledgeable Mustang Owners are invited to share what they know about strings for the Mustang.

[stantonl]

I can report that D'Addario Medium Scale strings work well on the Mustang. I have used the following sets on mine without issue:

D'Addario EXL170M XL Soft/Medium Bass String Set
D'Addario EXL220M XL Bass Super Soft/Medium Scale Bass Strings

In my experience, short scale strings are to short for the Mustang when trying to string string through the body.

[ia02]

I can also attest to D'Addario Medium Scale, I have used:

EXL170M (nickel rounds)
ENR71M (half/ground rounds)
ECB81M (chromes/flats)

All fit perfectly

[FunkMetalBass]

Octave4Plus will make strings to fit your bass, and he has a plethora of sizes. Your only limitation will be whether or not it fits through the body.

[FunkMetalBass]

Originally Posted by OldDog52

GHS 3020 Flatwounds, said to fit up to 31" scale. They don't work on the Mustang. The silk overlaps the nut by over 1". If you trim the silk back, the strings won't intonate, especially the E & A strings.

I don't understand how trimming the silk could possibly have anything to do with the bass' ability to properly intonate. Someone enlighten me?

[OldDog52]

Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass

I don't understand how trimming the silk could possibly have anything to do with the bass' ability to properly intonate. Someone enlighten me?

I don't understand it either but I saw it mentioned in another thread somewhere and it mirrors my experience with the Mustang and a Mikro. I could not intonate either of them with the Chromes I tried. They were unintonatable! The E & A strings are very sharp at the 12th fret. I keep moving the bridge saddles out and it helps a little but then it gets worse elsewhere. There seems to be no happy medium.

[ia02]

One more thing to add, have a look at D'Addario's FAQ on measuring string length: http://www.jdaddario.com/resources/c...ssArticle2.pdf

If you measure the mustang's string length with this method it is well over the stated 30" fretboard scale length. It is also over 31", about 31.75" if i remember correctly (but don't quote me on that as it has been years since I've changed the strings on my mustang, 31.75" string length was strictly from my foggy memory). I am positive you will need 32" length strings.

This is a good rule of thumb for all basses. Don't assume the manufacturers fretboard scale length is the string length you will need, especially with D'Addario strings.

Anothe example: D'Addario standard "Long" scale strings will not properly fit a string through 34" scale bass. This is because the effective string length is over 36". As such I use D'Addario Super Long Scale strings on my American Standard P.

Before trying new strings I always contact the string manufacturer and ask how long their strings are from ball end to where the outer wraps start to taper to less than full string thickness. This way I know I will avoid the issue you've been having. Does this make sense?

[conundrum]

What D'Addario calls Short Scale also fit just fine.

edit: At least the nickel rounds do. Not sure what to make of this thread: D'addario ECB81S too short

[OldDog52]

Well I can say for sure that D'Addario short flats do not fit a Mustang Reissue with thru-body bridge. Medium flats work. (sorry if I'm repeating myself).

[ia02]

Originally Posted by conundrum

What D'Addario calls Short Scale also fit just fine.

Possibly so, but in my experience you will probably end up with the tapered part of your E strong crossing the nut rather than the full width windings.

Originally Posted by conundrum

Not sure what to make of this thread: D'addario ECB81S too short

This is exactly what I described in my post above. You have to account for the extra string length needed for string through body basses. Just go medium scale...

[conundrum]

Originally Posted by ia02

Possibly so, but in my experience you will probably end up with the tapered part of your E strong crossing the nut rather than the full width windings.
...

That's strange, I've got the D'Addario Short Scale rounds on my RI. I had to trim them even.



No idea about D'Addario flats, as I haven't used them.

[jasper383]

Really any medium scale string will work on that bass. Not sure what the intonation issues are.

[Mekanamom]

Originally Posted by OldDog52

I don't understand it either but I saw it mentioned in another thread somewhere and it mirrors my experience with the Mustang and a Mikro. I could not intonate either of them with the Chromes I tried. They were unintonatable! The E & A strings are very sharp at the 12th fret. I keep moving the bridge saddles out and it helps a little but then it gets worse elsewhere. There seems to be no happy medium.

Yes. Chromes on my Mikro will not intonate properly either.

I'm using short scale DR Sunbeams on my Mustang with no problems; they fit fine, intonate fine, sound good, feel good for rounds.

[OldDog52]

I have a big box-o-misc-strings laying around, found a set of medium-scale Chrome Flats. They fit the Mustang and intonate fine. But they were very hard on my fingers! High tension. I had to take them off.

Next up: Rotosound RS 77M medium-scale light gauge flats, .040 .050 .075 .090 I'll report back in a day or two...

[OldDog52]

The Rotosound RS 77M medium-scale flats fit the Mustang RI fine, but they don't intonate, esp E. Not even close. And two different tuners fluctuate all over the place like there's harmonics or something. Put the factory Fender rounds back and they intonate perfectly with stable notes.

[OldDog52]

If anyone is keeping score, D'Addario ENR71M Medium-Scale Half-Round Nickels fit the Mustang RI fine and they intonated for me without any problems.

[FunkMetalBass]

Originally Posted by Mekanamom

Yes. Chromes on my Mikro will not intonate properly either.

I'm using short scale DR Sunbeams on my Mustang with no problems; they fit fine, intonate fine, sound good, feel good for rounds.

Are you in AZ by chance? I'll come check out your bass and try my hand at intonating it.

[OldDog52]

EDIT: I have to retract my previous endorsement of the EB Slinkys on the Mustang RI. I find that if I don't fret that E string perfectly, it can be wildly "off". I played around with this last night and 2 different tuners confirm what I'm hearing. Sour notes.

[emor]

LABELLA 760FL MUSTANG ELECTRIC BASS SET - Elderly Instruments

I just recently put these on.
These are my first set of LaBellas. They still sound kind of boingy when soloed, but they really sound great in a band mix.
I have read here many times that the brightness fades some after they've been played in.
I have been using low tension TI flats on my long scale basses, but don't find the LaBellas on my Mustang to be too stiff at all.

I ordered them from Elderly before they were shipped from the manufacturer, so I got one of the first sets and there seems to be an anomaly with this set regarding the scale.
I trim the strings according to Fender specs and I trimmed about an inch or so off the E and A strings, none off the D string, and probably a good 4 or 5 inches off the G string.
The silk wrap on the G string ends before the string tree.
Doesn't seem to affect the sound or performance, but looks a little odd. It's as though the G string was a different scale.

I had GHS Precision Flats on it before the LaBellas and had to trim the silk as noted earlier in the thread. I hadn't heard about the intonation issue with trimming the silk before, but I did have a problem intonating the E string. I really liked the sound of the E and A strings right out of the pack, but the D and G strings always seemed a bit brighter--not as thuddy as the E and A.

[OldDog52]

I might have to try the LaBellas.