I just bought a Talman TMB35 and want to put my favorite strings on, which happen to be a long scale. I’m told I can’t do that? What am I missing here? I’ve been doing this 58 years & this is the first time I’ve heard of this. I’ve always bought the strings I wanted & cut them to the proper length & never noticed a problem.
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Cutting strings to fit
- Thread starter One Mule
- Start date
That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I ordered the bass from Sweetwater & that’s what their tech was saying, that the strings had to specifically for a short scale bass or they wouldn’t work, something about running out of winding room on the pegs, or the string coming unraveled?
Sure. Buying a short scale or medium scale set is probably preferable. But when Fender first started making the MIM PJ around 2016, they were shipped with long scale 7250’s cut to fit. The tuning posts on that bass are large diameter. I’m not familiar with the tuning posts on a short scale Talman. But if they’re skinny, that could be an issue winding a fatter than usual (non-tapered) end of the sting on them. Are you asking Sweetwater to put them on for you? If so, it sounds like the tech is advising against it due to that issue. But you can certainly try and install them yourself…
Are you talking round wounds or flatwounds? You mention your favourite strings. Which ones? Roundwounds, apart from any issue regarding non tapered string fitting in the tuning peg hole, can handle having non-tapered wrappings on the post apparently ( I don't use rounds myself, so have never tried long scale ones on a short scale bass. I have a 'surplus to requirements' set of GHS pressurewounds. Maybe I should try them on a shortie). Flatwound construction is another animal. Cutting non tapered sections of flats and wrapping non tapered string around a post is considered to be setting the string up for failure by creating a weakened link in the chain, as it were. I am sure there are those who give it a go with long scale flats and report no probs. But seeing how much more expensive flats are vs rounds, it is prob a risk not worth taking if things go pear shaped . Better to get the short scale version of a given flat if possible in my opinion.
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Some strings, not all, might break or unravel if you either cut them too short or wind the full diameter of the string on the tuners. It's much more likely to cause breakage on flatwound strings. Rounds might be OK.
The other problem is that you can only cut the string so short and the full diameter of a B or E string is not going to fit through the slot on the tuner, so you need to leave a little bit of the tapered segment of the end to fit into the slot and down the little hole. So then you're left winding a bunch of fat string on the tuning peg, and you'll be more likely to run into problems if the string starts to overlap itself.
Even with strings that fit a particular bass, you don't want to overlap the strings on the tuner because it can cause slippage that can make it hard to keep the bass in tune.
EDIT: This is speaking only from my own experiences. I'm sure some crusty old diehard will jump in and say they've been using .145 strings on a 25" scale bass with 15 wraps around the tuners for 33 years and never had a problem.
The other problem is that you can only cut the string so short and the full diameter of a B or E string is not going to fit through the slot on the tuner, so you need to leave a little bit of the tapered segment of the end to fit into the slot and down the little hole. So then you're left winding a bunch of fat string on the tuning peg, and you'll be more likely to run into problems if the string starts to overlap itself.
Even with strings that fit a particular bass, you don't want to overlap the strings on the tuner because it can cause slippage that can make it hard to keep the bass in tune.
EDIT: This is speaking only from my own experiences. I'm sure some crusty old diehard will jump in and say they've been using .145 strings on a 25" scale bass with 15 wraps around the tuners for 33 years and never had a problem.
After nearly 4 decades playing and several years as a road warrior and 7+ years working for an instrument manufacturer I joined TalkBass and started reading that some people honestly believe you can’t install certain strings on some basses. Perhaps that’s what OP is asking.
@One Mule , as long as the strings are long enough to permit proper anchoring the number of turns, the thickness/winding around the posts and the presence/lack of brand identifying silk is inconsequential. 100% inconsequential. All you ever need to worry about is that you don’t cut too short. Other than that, the rest are constraints that only exist on bass forums.
And as a former pro, after all these years I accidentally cut a long scale set of TI for my 30.7” scale, I just grabbed the wrong package from my box. 3 years later they are as good as ever. No problem with windings on the post. Never was.
@One Mule , as long as the strings are long enough to permit proper anchoring the number of turns, the thickness/winding around the posts and the presence/lack of brand identifying silk is inconsequential. 100% inconsequential. All you ever need to worry about is that you don’t cut too short. Other than that, the rest are constraints that only exist on bass forums.
And as a former pro, after all these years I accidentally cut a long scale set of TI for my 30.7” scale, I just grabbed the wrong package from my box. 3 years later they are as good as ever. No problem with windings on the post. Never was.
I've had strings of various lengths and types break or unravel at the tuner because the full diameter was winding on the tuner. Had it happen with flats and rounds on 30" and 32" scale basses. Have had guitar strings that were too fat at the tuners break as well. I've successfully put long scale strings on shorter scale bass only to find that the strings went out of tune a lot more easily.
You've got your boomer blinders on; someone else's problem isn't real because you've never experienced it.
GenX, actually. And made a living for a
while installing strings, among other final prep tasks, within a guitar and bass manufacturing conglomerate.
Just because “someone” has made installation errors and not learned from them does not normalize that error.
