Does anyone make a short scale flatwound set in: 40, 60, 80, 100 gauges?

[HalfManHalfBass]

Hi all,
as the title says, is there anyone who makes such a gauged, shortscale set?

If not I guess I'll just have to buy the 45 65 80 100 short scale set of D'Addario Chromes and their 40 60 80 100 long scale sets and mix them -but it gets a bit expensive like that!

Many thanks in advance.

 

[michael_t]

If not I guess I'll just have to buy the 45 65 80 100 short scale set of D'Addario Chromes and their 40 60 80 100 long scale sets and mix them -but it gets a bit expensive like that!

One way to save a few bucks is to get the short scale set and long scale 40 and 60 as singles.

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[michael_t]

is there anyone who makes such a gauged, shortscale set?

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[HalfManHalfBass]

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Many thanks for your help.

The weird thing with that set is that they only start and finish as I want: 040 055 070 100.

 

[michael_t]

The weird thing with that set is that they only start and finish as I want: 040 055 070 100.

Sorry, I was not aware of that. This is why I wish all manufacturers and dealers would list ALL the gauges.

 

[HalfManHalfBass]

Sorry, I was not aware of that. This is why I wish all manufacturers and dealers would list ALL the gauges.

Yeah, me too!

Why short scale Chromes aren't available in the same gauges as their long scales I'll never know!

 

[SLaPiNFuNK]

Dunlop. Will be shipping soon

 

[HalfManHalfBass]

Dunlop. Will be shipping soon

I can only find the 45 - 105 short scale Dunlop sets on your site and they are only available to ship within the United States.... I'm in Italy

 

[michael_t]

Here you go...

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[GIBrat51]

Is there any particular reason you want 40-60-80-100 strings - other than the symmetry? There are a number of reasons most string sets are gauged the way they are, but... what you want, is what you want..

 

[HalfManHalfBass]

Is there any particular reason you want 40-60-80-100 strings - other than the symmetry? There are a number of reasons most string sets are gauged the way they are, but... what you want, is what you want..

I find they just feel right: 40, 60, 80, 100 -and I just don't get along with a 0.45 for a G!

I know it's weird, but they just feel more 'balanced' like that to me.

 

[GIBrat51]

Nah, I don't think it's weird; lots of people prefer custom string sets. I'm just not one of them... good luck in your search!
Could you make a medium scale set work? You can get a Hybrid set of Rotosound 77 Flatwounds in those gauges. Only in medium scale, apparently...

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

Yeah, me too!

Why short scale Chromes aren't available in the same gauges as their long scales I'll never know!

I thought there was a difference in how short vs long were made?
That longs cut off to fit a short didn't sound like the longs on a long or like the shorts should sound on a short.

Otherwise, why doesn't everyone just buy longs and cut them off?

 

[AshInAmsterdam]

I thought there was a difference in how short vs long were made?
That longs cut off to fit a short didn't sound like the longs on a long or like the shorts should sound on a short.

Otherwise, why doesn't everyone just buy longs and cut them off?

In my limited research, since I ordered a 28.5" Jackson Minion last night (!) I believe that some brands don't do anything but make the strings shorter, whereas others will use a thicker core on the short strings to keep the tension up.

OP, I wouldn't get too hung up on the gauges of the strings. Strings from two brands will feel totally different if you're sensitive enough to feel the big difference better 45 and 40. I used Chromes for two years, switched to Rotos and they're much stiffer. Got GHS on order with my new ultra short bass, and from what I read they're equivalent in tension to the long scale variants.

 

[Koog]

From OldGarage-Bander: "why doesn't everyone buy longs and cut them off?"

Because the silk windings on the string ball end and for the tuning post do not fit. IE: ball end silks may fall on the saddles and post end silks will wind far enough that you end up with non-silk wound parts of the string on the post. Not good for tone or string life according to manufacturers and my experience.

Hope this is helpul.

Koog

 

[HaphAsSard]

I thought there was a difference in how short vs long were made?
That longs cut off to fit a short didn't sound like the longs on a long or like the shorts should sound on a short.

Otherwise, why doesn't everyone just buy longs and cut them off?

A post of mine from some months ago about this:

I've never seen official (as in string manufacturers) sources stating that short-scale strings are, generally speaking, qualitatively different or wound at a different tension than long-scale ones. That I have never seen any means little, of course [...]
AFAIK some makers just wind them to the correct length but with core and wrap diameters and materials identical to the LS counterparts. The string is then shorter and, when in use, tuned standard at a shorter scale ergo looser, but otherwise identical to its LS sister. Some brands use different gauges in SS sets than in the LS, their chosen gauge recipe for what they judge to be the best tone at 30" scale.
Occasionally string designers may tweak the core-to-wrap ratio to get some more tension at short scale without a gauge increase. The old D'Addario tension chart pdf shows the strings from the short-scale nickel-plated steel roundwound .050–.105 set to be more massive than the corresponding long, medium and superlong scale versions: vd. pages 10-11 (9-10 of .pdf file); cf. ("Unit Weight", i.e. mass x linear inch, column) items XB050S, XB070S, XB085S and XB105S vs. XLB050 etc., XB050M etc. and XB050SL etc.
Judging from tension figures given for the current set (EXL160S) at its [This invalid link has been removed], I don't think they bother making them like that anymore.

Long-scale strings thicker than .08 or .085 risk breakage if wound full-thickness around tuning posts, especially if the latter are smaller ones. This doesn't mean they're sure to break eventually (most of us with a shorty has used long-scale strings on it at one time or the other), but they may. Not to mention guitar-type tuners found on some SS basses (Danelectro, Höfner), where 4 to 6 extra inches of string wouldn't physically fit. This is the main reason for the existence of sets of different lengths instead of one size meant to fit all. As I say above, in most cases string makers appear to indeed make their SS strings identical to LS ones, only wound shorter. But there are (somewhat unfrequent) exceptions, either in choice of gauges or in the inner make-up of the strings, as mentioned.
In another post I offered an attempt at explanation for the very slightly different diameters of the ADG strings in the Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flat super-long scale set (JF364) vs. the long-scale one (JF344):
thomastik jazz flats question

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

A post of mine from some months ago about this:

Long-scale strings thicker than .08 or .085 risk breakage if wound full-thickness around tuning posts, especially if the latter are smaller ones. This doesn't mean they're sure to break eventually (most of us with a shorty has used long-scale strings on it at one time or the other), but they may. Not to mention guitar-type tuners found on some SS basses (Danelectro, Höfner), where 4 to 6 extra inches of string wouldn't physically fit. This is the main reason for the existence of sets of different lengths instead of one size meant to fit all. As I say above, in most cases string makers appear to indeed make their SS strings identical to LS ones, only wound shorter. But there are (somewhat unfrequent) exceptions, either in choice of gauges or in the inner make-up of the strings, as mentioned.
In another post I offered an attempt at explanation for the very slightly different diameters of the ADG strings in the Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flat super-long scale set (JF364) vs. the long-scale one (JF344):
thomastik jazz flats question

Thanks for addressing my question.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

From OldGarage-Bander: "why doesn't everyone buy longs and cut them off?"

Because the silk windings on the string ball end and for the tuning post do not fit. IE: ball end silks may fall on the saddles and post end silks will wind far enough that you end up with non-silk wound parts of the string on the post. Not good for tone or string life according to manufacturers and my experience.

Hope this is helpul.

Koog

Thanks for that info.
I guess I didn't realize that the silks on the saddle vs not, made that much difference in tone.
Though it seems I've seen lots of instances of no silk on tuners.

 

[Eric Swaim]

Thats the exact guages I have been using since 1990 when I got my first Alembic Series I bass. I use DR Hi Beam 40-60-80-100 and bought a set of flatwounds in the same guage this past year but do not remember if they were DR or D'Addario. Google search the guage in flats and for short scale. You should find a maker that way.

 

[AshInAmsterdam]

Thanks for that info.
I guess I didn't realize that the silks on the saddle vs not, made that much difference in tone.
Though it seems I've seen lots of instances of no silk on tuners.

When I first installed flats to my P, the E was dead sounding. Traced the problem to the silk sitting on the bridge saddle. Scraped it back a little and problem solved. A bit of metal on metal is what you need.