Extra-long strings, and Rotosound fret wear

[pilotjones]

Hey people, I've got a question or two that may seem unrelated, but they actually are. I'm building a fanned-fret 5er, which has a bit of extra length in the tail and where the B string has a 36" scale. For that B string the pertinent dimensions are:

Ball end to bridge witness point: appx. 2"
Ball end to zero fret: 38.5"
Ball end to tuner: 41.125"

So I need a nickel roundwound string with 38.5"+ usable from the ball, and without "taper core" at the ball end since that generally will have the taper interfering with intonation adjustments and changing the action height. So,

Q1. What strings are long enough for this bass?

I know from measuring that D'Addario super longs, DR's, and Payson fanned-fret strings are not long enough. Paysons are probably identical to Dingwalls in length, since they are made for the same bass. From their literature, TI's, Dunlops, Ernie Ball super longs and LaBella extra longs won't do it.

Any possibilities that you know of?

From their literature, Rotosound extra longs would do it (if they even make a 5-string set). But this brings up a second question:

Q2. Do Rotos really chew up frets the they were reputed to do when I was starting out on bass in the the 80's? Back then, everyone I knew said to never use Rotos because of the extreme fret wear, despite that no one actually used them to find out. Is there truth to this? I imagine they would have been Swing Bass 66 strings, which maybe ¿only came in nickel then? Or maybe the originals were SS from the start?


Thanks for any info and insights.

 

[michael_t]

Here's a resource from bassstringsonline, which I find very helpful, thanks to @SLaPiNFuNK.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[pilotjones]

Thanks. That is definitely helpful, even if most of those are not stocked by the seller. At least per the website, anyway. I can call them up.

 

[FNHScar17s]

rotosound extreme fretwear is nonsense i use them on my epoxied fretless with little or equal wear to all the other rounds ive used. Any round will wear things over time. the swing bass sets are stainless steel roundwounds. They make them in six string sets which i use so i would imagine that they have 5 string sets.

 

[GIBrat51]

rotosound extreme fretwear is nonsense i use them on my epoxied fretless with little or equal wear to all the other rounds ive used. Any round will wear things over time. the swing bass sets are stainless steel roundwounds. They make them in six string sets which i use so i would imagine that they have 5 string sets.

I'm tempted to agree. This seems to be a left-over cautionary tale from waayy back in the day, when lots of basses (like really early Rickenbackers) had frets that were on the soft - and/or small - side. And, remember that back then, all bass strings were flatwounds. IIRC Roto was one of the first company's to make bass roundwounds. And, rounds - any rounds - do wear frets out faster. I imagine the (comparatively) rapid wear was quite a shock to players that were used to flats. Especially if there wasn't much of a fret to begin with. And, Rotos seem to have gotten most of the blame. I have an '87 Rick 330 guitar that had Roto stainless strings on it (package was in the case). And, the frets were most definitely gone. Was it because of those strings? 330 Ricks are infamous for their soft, tiny frets, and the guitar was very obviously gigged very hard. So, I'd be hesitant to lay the blame on those Roto strings alone. Since it's been refretted, it doesn't wear Rotos any more; but that's because I don't like the sound (or the feel) of stainless strings. If you're not playing a '60s vintage bass, I don't think you need to worry much...

 

[FNHScar17s]

I'm tempted to agree. This seems to be a left-over cautionary tale from waayy back in the day, when lots of basses (like really early Rickenbackers) had frets that were on the soft - and/or small - side. And, remember that back then, all bass strings were flatwounds. IIRC Roto was one of the first company's to make bass roundwounds. And, rounds - any rounds - do wear frets out faster. I imagine the (comparatively) rapid wear was quite a shock to players that were used to flats. Especially if there wasn't much of a fret to begin with. And, Rotos seem to have gotten most of the blame. I have an '87 Rick 330 guitar that had Roto stainless strings on it (package was in the case). And, the frets were most definitely gone. Was it because of those strings? 330 Ricks are infamous for their soft, tiny frets, and the guitar was very obviously gigged very hard. So, I'd be hesitant to lay the blame on those Roto strings alone. Since it's been refretted, it doesn't wear Rotos any more; but that's because I don't like the sound (or the feel) of stainless strings. If you're not playing a '60s vintage bass, I don't think you need to worry much...

I play rotosound on my vintage 70s fender jazz bass. And have for 10 years or more. I had the frets redone when the neck needed planing from the previous owner never taking care of it resulting in a nice ski ramp. Since he was planing the luthier gave me a hefty discount on refretting. I have not replaced the frets since that was roughly 12 years ago. Proof is in the pudding using rotosound swing bass 66 on a vintage jazz for over ten years and still has not needed new frets. That bass has been gigged a lot and practiced on a lot

 

[GIBrat51]

By the time the '70s rolled around, there were a number of round wound strings to choose from, and teeny-tiny soft frets were pretty much gone. I was referring to earlier times, when there weren't any; just flats. My '78 Fender P-bass was gigged hard and regularly before I bought it - with rounds - and yes, the frets were in pretty good shape. I had them dressed when the bass was refinished (I had to - I swear!), but it didn't take much to make them like new. And the frets on my '73 Rick 4001 are also OK, even after having the snot played out of it by several previous owners. It could probably stand to have them dressed (they are small, and the wear is more obvious), and that'll happen soon, when it gets all the other stuff it needs...

 

[pilotjones]

Well, nice to hear that Rotos are not the monsters they used to be said to be.
It looks like Rotosound only makes the Swing Bass 66's in extra long, and unfortunately I really don't like the feel of any stainless steel strings I've come across.
I'll have to check some of the other manufacturers who are listed on that site as having longer extra longs.