Floppy E String on A Short Scale?

[KJMO]

Daddario XL regular light gauge, regular scale length strings on both my mustang PJ. No flop here.

I found the same. I personally don't like the sound, but they definitely feel a little stiffer than all the other short-scale strings I've tried.

Floppier:
LaBella Flats (Maybe they are flexible, but higher tension?)
LaBella white tapes
Dr Sunbeams
Original Fender strings

That said, I didn't find any of them to be a problem. The white tapes in particular require a soft touch, but if I want to dig in at all, I play a little closer to the bridge. If you play in front of the p pickup, everything feels floppy. I think Joe is right about changing technique.

 

[hughesp]

Chromes are great on a mustang.

Whatever came on my mustang originally (I bought it used, so I don’t know) had a bit of low E flop.

For a round wound, I recently tried out ghs boomers (medium scale - similar gauge to the chromes) and they also offered more tension and absolutely zero flop with the low e string.

So while I haven’t tried a lot of strings, either of those would work well.

 

[smart51]

Or get a short-scale 5-string set (and up-tune the lowest string: if the gauge is within .125", at 30" scale it won't have more tension than a 110 on a 34"). Pyramid makes [Invalid or Expired Link Removed], but it would be expensive, and the rest of the set would be either tighter than the new E and not very comfortable overall if uptuned

I had a set of Pyramid strings on my short scale 5. The low B was very odd sounding and had very little sustain. 120 is a light gauge for a long scale. On my shortie, it had almost no tension at all. I have DR Sunbeams on it now and they are a bit better, but still not right.

I did tune the Pyramid B string up to an E and the tension was still not very high. Totally doable if you wanted them on a 4 string. Not cheap though.

 

[jonnybass1]

Where are you finding these? All I can see from RotoSound in short scale is 40-90.

I have never used short scale strings as they are very hard to find. The .110 E string has worked perfectly on every SS bass I have had so far. Squier Jag and Bronco, Fender Mustang, Warwick Corvette SS, Cort Action JR.

 

[Basvarken]

I string all my short scale basses with GHS Bass Boomers Heavy 50-115. Helps a lot!

 

[Gare Boo]

Ok thanks everyone and it seems like bigger string gauges is the most common solution for the floppiness. However, is too much tension going to bend the neck more and cause damages?

 

[smart51]

Ok thanks everyone and it seems like bigger string gauges is the most common solution for the floppiness. However, is too much tension going to bend the neck more and cause damages?

When I put thicker strings on my Curbow, I had to put some tension in the truss rod. It was OK at first but bent over night. Once I'd straightened it up again, it stayed straight as you would expect.

 

[Mustang Surly]

Without talking about gauge that's a meaningless recommendation. Thinner gauge flats have less tension than thicker gauge rounds.

For example, the .090 Chromes I use on my Godin A4 have less tension than the .110 gauge DR Lowriders I have on my P bass.

I've used ECB81Ms (45-65-80-100) on everything: they don't feel "floppy" to me, but I crank the volume and play finger-style with a light right hand, don't slap and don't play with a pick. Maybe you dig in more than I do. My use of medium scale length on my shorties is due to string-through or other bridge idiosyncrasies of my particular instruments.

 

[Marky83dam]

Hi. I just bought a Fender Mustang Player PJ bass(30" scale) with a top-loaded bridge. I noticed that the E string has less tension and is much floppier than on a regular bass. Is there a way to fix that? Maybe get a string-through bridge? Thanks!

I have the same with my mustang

 

[iiipopes]

Yes, Zombie thread. Since my last post, I do have a recommendation for short scale strings: GHS Balanced Nickels. Round core, round wound. They are God's gift to short scale bass players. See my posts in other threads where I extol the virtues of these strings, and more importantly, why.