Any ideas? I prefer roundwounds on this bass and trying to find a high tension medium to heavy set. Most of what I’m seeing out there is light gauge.
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Heavy gauge high tension string for Danelectro longhorn shortscale
- Thread starter Ripper75
- Start date
Assuming that they'll fit thru the little holes in the guitar style tuners - and that they don't pull the bridge off (it's only held on by one screw and 2 screw heads in little pockets, after all)? Short scale GHS Bass Boomers (50-107) should make you happy. I can't swear to the actual "pull to pitch" tension; but I can certainly swear to their stiffness. I had those things on an aluminum-necked, headless Kramer "The Duke" for many years, and they were every bit as stiff as the 45-105 DR Legends flats that I replaced them with. Boomers are one of the very few rounds I'll tolerate on one of my basses - and I liked them on the Duke. But, I like flats a whole lot more...
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So you used the 45-105 DR Legends flats on a Danelectro longhorn shortscale? I don’t mind flats, it’s more the high tension I’m going after, I like to really dig into it… both the strings you mentioned sound a lot better than the light/flimsy gauge strings I have on there nowAssuming that they'll fit thru the little holes in the guitar style tuners - and that they don't pull the bridge off (it's only held on by one screw and 2 screw heads in little pockets, after all)? Short scale GHS Bass Boomers (50-107) should make you happy. I can't swear to the actual "pull to pitch" tension; but I can certainly swear to their stiffness. I had those things on an aluminum-necked, headless Kramer "The Duke" for many years, and they were every bit as stiff as the 45-105 DR Legends flats that I replaced them with. Boomers are one of the very few rounds I'll tolerate on one of my basses - and I liked them on the Duke. But, I like flats a whole lot more...
Mine is the “ pro “ version made in 1995 in Korea, I don’t think it has guitar style tuners but could be wrong
Well, first of all, most short scale strings should fit a Longhorn without a problem. TIs and Pyramids will not; they're made for Hofner style basses.
Next, I think you're confusing "Tension" - the actual pounds of pull needed to bring a string to pitch - with "Stiffness", which is how inflexible the strings Feel. High "tension" strings can/do feel "stiff", but a lot of lower tension strings - especially flatwounds - can feel just as stiff. Due to the way the bridge is mounted on most Danelectros, high tension strings are not the best idea in the world. Stiff strings, on the other hand? Hey... knock yourself out... And, no; I didn't put the Legends on one of my Danos; I put them on the Kramer Duke. Partly because I prefer flats; partly because the Boomers were just about dead ; and partly because, on the Duke, the Legends sound almost exactly the same as the Boomers. But, I suppose they would work OK on a Dano Longhorn. Personally, I have the 39-96 La Bella 760FX DTFs on my Longhorn. The actual tension isn't excessive for the bass; like every La Bella Flat I've ever used, they're plenty stiff enough to play with a pick (which I prefer); and they give me pretty much the vintage "Dano Sound" I want. The 43-89 La Bella 760FDs - which are the original Dano flats - would be exactly the right ones for that, but La Bella doesn't make them any more. On my Long scale DC59 Pros? The 760FX's on one; Fender 9050L flats on the other...
So, bottom line? Don't think "tension; think "stiff"...
Next, I think you're confusing "Tension" - the actual pounds of pull needed to bring a string to pitch - with "Stiffness", which is how inflexible the strings Feel. High "tension" strings can/do feel "stiff", but a lot of lower tension strings - especially flatwounds - can feel just as stiff. Due to the way the bridge is mounted on most Danelectros, high tension strings are not the best idea in the world. Stiff strings, on the other hand? Hey... knock yourself out... And, no; I didn't put the Legends on one of my Danos; I put them on the Kramer Duke. Partly because I prefer flats; partly because the Boomers were just about dead ; and partly because, on the Duke, the Legends sound almost exactly the same as the Boomers. But, I suppose they would work OK on a Dano Longhorn. Personally, I have the 39-96 La Bella 760FX DTFs on my Longhorn. The actual tension isn't excessive for the bass; like every La Bella Flat I've ever used, they're plenty stiff enough to play with a pick (which I prefer); and they give me pretty much the vintage "Dano Sound" I want. The 43-89 La Bella 760FDs - which are the original Dano flats - would be exactly the right ones for that, but La Bella doesn't make them any more. On my Long scale DC59 Pros? The 760FX's on one; Fender 9050L flats on the other...
So, bottom line? Don't think "tension; think "stiff"...
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So just to clarify Legends will work on a shortscale? I’m not seeing “shortscale” anywhere on the packaging, it just says “not long scale”… thnx
HOLD THE BUS!!! NOBODY has mentioned the BEST strings for a short scale bass: GHS Balanced Pure Nickels. @Jon Moody designed them for short scale basses. The pure nickel wrap, being more dense than NPS, has better feel, higher tension, and therefore better tuning stability, fretting stability, and intonation. They don't flop, twang, or thump. They are reasonably priced. They have longetivity. They are consistent string-to-string and up the neck. They have a big, round, tone that I am sure will go well with the Dano pickups. They are God's gift to short scale bass playing. I have a set on my short scale travel bass and they have served me well over the last two years. One set.
DR's "short scale" is actually longer than most at 33.75" from ball end to silk. You might want to measure the physical distance on your bass from where the ball end is seated to the E tuner post. If it's less than 33.75", that would mean some of the main body of the string will end up wrapping around the post, which is not ideal.
If I were you, I'd take the advice by @iiipopes above regarding the GHS Balanced Nickels. The "short scale" by GHS is 32.75" from ball end to silk.
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Another suggestion is GHS Brite Flats, which are Alloy 52 (nickel-iron) half-rounds (groundwound). The nice thing about half-rounds is they're naturally stiffer in feel than typical roundwound and the Brite Flats come in relatively hefty gauges for short scale, 49-62-84-108.
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If the OP wants to check into Stringjoy, here's one idea for a short-scale balanced-tension set:
By the way, their "short scale" is 32.75" in winding length (ball end to taper).
JeezyMcNuggles
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- Feb 23, 2018
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Hartke's are the stiffest strings I've ever used. Sounded pretty killer too.
But, any medium to heavy gauge strings, in what you're used to, should suffice.
Dr drop down tuning
Edit: sorry, skipped right past the shortscale part. No idea if ddt come in short scale.
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The DR Legends short scale set is the DR SFL-45 set. They are, indeed, short scale flats. I got the set that's on my Kramer Duke, from Strings By Mail. They carry a lot of string brands that are pretty hard to find elsewhere. Which, if you like to experiment as much as I do, is sometimes... not a good thing, as far as my wallet is concerned...
