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Medium Scale Roundwound suggestions?

nonohmic

nonohmic

Dec 13, 2005
7,958
13,582
Land of Entrapment
#1
Hi All, I have a 32" Cliff Bordwell coming with Nordstrand Big Rigs. Goal is to have some P-type growl with the neck pickup, and then some bark with the bridge (when solo'ed). The pickups should be able to do that with the right strings.

I have DR Blues on my fretless Jaco sig, which I love but they don't do a medium scale set.

I have a Squier Jag H as my current 32" fretted and put D'Addario EXL170M 45-100s on that. They sound ok, but were a lot zingier than the DR Blues to start with and then fell off quite quickly it seemed. But they are cheap and sound good enough.

Any other roundwounds I should try? I like lighter gauge so 100 or lower.

Some folks talk about putting a long scale set on 32", but I'm unsure if i should do that cause of intonation etc.

Thanks,
 
#2
I like these for "growl and bark"...

sitstrings.com

Power Wound Short And Medium Scale Bass Strings - S.I.T. Strings

S.I.T. Strings Power Wound Short and Medium Scale Bass Strings are designed to deliver a warm, punchy tone with deep lows and clear highs, perfectly suited for short and medium-scale basses. Featuring a high-tension hex core and nickel-plated steel wrap, these strings offer exceptional...
sitstrings.com sitstrings.com
 
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#3
nonohmic said:
Some folks talk about putting a long scale set on 32", but I'm unsure if i should do that cause of intonation etc.
Click to expand...
String length has nothing to do with intonation. The potential problem with using "long scale" strings on a medium-scale bass is too much of the full winding on the E string can wrap around the tuner post, which can be an issue with certain types of strings.

Some people would tell you there is no problem. For me personally, I always try to find the right length for any given bass.
 
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#6
#10
nonohmic said:
Hi All, I have a 32" Cliff Bordwell coming with Nordstrand Big Rigs. Goal is to have some P-type growl with the neck pickup, and then some bark with the bridge (when solo'ed). The pickups should be able to do that with the right strings.

I have DR Blues on my fretless Jaco sig, which I love but they don't do a medium scale set.

I have a Squier Jag H as my current 32" fretted and put D'Addario EXL170M 45-100s on that. They sound ok, but were a lot zingier than the DR Blues to start with and then fell off quite quickly it seemed. But they are cheap and sound good enough.

Any other roundwounds I should try? I like lighter gauge so 100 or lower.

Some folks talk about putting a long scale set on 32", but I'm unsure if i should do that cause of intonation etc.

Thanks,
Click to expand...
I use the Hi Beam short scale set on my JMJ Mustang and it requires medium scale strings. Something to think about. If in doubt you can measure the winding length if needed before making a purchase. DR string lengths are here: STRING LENGTHS
 
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#14
michael_t said:
32" scale with thru-body option would require "long scale". That's what they mean. And that's why I asked earlier about top-load or thru-body.
Click to expand...
My Mustang is string thru body and I’m using the medium scale set on it. It’s why I recommend measuring the wind length as I have no idea what the numbers are on nonohmic’s new bass. I can easily see using either length depending on where the bass has the bridge, etc.
 
#15
My suggestion to @nonohmic is to take a couple of measurements on your specific bass...

1. Ball end to where the string just clears the nut = minimum winding length needed.
2. Ball end to the E tuner post = ideally, the winding length on the E is shorter than this measurement.

SIT "medium scale" is 34" in winding length (ball end to taper). See how that would fit on this particular bass based on measurements 1 & 2.
 
#17
michael_t said:
My suggestion to @nonohmic is to take a couple of measurements on your specific bass...

1. Ball end to where the string just clears the nut = minimum winding length needed.
2. Ball end to the E tuner post = ideally, the winding length on the E is shorter than this measurement.

SIT "medium scale" is 34" in winding length (ball end to taper). See how that would fit on this particular bass based on measurements 1 & 2.
Click to expand...

Can do when i get it.
 
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#20
I have zero argument with people who want to match medium scale strings to medium scale basses. I purchased my first, (and still my main) 32" bass in 2013 and posted this same sort of thread. One of the TB medium scale heavyweights told me he'd been using long scale for decades. Now I can say I've used long scale for over a decade. I've had one string break on the tuning peg in 11 years.

Congrats on the new CB bass - try a pack of your current favorite strings. If it doesn't work out and you're like, whelp, let's go medium, there's some choices out there.
 

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