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Reverse headstock strings

#21
InstantEctobass said:
47" to 50"? I don't think so. They're often 38".

I just received a Black Nylon set from LaBella, not only the quality has gone downhill, the silk are ugly and the sound is different. AND THEY'RE SHORT. They're all cutting corners, period.
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Interesting -- I've compared recent LaBella black tapes with recent D'Addario black tapes and prefer the latter for sound and feel, but the set of medium scale D'Addarios I had already cut for a string-through 30" and are now too short for the reversed 32". I'll take a look at DRs and the Chrome ECB82s.

And @iiipopes yes the headstock is an inline Fender-looking one (paired with a Gotoh bridge).
 
#22
A reverse headstock fixes one of the challenges with string length - wrapping the fat part of the E string around the tuner peg. It does, however, mandate a longer total length for the E string. On a 32” bass with a reversed headstock, I’d guess almost any 34” set will work.
 
#23
micguy said:
A reverse headstock fixes one of the challenges with string length - wrapping the fat part of the E string around the tuner peg. It does, however, mandate a longer total length for the E string. On a 32” bass with a reversed headstock, I’d guess almost any 34” set will work.
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douglasbass said:
Interesting -- I've compared recent LaBella black tapes with recent D'Addario black tapes and prefer the latter for sound and feel, but the set of medium scale D'Addarios I had already cut for a string-through 30" and are now too short for the reversed 32". I'll take a look at DRs and the Chrome ECB82s.

And @iiipopes yes the headstock is an inline Fender-looking one (paired with a Gotoh bridge).
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Frankly, it can't be. A Fender standard headstock has the E string tuner closest to the nut and the G string tuner farthest away from the nut. You reported your headstock is "reversed," with barely enough string length to wind around the E string tuner once. "Reverse" means exactly that: the G string tuner is closest to the nut and the E string tuner is farthest away from the nut. La Bella engineers their E strings to not only have the 36 1/2 inch winding length, but the shortest silk length so less trimming is required. I know. I play Fender Jaguar 32-inch scale necks on some of my instruments. When I measured to see if I wanted a custom neck with a reverse headstock made, I ran into the same issue: La Bella strings too short for putting the E string tuner at the top of the headstock.
 
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#24
iiipopes said:
Frankly, it can't be. A Fender standard headstock has the E string tuner closest to the nut and the G string tuner farthest away from the nut. You reported your headstock is "reversed," with barely enough string length to wind around the E string tuner once. "Reverse" means exactly that: the G string tuner is closest to the nut and the E string tuner is farthest away from the nut. La Bella engineers their E strings to not only have the 36 1/2 inch winding length, but the shortest silk length so less trimming is required. I know. I play Fender Jaguar 32-inch scale necks on some of my instruments. When I measured to see if I wanted a custom neck with a reverse headstock made, I ran into the same issue: La Bella strings too short for putting the E string tuner at the top of the headstock.
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I left out "reversed" -- to me "Fender-looking" is an inline 4 reversed or not, but I get your point, it's not the traditional Fender headstock if it is reversed. Yes, LaBellas are a bit too short. I may give GHS tapes a try, the long scale 3050s. I love my GHS guitar strings and I've read great things about their Precision Flats, so I bet their tapes are worthwhile. I recall you are a tapes fan and am curious if you've tried this set on your Jaguar.
 
#25
douglasbass said:
I left out "reversed" -- to me "Fender-looking" is an inline 4 reversed or not, but I get your point, it's not the traditional Fender headstock if it is reversed. Yes, LaBellas are a bit too short. I may give GHS tapes a try, the long scale 3050s. I love my GHS guitar strings and I've read great things about their Precision Flats, so I bet their tapes are worthwhile. I recall you are a tapes fan and am curious if you've tried this set on your Jaguar.
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If you like La Bella flats, you can get a full-length E string; you may have to contact customer service directly. Yes, GHS are great strings. If you want a little more grind, the Fender 9050L's are great strings. Ernie Ball stainless flats are probably the most underrated strings out there. In my experience, and I will get disagreements on this, none of the other flats are worth the money. And don't get me started on Chromes.
 
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#28
Red silks at both ends. Liking them so far. First GHS bass strings I've tried (I have a guitar set that's great).
 

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#29
douglasbass said:
Red silks at both ends. Liking them so far. First GHS bass strings I've tried (I have a guitar set that's great).
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Those red silks on the black nylon look very sharp and classy!

I'm not sure if you know this, but GHS Tapewounds are unique in the sense they're flatwound under the nylon cover, while most tapewounds are roundwound under the cover. That means they're not as bright as some tapes, but not as loose and floppy as some, either.

Ironically, out of all the strings in the GHS lineup, the Tapewounds and the Contact Core Super Steels are the only two I've never tried. ;)
 
#30
michael_t said:
Those red silks on the black nylon look very sharp and classy!

I'm not sure if you know this, but GHS Tapewounds are unique in the sense they're flatwound under the nylon cover, while most tapewounds are roundwound under the cover. That means they're not as bright as some tapes, but not as loose and floppy as some, either.

Ironically, out of all the strings in the GHS lineup, the Tapewounds and the Contact Core Super Steels are the only two I've never tried. ;)
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Interesting, thanks. They do seem to be stiffer than other strings. Looking forward to the strings 'settling in' as I play them.
 
#31
Apologies for the zombie reanimation here.

I'm stringing up a reverse headstock p bass (Reverend Meshell Fellowship) and running into issues with the G string. I'm using GHS Precision Flats M3050.

I crimped one way too short and ordered a single to try again. I left three peg lengths and it's still too short. The silk is all the way around and some of the string is around the post. Pic below.

Should I not crimp at all here, or is the string too long regardless? I don't want to order another single but I also want to make sure I'm stringing correctly to avoid any potential mishaps. Ideally I'd keep it like this with no issues. Thank you all!

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