- Apr 30, 2002
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Short scale bass strings go dead crazy fast
- Thread starter nozkcb
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- dead strings short scale
Strings I've tried:
- Sandberg stainless 40-100
- D'Addario XL 170s 45-100
- Ernie Ball short scale super slinky 40-100
- Dunlop Nickel 45-105 (these held out the longest, but still dead after just 3 rehearsals)
If short scale strings generally die more quickly, does that mean that the Rotosound 40-90 RS66S Short Scale Swing Bass is the fastest dying set of bass strings available?
It is not that short scale bass strings die more quickly than regular long scale strings. It is that because of the shorter scale and lesser tension, they may not vibrate in their overtones as much as the same string on a regular scale bass. This means there are less overtones (brightness) to start with, so that when short scale strings die, they really sound dead, and may appear to have died quicker.
However my experience after a lot of trial and error is the exact opposite of yours, I have better experience with thin gauge strings on short scales.
For me a gauge .095 - .075 - .055 - .040 set of nickle plated steel core roundwound strings are ideal for a 30" scale bass.
Funny how we are all different - really need to try and find out for yourself.
I'll have to admit that I'm always a little puzzled (and, maybe just a trifle smug, too) whenever I read a "My strings go dead too fast" thread. It's not that I don't believe (the collective) you - I most certainly do. I have friends with this problem... And I do sympathize with you, too. But, it always makes me wonder; why don't I have this problem?? Unless a new-to-me bass comes to my house with flats already on it (and it's a long scale), I've always put new rounds on it, until I decide what kind of flats might suit it best. And, those rounds are always Regular or Hybrid nickel Slinkys. Yeah, the ones that everybody complains about; the ones that go stone dead in the blink of an eye... I have never had a set of Slinkys go dead on me before they got replaced. Sometimes they were on a bass for a year; and some were on 2 or 3 basses before they broke - but they never died. As for flats? I've had flats that were 14 years old and still sounded good. I only changed those because they looked so ratty after I deep-cleaned the bass, I couldn't bear to look at them. I have no idea how long I can keep a set of flats alive; haven't killed any yet... Short scale basses? The new ones - almost always with D' Addarios - just got flats as soon as the function check was done. One used bass was the one with the ratty flats; two (Kramer Dukes) had Boomers on them; one had that set on it for a good 8 years before they started to die - and got replaced with flats. The other one still has the Boomers - and God only knows how old those are. And the two used violin basses had already-dead roundwound strings upon arrival; probably from the Glorious Chinese People's Revolutionary String Collective...they got replaced with flats muy pronto. My Warmoth Mini - Precision had Sunbeams on it for 2 years before I got tired of them, and put GHS Precision Flats on it. But, they weren't dead, by any means... So, why don't strings die on me like they do for everyone else? Is it because my hands almost never sweat; and if they do, it seems to be very neutral - not acidic or base? Is it because I play with a pretty light touch? Or with a pick a great deal of the time? My hands and strings are always clean? I don't know, but... I'm just gonna keep on keepin' on...
I've been using shorties of one type or another for decades with rounds and flats and have never noticed a difference in length of time before death. I have noticed a difference in the way the strings respond, and I guess I can see where it might seem to some that they're dying quicker, though.
We all have different body chemistries, and some have very corrosive sweat while some don't.
Boy do I know it! For the longest time, I was a notorious string killer, especially when I was younger and played a lot of aggressive, progressive music and could kill a whole set of strings in one of 2 gigs. That was a real drag when I was in my 20's and could barely afford a new set a week. Now that I'm older, slower and a lot less sweaty, I get much longer life out of my strings.
FWIW, since my last post, I seem to have found out that (at least for me), the trick to not killing the E string in record time is I have to use heavier strings. 45-105 seems to be where I've landed. And while the E string death is better, it still happens faster than it does on my standard length basses using the same make and model of strings (sans the scale of course). Maybe it's the tension, the phase of the moon, or what I had for lunch yesterday????
Either way, it's tolerable.
Haven't noticed any sudden death on my Reverend Sentinel SS. I'm still using the SIT nickel power wounds it came with last March. Played about ten gigs now approx 35 hours never mind all the practicing and noodling at home. They're still going strong and plenty of brightness. I give them a rub down with a little WD40, wipe off and then some Fast Fret after every gig. Read this thread with interest but just hasn't been my experience. Just ordered some more of these strings earlier today for backup. By contrast I found the DR Fat Beams died pretty quickly on my 34 Reverend Mercalli. Go figure!
I'm intrigued by the WD-40 treatment. Besides making the string Slicker, does it do anything to keep the string from corroding? This is somehow the first time I've ever heard of that
Are you folks "nurturing" the witness point of the string over the bridge saddles? If you're just allowing the strings to glide over the saddles, you'll end up with a very wide and imprecise point of contact and that can cause the strings to go dead faster. The next time you install new strings, try pressing down on the string about an inch from the saddle towards the nut after you tune up, then re-tune.
When you say "nurturing the witness point" are you talking about pressing down on the string between the saddle and the neck about 1-2" from the saddle?
Yes.
I find that on short scale basses, they're more sensitive to the general tendency not to do this and that really long curve over the saddle causes some strings to die out much quicker.
I think that short scales sound best with strings that sound good kinda dead, because that's the short scale sound. My favorite roundwounds for short-scale are Boomers, 45-105. There's a great Mustang demo n on YouTube with DR Hi-Beams, though. They still don't sound all that bright.
And you can always go bright and light and strum it like a guitar, but guitar strings don't last that long either.
And you can always go bright and light and strum it like a guitar, but guitar strings don't last that long either.
I tried a set of 45-95 Boomers and my bass ate the E string in record time. Granted, this was before I was advised on "nurturing the witness point" and that heaver strings are a better idea for short scale basses because [fill in the many physics and chemical blanks].
I like the Boomers for my standard scale basses and may go back and try them again with the heavier gauge string on my shorty in the future.
The be clear, I get the "short scale" sound and understand that it's never going to sound piano-like as you might get with stainless strings on a 35" scale bass (e.g. MTD or Roscoe). The issue has been the the E string, and ONLY the E strings with most sets I've tried go dead incredibly fast. The heaver set I have on it now, is more balanced and for the most part, the strings are losing their brightness at about the same rate.......but the E string is still in the lead.
Thanks for the input.
