Short-Scale String Options

[HaphAsSard]

Well yea, and they are the length they are too, lol. I was trying to reveal that for the same tension, a longer scale will require a lighter gauge string. Otherwise, the same gauge will require more tension for longer scales. And the inverse is true for short scale strings.

Yeah, but no correction is made by the manufacturer to compensate in either direction, as pertains the inner workings of strings, for the most part.
Three cases are given:
- most frequently, short scale string sets are made of simply the exact same strings found in long scale sets (usually with a smaller choice of gauges), only wound shorter; gauge being equal, the strings pairs of either winding length have the same mass-per-inch, same components in type and size (core wire, wrap wires) hence in the same proportion, and the net result is less tension on short scale basses, more on long scale ones (in this sense, strings being "simply the gauges they are");
- sometimes strings found in short scale sets have gauge combinations, and at times gauges themselves, not found in long scale ones, for what the manufacturer believe to be the best recipe of tone on a typical shortie platform; said custom gauges are typically on the light side, as said above; calculating back the linear mass of the strings of unusual, in-between gauge (if there) usually shows they don't have anything special beyond their non-standard diameter;
- in rare cases, strings are revealed (by the available tension data) to have been internally designed with their scale in mind. According to the old D'Addario tension chart .pdf strings from the old-version EXL160S nickel-plated steel roundwound set had each a higher "unit weight" (mass per inch) than the long scale string of same diameter: this was clearly meant to give them more tension at 30" scale without making them larger. Note that D'Addario [This invalid link has been removed]. Similarly, the G, D and A [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] in super-long scale version calculate very close to their long-scale counterparts regardless of them having slightly larger gauges. My, to date unproven, guess is that their layer of inner silk (a feature which is more typical of orchestral strings and which T-I electric bass flats have) is a smidgen thicker in order to compensate for the increased twanginess that extra-long scale determines for the thinnest strings in a set.

 

[Bander]

Yeah, but no correction is made by the manufacturer to compensate in either direction, as pertains the inner workings of strings, for the most part.

I think we are saying the same thing, the omission, is the important mass-per-unit-length factor is ignored by string makers when packaging and marketing strings for alternate scales. I did the calcs for my 30", and determined the correct gauges to match the same tension as a 34" scale. It did wonders for both the playability and tone. But, I had to adjust the nut and pre-bend a couple of thick strings to lay over the saddles correctly. I assume this is why manufacturers aren't packaging the more correct thicker gauges for short scale instruments - they likely won't fit without adjustments. So they just sell what they want, lol.

Anyway, that's what I was angling at - to get the most out of a short scale or extended scale, you really need to do the calcs or look them up to understand how the gauges can really affect the tone and playability. Instead, they sell us strings too light for a short scale, have very low tension, and folks have to adjust to the different feel, and raise the action at the same time - which creates intonation issues.