Short Scale Strings without ball end silk

[twisty4678]

Hey everyone. I did a few searches and couldn't find any answers to this question that I have. I picked up a short scale bass (24" scale i believe) a while back. I have no idea what it is, and for all i know it's probably an old youth bass. I re-wired it and my friend leveled the frets, and I think it will be a nice instrument. I'll attach a picture for anyone that's curious: http://imgur.com/lxfl1Ag

Anyways, i bought some strings for it, and the ball end is wrapped in silk on that set of strings. After setting the intonation, some of the silk wrapped part of the string sat on top of the saddle, which basically mutes the strings. Can someone recommend a nice set of short scale strings that does not have ball end silk wrap? I would post a picture but of the bridge but I don't have the bass with me at the moment. Thanks for any help/suggestions!

 

[lz4005]

You should be able to either cut the silk back with a razor bladeor put some kind of washer between the ball end and the bridge to give you clearance.

 

[unclebass]

Curt Mangan strings don't have any silks. D'Addario rounds don't either. Check with Jason at BASSSTRINGSONLINE.COM, he'll fill you in on your choices and gives fellow TB'ers discounts.

 

[donn]

Be sure to mention the scale length, saddle to nut, if it's really extra short like that (30½ inches is about average short.) No idea if anyone makes a 24 inch scale bass string, but otherwise I'm thinking your real problem is at the other end of the string, and just guessing, some strings might be more tolerant of a short wind than others?

 

[twisty4678]

Thanks guys. I will try cutting the silk on the current pair, and contact Jason for further string orders.

Donn- could you explain more about short winding? I did a little research, and I thought that you can just trim any excess string on the nut end to fit a short scale?

 

[lz4005]

A lot of strings will be too thick to bend around the tuners.
You usually want your E string, for example, to get thinner between the nut and tuner.

 

[twisty4678]

Ah, thanks. I just replace the old tuners with larger Gotoh tuners, so i'm hoping that will help with that problem. I'll do some experimenting once I have everything in place and come back with an update!

 

[SLaPiNFuNK]

La Bella just announced their Tapewounds for the U-Bass. I do not have the exact specs but I believe they are for 23-25" scale length instruments. Those will work perfectly for you!

(they will be available for Pre-Order very soon)

 

[lz4005]

La Bella just announced their Tapewounds for the U-Bass. I do not have the exact specs but I believe they are for 23-25" scale length instruments. Those will work perfectly for you!

Will those work on a non-piezo bass?

 

[SLaPiNFuNK]

They are supposed to have a steel core so yeah

 

[twisty4678]

Awesome, those sound perfect! Are you the Jason Unclebass was talking about? I'll be placing an order with you in a week or two when i get my next paycheck! I have another interesting bass I'll need some help with