Strings for 28" scale

[ErKat]

Hi,
I am thinking of picking up either Squier Mini or Jackson Minion for my kid. He is 9, and the 32" Squier Affinity Jazz, while a pretty good on its own, is a bit hard for the stretch of his hand. I had put Ernie Ball Flats on it and it made a big improvement. Those were 34" scale and they git ok on the 32".

I would like to put flatwounds on it, the shortest I have seen are usually 32", with maybe the exception of the Gibsons (not clear on their length).
I think I'd rather go with lower tension strings, like La Bella LTF, to make it easier to play.

Is there any issue setting 32" strings on a 28" instrument?

Thanks

 

[michael_t]

I would like to put flatwounds on it, the shortest I have seen are usually 32", with maybe the exception of the Gibsons (not clear on their length).
I think I'd rather go with lower tension strings, like La Bella LTF, to make it easier to play.

Is there any issue setting 32" strings on a 28" instrument?

La Bella is one company who explicitly warns against having any of the main body of their flats wrapping around the post, so that would be a little risky.

Dunlop Flats might be a better option as they do come in "short scale" with 32" winding length (ball end to silk). They're also known for their relative flexibility (for a flatwound) and low tension, especially the 40-100 set. They should be flexible enough for some of the main body of the E string to wrap around the post without breaking.

 

[ErKat]

What exactly is the issue with the main body of the string wrapping around the post?
Is it a flatwound issue?

 

[michael_t]

What exactly is the issue with the main body of the string wrapping around the post?
Is it a flatwound issue?

Yes, it's mostly a flatwound issue, although, as I mentioned above, La Bella is the only company that explicitly warns against it. The way the outer flat ribbon wire is tightly wound, it can break when being forced to wrap around the tuner post due to the extra rigidity.

That said, most flats can wrap around the post without any issue as long as you're careful when installing them.

 

[JPJ]

I worked with LaBella last summer to make a limited run of strings specifically made for the Squire Mini P (and consequently...Mikro and other similar basses). They custom-made a flatwound set (with silks) that was a perfect fit for the diminutive P and the run sold out fairly quickly. You might reach out to them and express interest.....they may decide to produce another batch if they get enough players asking for sets. Otherwise, you're stuck with standard short scale strings that wrap around the low E string post.

 

[DavesnothereCA]

Hi,
I am thinking of picking up either Squier Mini or Jackson Minion for my kid. He is 9, and the 32" Squier Affinity Jazz, while a pretty good on its own, is a bit hard for the stretch of his hand. I had put Ernie Ball Flats on it and it made a big improvement. Those were 34" scale and they git ok on the 32".

I would like to put flatwounds on it, the shortest I have seen are usually 32", with maybe the exception of the Gibsons (not clear on their length).
I think I'd rather go with lower tension strings, like La Bella LTF, to make it easier to play.

Is there any issue setting 32" strings on a 28" instrument?

Thanks

~
Ideally, the Squier Mini-P bass needs 31" of wrap length, as those special run LaBella DT Flats had.

If you wish to err on the side of caution, have not yet bought the bass, and can visit stores which have them in stock, then bring a measuring tape, and compare the lengths from the end of the balls to the E string tuner posts, of each candidate bass.

And also consider the Ibanez Mikro, which is the same scale length and price range.

You should find that the other two of those three basses use up more of the string wrap than the Mini-P does, beyond the bridge saddles, as well as between the nut and tuners, and would more safely fit regular short scale strings.

One of the shortest wraps of commonly available flatwound string sets for short scale would be the D'Addario Chromes, published as having 32.0" of wrap before the headstock silks begin.

Also, a recent addition to the Strings and Beyond site is the ability to look up bass strings based upon the wrap/speaking length.

Try this bookmark : Bass Strings - Short Scale, Flat & Tape Wound

Note that this is a work in progress, as the LaBella short scale strings are listed there as having 32.0" of wrap when they really have 32.25", for example, a crucial difference for one of my basses at the nut.

Also, there is currently no way there for to selecting only flatwound strings [or only roundwound], when there used to be one, which is why I posted one of my bookmarks saved from when we previously could do that.

I contacted them about this last shortcoming, and they said that they would try to fix it.
~

 

[Turxile]

I have a 26" bass, for which I tried flats (chromes 40-100 from an old set, cut to size), and various rounds.
I settled on Bass VI strings. They are rounds, and light gauge, easier on the kids' fingers. They sound much cleaner than rounds. They also hold intonation well, which is a problem in very short scale with heavy strings and flats.
They are cheap as well.
For flats, I would recommend to go with light gauges.

 

[ErKat]

Here are Daddario ECB81S, short flatwounds, on a 28.6" Jackson Minion.

 

[Killing Floor]

Not being able to wrap non tapered strings around posts is a TalkBass construct. It exists as a problem only within this forum. If you have 30” scale strings and your bass has 28” scale you can cut them 2” shorter. Or you can use the 34” set in your drawer and don’t tell anyone.

 

[DavesnothereCA]

Here are Daddario ECB81S, short flatwounds, on a 28.6" Jackson Minion.

View attachment 4684941

~
You just made it !

Some of the other string brands would have had too long of a wrap.

Thanks for the pic.
~

 

[DavesnothereCA]

Not being able to wrap non tapered strings around posts is a TalkBass construct. It exists as a problem only within this forum. If you have 30” scale strings and your bass has 28” scale you can cut them 2” shorter. Or you can use the 34” set in your drawer and don’t tell anyone.

~

~

 

[sunbeast]

Not being able to wrap non tapered strings around posts is a TalkBass construct. It exists as a problem only within this forum. If you have 30” scale strings and your bass has 28” scale you can cut them 2” shorter. Or you can use the 34” set in your drawer and don’t tell anyone.

I've had both rounds and flats of the wrong scale break at the tuner before, especially way back in my younger days when I would buy whatever strings I could get my hands on (and there were alot fewer available options). It can particularly be of issue on smaller diameter tuner posts where the string is coiled more tightly together under tension. I broke a number of long-scale strings on an old 5-string medium scale bass I had 18 or so years ago as I had no clue where to source reasonably-priced medium scale strings back then, never mind 5-string sets- that bass had small diameter tuners that totally exacerbated the issue (especially with the B and E strings).
I've also carefully put lower gauge strings on basses where the full width of the strings wrapped around the tuner and not had any issue whatsoever (some strings like TIs are flexible enough to take it, and sometimes you just have luck on your side). Still, it is a real thing that can be an issue and not just some Talkbass obsession.

 

[J Posega]

Not being able to wrap non tapered strings around posts is a TalkBass construct. It exists as a problem only within this forum. If you have 30” scale strings and your bass has 28” scale you can cut them 2” shorter. Or you can use the 34” set in your drawer and don’t tell anyone.

It's a legitimate concern that some string manufacturer's warn against, which is why they make different winding lengths. It may not be as big of an issue as some people make of it, but it can be problematic.

 

[BarfanyShart]

I have a 26" bass, for which I tried flats (chromes 40-100 from an old set, cut to size), and various rounds.
I settled on Bass VI strings. They are rounds, and light gauge, easier on the kids' fingers. They sound much cleaner than rounds. They also hold intonation well, which is a problem in very short scale with heavy strings and flats.
They are cheap as well.
For flats, I would recommend to go with light gauges.

Is the LaBella flats Bass VI set workable, ya think?

 

[sunbeast]

Is the LaBella flats Bass VI set workable, ya think?

The Fender Bass VI that the flats are made for actually take a medium-scale string, as the Bass VI is a 30” scale but the trem mechanism adds a couple inches of string length behind the bridge (so the Bass VI set would be no better on a super short-scale than a comparable short-scale bass string). Rounds are generally much more flexible in these situations than flats (it is easier to break or loosen the outer wrap of flats as the flat wrap is naturally less flexible). The Labella flats may hold up fine to having the full diameter of the string wrap around the tuning post, but may not. They are a fairly flexible set as flats go and not too heavy-gauged, but they are definitely not as flexible as something like the TI Jazz flats for example which would probably be a better bet (though admittedly a more expensive experiment)

 

[DavesnothereCA]

Is the LaBella flats Bass VI set workable, ya think?

~
That set publishes a 35.5" wrap length, so you [or the other poster] will need to measure to see how far that this portion will reach on the bass, before pulling the trigger to buy them.

If it is for the 26" scale bass [or ANY short scale bass for that matter], I have my doubts that they are a candidate.

They might fit some medium scale basses though.

After all, LaBella is the maker who strongly cautions about wrapping the full diameter part of the string around the tuning peg posts.
~

 

[Killing Floor]

It's a legitimate concern that some string manufacturer's warn against, which is why they make different winding lengths. It may not be as big of an issue as some people make of it, but it can be problematic.

Good point. I broke a string in 1978 and to this day I don’t know the cause, first and only time. It was on a short scale. There are standard scale TI on my short right now. Been holding perfect tune and intonation for a couple years. If one breaks it’s time to change them.

 

[Turxile]

Is the LaBella flats Bass VI set workable, ya think?

Never tried those. I used Ernie Ball rounds.
However, the flats I tried before that were long scale Chromes, which came off a 34". They stayed on for about 6 months without breaking. Those are rather stiff strings as well.