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Strings gauge for a Silvertone short scale bass.

P

Postpol

Jan 25, 2024
2
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#1
Hi! I recently purchased a nice Silvertone 1442 bass, short scale, about 29", incredible mojo and vintage vibes; playing it, I noticed some buzz from the E string. I noticed also that strings are pretty light gauge (should be 045-098). I like the the trebly sound (they are roundwound) with the light gauge but I think that use an heavier gauge could be usefull to avoid this problems. Those basses don't have truss rod, so not adjustable neck and I hope that more tension could help (the neck is really really straight). Furthermore I play garage rock so I use to hit on the strings with the pick. Any suggestion? Wich strings you use on your short scale bass?
Cheers, Paolo
 
#3
If it were mine? Since it's essentially a Danelectro, I'd be tempted to try a set of the original Dano flatwounds; La Bella 760FDs. 42-83 gauge, with extra thin leaders to fit in those guitar-style tuners. I went with the slightly heavier 760FX's on my Dano Longhorn - and one of my DC59 Pros. Still get "that Dano sound", and they work a little better with a pick... :cool:
 
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#4
I have a 1442 too, when I bought it it had a set of Daddario tapes (50-105) which were a good fit (in regards to the non adjustable truss rod) but I noticed that the nut had been modified to accommodate the gauges. I now have Fender short scale rounds (40-95) on it, which are roughly the same tension wise, but I had to put tiny bits of paper underneath the string at the nut to avoid excessive buzzing.
I also have a 1444 whose nut (unmodified) cannot take anything larger than 40(or 45)-95. I’ve had GHS precision flats on it since I got it, the E string barely fit. Those are slightly heavier in tension than the Daddario tapes and the Fender rounds, but the truss rod seems to agree.
My point being: your nut may or may not be able to accommodate thicker strings and the state of the truss rod may vary from one unit to the other. That said, Silvertone and Dano basses tend to have more string buzz than other basses.
 

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