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Strings to a Hagström Swede Bass?

Overdrive777

Overdrive777

May 29, 2006
379
435
Stockholm, Sweden
Disclosures
Endorsing Artist: Mesa/Boogie
#1
Hi everyone!!
Just recently, I got a Hagström Swede Bass. Sounds great!!
I have been a bass player for more than 30 years, but never owned a shorter scale bass:)

I want to change the stock strings to some flats. Preferably Labella or Dunlop. BUT...
The scale of the bass is 30.75".. Is that a short scale or a medium scale? I have read about people buying some short scale strings that won't fit. Some do but some don't.
How do I tell what will fit or not? What about Labella or Dunlop?

BR, Andreas
IMG_2556.jpg
 
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#2
Overdrive777 said:
Hi everyone!!
Just recently, I got a Hagström Swede Bass. Sounds great!!
I have been a bass player for more than 30 years, but never owned a shorter scale bass:)

I want to change the stock strings to some flats. Preferably Labella or Dunlop. BUT...
The scale of the bass is 30.75".. Is that a short scale or a medium scale? I have read about people buying some short scale strings that won't fit. Some do but some don't.
How do I tell what will fit or not? What about Labella or Dunlop?

BR, AndreasView attachment 7470661
Click to expand...
Dunlop flat mediums are perfect for my 30.5” Serek. I can’t tell if your bridge is in a similar spot, but it’s likely. If you’d like I can measure from the ball end to the black silks in inches. Just say which string to measure.
 
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#3
Overdrive777 said:
Hi everyone!!
Just recently, I got a Hagström Swede Bass. Sounds great!!
I have been a bass player for more than 30 years, but never owned a shorter scale bass:)

I want to change the stock strings to some flats. Preferably Labella or Dunlop. BUT...
The scale of the bass is 30.75".. Is that a short scale or a medium scale? I have read about people buying some short scale strings that won't fit. Some do but some don't.
How do I tell what will fit or not? What about Labella or Dunlop?

BR, AndreasView attachment 7470661
Click to expand...
Measure your existing strings from ball-end to nut. Then compare against the new strings you’re considering. You want the taper of the string at the tuner to begin just past the nut.

Compare here: Bass Scale Length Chart and Guide - Strings and Beyond

Or here: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/bass-string-lengths-by-manufacturer.1298325/
 
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#4
Overdrive777 said:
The scale of the bass is 30.75".. Is that a short scale or a medium scale? I have read about people buying some short scale strings that won't fit. Some do but some don't.
How do I tell what will fit or not? What about Labella or Dunlop?

BR, AndreaView attachment 7470661
Click to expand...
Don't worry too much about "scale length". What you need to do is to measure the distance from where the ball end is seated to where the string clears the nut. That would be the minimum "winding length" you need.

Once you have that measurement, we can make recommendations as to which manufacturers offer strings of the right length. It could be "short scale" or "medium scale" depending on the specs by the manufacturer.
 
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#5
Dunlop "short scale" = 32" in winding length (ball end to taper/silk).
Dunlop "medium scale" = 34" in winding length.

La Bella "short scale" = 32.25 in winding length.
La Bella "medium scale" = 34.25" in winding length.

GHS "short scale" = 32.75" in winding length.
GHS "medium scale" = 35.5" in winding length.

Etc., etc., etc...
 
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#11
Now, I need to decide what to buy😅😁

A little side story..
I actually found this laying at the City dump, beside a container..😅 (Never happened to me before😂)
A little crack on back of the neck, but it was still tunable. The electronics worked fine. So I let a luthier fix the neck for $80, and I bought some missing knobs for about $30.
That’s it!! For a really nice looking bass😁👍 It is an Asian reissue, but it sounds really cool👍
 
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#12
Overdrive777 said:
Now, I need to decide what to buy😅😁

A little side story..
I actually found this laying at the City dump, beside a container..😅 (Never happened to me before😂)
A little crack on back of the neck, but it was still tunable. The electronics worked fine. So I let a luthier fix the neck for $80, and I bought some missing knobs for about $30.
That’s it!! For a really nice looking bass😁👍 It is an Asian reissue, but it sounds really cool👍
Click to expand...
Man, that's sweet! I love the look of those Swede's....
 
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#13
Overdrive777 said:
View attachment 7470980Thank you so much for all of your replies!!😁👍🙏

I just measured the E string, and it is 85,7cm (33,75”), so it seems that the medium scale strings will be fine👍
(When I took the cover off.. Never seen a bridge like that. With different positions for every string😁)

Thank you all!!
Click to expand...

Wow! Thank you so much for posting this photo! I was just about to buy one of these basses but, as an engineer, this looks like the poorest designed bridge I've ever seen!! Please don't take this personally Overdrive777 but there's no way that will remain stable with the kind of tension bass strings have. The screws will pull out of the wood.
Compare this design to monorail bridges which spread the forces over a much larger area, and more importantly, also along the line of the exerted force. The rest of the bass may be great but I strongly urge you to have your luthier friend install monorails.

Best wishes,
Joe
 
#14
ProdigalBassman said:
Wow! Thank you so much for posting this photo! I was just about to buy one of these basses but, as an engineer, this looks like the poorest designed bridge I've ever seen!! Please don't take this personally Overdrive777 but there's no way that will remain stable with the kind of tension bass strings have. The screws will pull out of the wood.
Compare this design to monorail bridges which spread the forces over a much larger area, and more importantly, also along the line of the exerted force. The rest of the bass may be great but I strongly urge you to have your luthier friend install monorails.

Best wishes,
Joe
Click to expand...
Just to be clear, that is not the Hagstrom bridge. It looks like a home grown replacement. Th original trapeze bridge had issues so replacement is common, even on the reissues. I no longer have my reissue to photograph, but it was a very nice trapeze replacement and the tuning and intonation were solid. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy one again if I had need.
 
#15
TomB said:
Just to be clear, that is not the Hagstrom bridge. It looks like a home grown replacement. Th original trapeze bridge had issues so replacement is common, even on the reissues. I no longer have my reissue to photograph, but it was a very nice trapeze replacement and the tuning and intonation were solid. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy one again if I had need.
Click to expand...
Tom,

There may be some semantical misunderstanding on my part here but as I understand the term, "trapeze bridge" would be what's on the Hagstrom Viking bass while the Swede bass has a more conventional looking 2-piece bridge.

1783091418971.png

The question comes down to what's under the cover? I have searched the internet for pictures of the bridge and there are precious few. The photo posted by Overdrive777 is the only one I've seen revealing any of its actual design. Hopefully he will chime in here and confirm whether his photo is of the original or not. I hope he does because I was JUST about to order one of these.

Regards,
Joe
 
#16
ProdigalBassman said:
Tom,

There may be some semantical misunderstanding on my part here but as I understand the term, "trapeze bridge" would be what's on the Hagstrom Viking bass while the Swede bass has a more conventional looking 2-piece bridge.

View attachment 7528674
The question comes down to what's under the cover? I have searched the internet for pictures of the bridge and there are precious few. The photo posted by Overdrive777 is the only one I've seen revealing any of its actual design. Hopefully he will chime in here and confirm whether his photo is of the original or not. I hope he does because I was JUST about to order one of these.

Regards,
Joe
Click to expand...
You’re right, I’m thinking of (and owned) a Viking. …no experience with a Swede. Sorry to stir the pot.
 
#17
ProdigalBassman said:
Tom,

There may be some semantical misunderstanding on my part here but as I understand the term, "trapeze bridge" would be what's on the Hagstrom Viking bass while the Swede bass has a more conventional looking 2-piece bridge.

View attachment 7528674
The question comes down to what's under the cover? I have searched the internet for pictures of the bridge and there are precious few. The photo posted by Overdrive777 is the only one I've seen revealing any of its actual design. Hopefully he will chime in here and confirm whether his photo is of the original or not. I hope he does because I was JUST about to order one of these.

Regards,
Joe
Click to expand...
I've never seen a Swede bridge like the one from @Overdrive777. Every one I've seen are stop tail pieces like the one on my crappy pic in post # 6. However, mine didn't come w/ a bridge cover either, so there might be more than one bridge design from Hagstrom.
 
#18
ProdigalBassman said:
Tom,

There may be some semantical misunderstanding on my part here but as I understand the term, "trapeze bridge" would be what's on the Hagstrom Viking bass while the Swede bass has a more conventional looking 2-piece bridge.

View attachment 7528674
The question comes down to what's under the cover? I have searched the internet for pictures of the bridge and there are precious few. The photo posted by Overdrive777 is the only one I've seen revealing any of its actual design. Hopefully he will chime in here and confirm whether his photo is of the original or not. I hope he does because I was JUST about to order one of these.

Regards,
Joe
Click to expand...

Finally found a somewhat decent shot of the inside of this Hagstrom Swede bridge. While it would be better if the cover were off it nonetheless confirms the photo Overdrive777 posted as the original design. And I agree, it does look like a home grown replacement but note the lack of any additional screw holes in the top of the bass where a previous tailpiece would have been anchored. The Swede version from decades ago had an uncovered tailpiece anchor. I can see why they elected to cover this latest abomination. If Hagstrom is willing to implement such a pathetic design on a part that's easily easily seen, who knows what the unseen parts of this bass are like :rollno:


Anyone buying this bass needs to plan on replacing the bridge, and thus voiding the warranty. Not that having a warranty on a bass from Sweden does you any good!!

1783093843243.png
 
#19
ProdigalBassman said:
Finally found a somewhat decent shot of the inside of this Hagstrom Swede bridge. While it would be better if the cover were off it nonetheless confirms the photo Overdrive777 posted as the original design. And I agree, it does look like a home grown replacement but note the lack of any additional screw holes in the top of the bass where a previous tailpiece would have been anchored. The Swede version from decades ago had an uncovered tailpiece anchor. I can see why they elected to cover this latest abomination. If Hagstrom is willing to implement such a pathetic design on a part that's easily easily seen, who knows what the unseen parts of this bass are like :rollno:


Anyone buying this bass needs to plan on replacing the bridge, and thus voiding the warranty. Not that having a warranty on a bass from Sweden does you any good!!

View attachment 7528709
Click to expand...
Have you had one of these in hand? If not, I think your assessment is more than a bit harsh. Hagstrom has been building instruments for a long time, and their guitars and basses have been used by more than a few pro level players. This implies that they must have a decent R&D department, and wouldn't bring to market anything that is as catastrophically bad as you are suggesting.

I don't think it's fair of you to declare their design "pathetic" based on a handful of Internet photos. Even if you are a self-proclaimed engineer.
 
#20
ProdigalBassman said:
Finally found a somewhat decent shot of the inside of this Hagstrom Swede bridge. While it would be better if the cover were off it nonetheless confirms the photo Overdrive777 posted as the original design. And I agree, it does look like a home grown replacement but note the lack of any additional screw holes in the top of the bass where a previous tailpiece would have been anchored. The Swede version from decades ago had an uncovered tailpiece anchor. I can see why they elected to cover this latest abomination. If Hagstrom is willing to implement such a pathetic design on a part that's easily easily seen, who knows what the unseen parts of this bass are like :rollno:


Anyone buying this bass needs to plan on replacing the bridge, and thus voiding the warranty. Not that having a warranty on a bass from Sweden does you any good!!

View attachment 7528709
Click to expand...
Nice detective work, Columbo! :thumbsup:

But I have to agree with/ @ctmullins that while I only owned mine for a short time many years ago I was impressed with the solid build of the Swede. I don't remember any issue w/ the stop tail piece on mine.
 

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