Yesterday I got hold of a Jolana Basso IX, which I believe is in need of only a small amount of work. Firstly, it had been fitted with regular guitar tuners rather than bass ones, so firstly I need to replace those asap. I am on a tight budget as it is, so what entry level but acceptable enough machine heads can I buy (I'm in the UK) which will work?
Also, as I'll be paying for a setup, I want to take the opportunity to put on flatwound strings which are similar in feel to my Squire Mustang Mikey Way, which has 45-90 GHS Flats on it. This is the part where I get confused, as I am not sure which string gauge to buy as the scale will be different, but I understand there are differences in tensions between roundwounds and flatwounds. I would very much like to get this right first time as the string appear not to be cheap. I don't want to go too heavy a gague and be stuck with the strings I don't like, but obviously have to make sure they are not too light, although light is what I prefer. So I guess I am looking for something comparable to the GHS boomer flats on what appears to be a full (or medium?) bass.
I took the bass to two guitar shops today and one said they thought it was medium scale and the other said he thought I needed long scale. I said I was wary about needing to cut the strings as I've heard flatwounds can unravel, and I think he told me that this only applies to the winding, so he told me to avoid a brand which has this material where I would wind the strings. So would that make sense, unless someone can recommend me exactly the correct length of strings for this bass? It's roughly 33" from nut to where the string enters.
Any advice would be appreciated. I have someone who will help me with the setup itself but I need to source the machine heads and the strings myself.