Short scale half wound strings

[Hagar]

Paul Rose is building me a compact 30" scale 4 string fretless with an ebony fingerboard. He favours roundwounds but I'm wondering whether half wound or pressure wound strings might be a better choice for jazz and fusion, to avoid board wear but retaining some of the definition of roundwounds.

Bilbo has advised me to go for Rotosound Solo Bass pressure wounds as they sound good and last a long time, but unfortunately they only seem to be available in standard 34" scale. Do ground wound strings like Status Hotwire Half Wound, which are available in short scale, last well like pressure wounds and flats, or will they need replacement relatively quickly like roundwounds?

Coated strings like Elixirs and D'Addario EXP are another alternative but neither appear to be made in short scale. Can long scale strings be successfully trimmed and modified to fit my 30" scale bass?

[ikay]

Status halfwounds have a nice smooth feel and sound good to me, brighter than flats but less zingy than rounds. They do mellow with age but should last longer than rounds and will be much kinder to your fingerboard. Reasonably priced too so worth giving them a go. Trimming long scale strings to fit generally isn't a good idea, particularly for the lower A and E where you really need the taper to wind round the post.

[BassBus]

D'Addario do a short scale halfwound. Available from Stringbusters.

[url="http://www.stringbusters.com/Ko-Bespoke/productlist.asp?cat=1/BASS%20STRINGS/BASS%20STRINGS%20DADDARIO"]http://www.stringbusters.com/Ko-Bespoke/productlist.asp?cat=1/BASS%20STRINGS/BASS%20STRINGS%20DADDARIO[/url]

I have used Status Hotwires halfwounds for years. I have an old set on my Tokai Jazz fretless and they still sound great after years.

[Hagar]

So that's two votes for Status half wounds. I'll give them a try. Many thanks for the advice.