Samfordia Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 I have recently acquired a Yamaha BBVIs which is of a medium scale. The strings I have on my other basses are D'Addario pro steels but with a very specific gauge selection (60, 65, 80, 105). With this new bass I decided that I'd have something different with flatwounds but was quite keen to keep the usual gauges. Usually I would go with Strings Direct but they tell me that all they have is black nylon flatwounds in a similar gauge. Anybody know of somewhere I could get singles from? Or do I need to go for something more regular in gauge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Status Hotwire should be able to make a custom set. I'm pretty sure they will supply singles too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samfordia Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 From looking at their sites it seems that they only offer two sets for medium scale flats. I'll contact them and see what they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Strings Direct do single bass strings. You won't find them listed on their site but if you Google single bass guitar strings, you get some links. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 (edited) Flatwounds, they are much tighter feeling than rounds so it's normal to step down a gauge. But yours are very strange to start with - it's common to have heavier strings on the bottom for drop D etc, but not on the top! What tuning are you using? I have heard of people getting custom sets from LaBella before, so I'd try contacting them directly, unless you have another brand of flats in mind (in which case contact them!). Edited March 3, 2016 by dannybuoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 D'Addario will do singles; you just need to find a shop who will order them for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samfordia Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 [quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1457019555' post='2994521'] Strings Direct do single bass strings. You won't find them listed on their site but if you Google single bass guitar strings, you get some links. [/quote] They were my first port of call but unfortunately they couldn't help. All they had was string sets. [quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1457020571' post='2994543'] Flatwounds, they are much tighter feeling than rounds so it's normal to step down a gauge. But yours are very strange to start with - it's common to have heavier strings on the bottom for drop D etc, but not on the top! What tuning are you using? I have heard of people getting custom sets from LaBella before, so I'd try contacting them directly, unless you have another brand of flats in mind (in which case contact them!). [/quote] I'm using regular tuning. It's so I get a fatter high when playing up top. It's pretty much a Peter Hook thing really. After searching around for an age La Bella were the only ones that could help. I ordered exactly what I needed but it turned out that one of the strings was out of stock. I've been waiting for a week so I imagine at some point soon my order will be cancelled when they realise that they can't find one. Which will be just my luck. [quote name='hubrad' timestamp='1457023499' post='2994588'] D'Addario will do singles; you just need to find a shop who will order them for you. [/quote] Andrew from D'Addario contacted me directly after seeing my original post here but unfortunately they didn't have what I wanted either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Amazon do singles. I'm sure strings direct do too, just select singles, rather than sets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samfordia Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 [quote name='ambient' timestamp='1457025496' post='2994608'] Amazon do singles. I'm sure strings direct do too, just select singles, rather than sets. [/quote] I've tried Strings Direct but they didn't have what I need. I think the combination of medium scale/flatwounds/irregular gauges makes it rather tricky. Looking through Amazon I can't see anything there either. Perhaps I just need to settle for something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 http://www.amazon.co.uk/DAddario-Corde-Chromes-CB060-longue/dp/B000OR6GCK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457026764&sr=8-1&keywords=d%27addario+flat+wound+bass+string+.060 http://www.amazon.co.uk/DAddario-CB065-Chromes-Wound-Scale/dp/B000OR2QEM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1457026827&sr=8-2&keywords=d%27addario+flat+wound+bass+string+.065 http://www.amazon.co.uk/DAddario-CB080-Chromes-Wound-Scale/dp/B000OR4U0K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457026859&sr=8-1&keywords=d%27addario+flat+wound+bass+string+.080 http://www.amazon.co.uk/105-XL-Chromes-Bass-Long/dp/B000OR2QLK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1457026889&sr=8-3&keywords=d%27addario+flat+wound+bass+string+.105 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samfordia Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 [quote name='ambient' timestamp='1457026906' post='2994636'] [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/DAddario-Corde-Chromes-CB060-longue/dp/B000OR6GCK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457026764&sr=8-1&keywords=d%27addario+flat+wound+bass+string+.060"]http://www.amazon.co...ass+string+.060[/url] [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/DAddario-CB065-Chromes-Wound-Scale/dp/B000OR2QEM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1457026827&sr=8-2&keywords=d%27addario+flat+wound+bass+string+.065"]http://www.amazon.co...ass+string+.065[/url] [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/DAddario-CB080-Chromes-Wound-Scale/dp/B000OR4U0K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457026859&sr=8-1&keywords=d%27addario+flat+wound+bass+string+.080"]http://www.amazon.co...ass+string+.080[/url] [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/105-XL-Chromes-Bass-Long/dp/B000OR2QLK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1457026889&sr=8-3&keywords=d%27addario+flat+wound+bass+string+.105"]http://www.amazon.co...ass+string+.105[/url] [/quote] Won't the long scale low strings be a problem on a medium scale bass? Andrew from D'Addario mentioned that I could get away with long scale on the high strings but the low may not be able to wrap around the tuners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Ah, sorry I didn't see the bit about medium scale. I don't know, would it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samfordia Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 [quote name='ambient' timestamp='1457027450' post='2994645'] Ah, sorry I didn't see the bit about medium scale. I don't know, would it ? [/quote] To quote Andrew from D'Addario: [quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]One thing to bear in mind is that the only reason you would want to avoid long scale sets on a medium scale bass is to ensure the low strings will wind correctly round the tuners. All of our bass strings are built the same length, we just taper earlier on the medium and short scale sets. If you want to increase the gauge of the G you could get away with using a heavier gauge long scale single[/font][/color][/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Have you tried [url="http://store.kaliumstrings.com/"]http://store.kaliumstrings.com/[/url] I don't know if they do flats though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I used long scale Ernie Ball flats on a medium scale bass for several years without any trouble. I think it's less of an issue than people make it out to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samfordia Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 [quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1457032685' post='2994711'] I used long scale Ernie Ball flats on a medium scale bass for several years without any trouble. I think it's less of an issue than people make it out to be. [/quote] My bass measurements: [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Minimum Winding Length = 32.95 inches[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Maximum Winding Length = 34.72 inches[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Is this comparable with yours?[/font][/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 If the gauge of flats you want are the same as your current strings, why not hold up one of your strings against the tuning peg thing, and see if it would fit through the slot ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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