Yorkshire Bottom End Posted Friday at 12:16 Share Posted Friday at 12:16 Bit of a newbie to SS basses and I've been cleaning my strings up to now (flats and rounds in cleaning vinegar) and reffiting them. Now it's coming up to Christmas gig time I thought I'd treat myself to some D'Addario EXL170S, which are on the way. For future reference though, and for more choice, how do you get on with full scale or medium scale strings on a shortie? Sire U5 bridge is string through as well as 'top loading'. Stingray is a Stingray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted Friday at 12:38 Share Posted Friday at 12:38 I use regular long scale on my Fender Mustang basses which have thru-body stringing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyder Posted Friday at 15:01 Share Posted Friday at 15:01 I use Newtone Shorties ( medium scale ) and La Bella low tension flats ( short scale ) on my Serek SS basses. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snorkie635 Posted Friday at 15:50 Share Posted Friday at 15:50 I string both SS Gibsons with Rotosound SS - strung the EB3 that way since 1975 - don't use long/medium scale on these basses. 👍😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted Friday at 16:03 Share Posted Friday at 16:03 For me it all depends on the tuner size. For small tuning posts like on an Ibanez then getting the right scale is important as otherwise the fat bit of the string has to bend loads to get round the post and can snap easy - this is especially important for flats. But with big post Fender types almost anything will work as the bend radius is a lot more gentle. This is why it's dead easy to get strings for my 30 scale shorties with big posts and a nightmare to get strings for my 32 inch medium 5 string Ibanez with tiny posts. I think both your basses have traditional big posts so you should be able to fit most strings. That being said, for some brands the short scale ones cost the same as the others. Carefully search for prices though. Some places really take the piss with shortscale strings. Strings Direct charge £20 more than Bass Direct on La Bella strings! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
three Posted Friday at 18:20 Share Posted Friday at 18:20 I tend to use light (or very light) rounds and find Fender 5250XLs (40-95) to be good value - they're usually around £20 a set but I've found some at real bargain prices. I don't have them on my Sire U5 at the moment but suspect they'd work well. I have shorties with a separate tailpiece and bridge (and 2+2 headstock) and generally find 30-90s work well. I ordered specifically for these basses from Newtone, and with precise measurements - the results have been very pleasing 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naxos10 Posted Saturday at 12:14 Share Posted Saturday at 12:14 Another Newtone user here. They can offer short scale strings from their standard ranges by specifying you want a 30"/30.5"/32" etc scale length on the order page, or go for the Shorties which are 30" scale length but on request they have wound 30.5" ones for me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted Saturday at 14:37 Share Posted Saturday at 14:37 I use shortscale strings (currently LaBella flats) on my Sandberg Lionel which is top loading, and medium scale (DR Sunbeams) on my Atelier Z Baby Z-4J which can go either way, but I chose to string it through-body. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted Saturday at 16:50 Share Posted Saturday at 16:50 My short scale Squier jaguar and Fender Mustang have top loading bridges so I use short scale (30") strings on those for the best fit. My Other Mustangs with thru-body stringing have medium scale (32") strings as does my Guild starfire which has quite a lot of string behind the saddle. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajkula66 Posted Sunday at 00:35 Share Posted Sunday at 00:35 Short scale strings - various brands - on all of my five shorties. I've used long scale strings out of necessity in *very* distant past but would prefer not to resort to that route again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassist_lewis Posted Sunday at 00:37 Share Posted Sunday at 00:37 I've played SS exclusively for almost 10 years now, and I've always used 30" scale strings. LaBella make a special Mustang set for through-body stringing, which I guess are similar to 32" scale strings. In terms of winding round the post, it doesn't matter too much with the D and G, but make sure that only the narrower part at the top of the string (where the silk is/would be) goes around the post for the E and A. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichT Posted Monday at 22:20 Share Posted Monday at 22:20 I buy short scale strings when they're available, but to be honest I've never actually had a problem fitting long scale strings on my SS basses. Sometimes I'll cut them down (e.g. Elixirs, which have no silks), and sometimes I'll just wrap the full silk length around the tuning post. Nothing's broken on me (yet). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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