Can't find short enough strings?

MadEnglishman · Newbie Alert Joined: 05 Mar 2005 Posts: 1

I have Gretsch Synchromatic bass, which has a very short scale, 76cm (2'6") from bridge to nut. It came with a set of strings, and I replaced those yesterday with a set of Rotosound RS66S 40/50/75/90 which I bought from a local music shop (it was the only short scale bass strings they had).

They sounded terrible, the tuning going all over the place and the E string very floppy. Mind you, because the E string was so loose I tuned it one octave too high by mistake, that can't have helped! According to Rotosound's web site, their short scale is 82cm. With my bass the silked part of the string starts to be wound around the machine post, which can't be good.

Anybody any ideas on i) what strings I should be using and ii) where I can buy them?

Thanks!

BassBob · Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 5:01 am Post subject:

Whats the scale length? I use Fender 5250 XL on my Fender short scale bass.

Ankhanu · Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 6:23 pm Post subject:

76cm.

maxschrek · Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 6:29 pm Post subject:

Thats a 30" scale. Most short scale basses are 30.5", that only being a half inch difference doesn't seem like much but when it comes to finding strings it makes A LOT of difference. I had the same problem with a bass I used to own. I finally settled on a set of GHS short scale strings that pretty much fit correctly. You might want try those. Question

I hope that helps.

Terry
_________________
"This ain't rock and roll, this is genocide"!

Ankhanu · Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 6:17 am Post subject:

Try checking Just Strings for strings. You'll need to know what you're looking for before hand, the info there is sparse, but they have good prices and a lot of different strings.