SS Bass strings

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Sun Jan 27, 2013 8:08 pm

So on a ss guit, normal strings are a bit more stretchy and noodley. I assume the same is true for a ss bass? I noticed that according to the fender site the standard mustang bass ships with .40-.95's where a P Bass ships with .45-.100's. It seems that common sense would say if a ss makes strings "floppier", it would ship with at least the same string size as a 34" scale, if not a tad larger? Or is something else in play here i'm not accounting for? If i use .55-.110 on my P bass would there be less tension on a mustang bass?

moore65 · Post by **moore65** » Tue Jan 29, 2013 5:22 am

I used to use .105-.050 strings on my Bronco bass. They're good for standard tuning and that's pretty much it. Then again downtuning a SS bass sounds terrible on the higher frets.

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Tue Jan 29, 2013 12:21 pm

i bought a pack of Bass VI strings for my mustang bass and strung it up 35, 45, 55, 75

Tuned it up to F and now it plays like a 4 string baratone

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BearBoy · Post by **BearBoy** » Tue Jan 29, 2013 1:41 pm

I've got a Squier Jaguar shortscale Bass with D'Addario half rounds on it. D'Addario seem to do three different gauges of shortscale bass string:

Super Light Gauge: .040 / .060 / .075 / .095
Regular Light Gauge: .045 / .065 / .080 / .100
Medium Gauge: .050 / .070 / .085 / .105

They do the same strings with the same gauge descriptions in medium, normal, long and super long scale as well but if you look at their tension charts the tension decreases as the strings get shorter. So "medium gauge" strings on a 34" P Bass would be tauter than "medium gauge" strings on a 30" Mustang Bass.

Having said that, I have got the "regular light" ones on my Jaguar and they don't feel particularly floppy to me. I am not a bassist, however, so am probably not the best judge.

If you want to see the difference in tension, go HERE and then click on the "Family Tension Chart" link.

Viljami · Post by **Viljami** » Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:01 pm

Yup, I have those abovementioned D'Addario Medium Gauges on my bass, works nicely compared to the earlier .045.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Tue Jan 29, 2013 7:40 pm

robroe wrote:i bought a pack of Bass VI strings for my mustang bass and strung it up 35, 45, 55, 75

Tuned it up to F and now it plays like a 4 string baratone

Shit dude.
Those are discontinued strings... it's nearly impossible to get reasonably priced .95 strings for Fender VI these days. I know so many people who would shit bricks seeing this

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 4:49 am

I'm convinced i can somehow make a mustang bass work in Drop C.. I understand the shortscale issues and what not, but i got my pawn shop stang in drop c and it works 100% no issues with intonation. most of the stuff i play involves the 16th fret or lower, and thats only on one song.

Leisureclub · Post by **Leisureclub** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 3:08 pm

I have a friend who's a one man shop luthier and he had a formula for this type of stuff. I don't remember it off of the top of my head but I'll shoot him an email/text.

It went something like 1 full step down tuned requires +.15 gauge thickness to maintain the same tension or something like that.

Seems easier than trying like 30 sets of strings.

aen · Post by **aen** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 3:11 pm

Never understood Fender's "little strings on little bass" policy. Just makes an SS bass more expensive.
I've always upgraded to heavier strings on new buys. My tele bass (32") came with perfectly good strings though.

astro · Post by **astro** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:51 pm

Ankhanu wrote:
robroe wrote:i bought a pack of Bass VI strings for my mustang bass and strung it up 35, 45, 55, 75

Tuned it up to F and now it plays like a 4 string baratone

Shit dude.
Those are discontinued strings... it's nearly impossible to get reasonably priced .95 strings for Fender VI these days. I know so many people who would shit bricks seeing this

I had no idea these were discontinued. Think maybe they'll reissue them now that they make the pawn shop VI? One of the shops in town has a bunch of these in stock, maybe I should go buy them up since I do eventually plan on buying a PS VI.

I also find it weird that fender doesn't sell bass strings that actually fit properly on a mustang bass. Since the strings go through the body you actually need medium scale strings. I tried fender's short scale strings on my mustang bass but the silk wrapping on the string's end goes over the nut. As far as I know fender doesn't even make medium scale bass strings.

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Fri Feb 01, 2013 2:25 am

I normally use a .110-.50 set on my drop C stuff with my P bass, so it it ships with .95, then the +.15 formula seems legit. I use .120 on my Ibanez though... so i dunno. .110 seems like a good starting point.