short scale bass string recommendations

[wheelband]

Hello, I am new to this forum and wanted to ask a question with regards to re-stringing my 1990s Epiphone Rivoli bass. It is a short scale bass and wondered if anyone could recommend some short scale strings that they have found to be good quality and great sounding. I play rock/ blues music and want the strings to be round wound. I believe the scale length to be 30.5 on the Rivoli.

 

Thanks and look forward to your replies,

 

Tom

[rd_artist]

I don't own any short scale basses but I would suggest the name brands DR, Fender, GHS ect... you may want to try flatwounds for that classics 60s sound maybe Labella flats.

[Golem]

`

 

I use D'A chromes for actual short scale. They have a bit

of added briteness and tension, both handy for shorties.

OTOH sometimes I use TI Jazz Flats but these are longer.

Rotosound short flats have a very old schoool sound and

I sometimes use them, Roto type 77 IIRC. 77's are their

Monel alloy, and Roto's hype about Monel seems rather

factual to my ears.

 

I don't recall if the Rivoli has a trapeze tail. If it does, then

it most likely uses medium 32" scale strings despite a 30"

playing scale, the extra length being consumed by the tail.

 

Also, if you do NOT need medium scale strings, then you

unfortunately cannot use TI Jazz Flats, which are labeled

"short" but are actually "medium". Apparently, TI believes

that all 30" scales basses have trapeze tails ? ? ?

 

 

`

[bassballs]

Hello, I am new to this forum and wanted to ask a question with regards to re-stringing my 1990s Epiphone Rivoli bass. It is a short scale bass and wondered if anyone could recommend some short scale strings that they have found to be good quality and great sounding. I play rock/ blues music and want the strings to be round wound. I believe the scale length to be 30.5 on the Rivoli.

 

Thanks and look forward to your replies,

 

Tom

 

I have a Gibson EB 2 almost the same as a rivoli, If you insist using roundwounds I like rotosound swingbass shortscale, but you should really consider trying out flats on it, I put on flats on mine and I play blues rock and the sound in the mix is so much better for this style of music, (i guess you are not a slapper )

 

I use Pyramid flats on mine same set has been on for 7 years now, and also used rotosound jazz flats before (they are a little brighter).

 

Anders

[MrNylon]

If you like the strings that come from the Gibson factory, They use D'Addario 45-105. They didn't tell me weather they were chrome or nickel. I'm guessing they are nickel.

[herb nice]

zombie thread resurrection. TLDR: what they say is true. shortscales love heavy strings.

 

recently had a scare where my daily driver sg action and relief were jacked to the sky, and i still had buzz past the 12th fret on the A string. thought i might have some dreaded set-neck ski jump going on, but when i restrung with heavier strings, i was able to dial everything back to factory specs and it plays like a dream again. turns out the old strings were too skinny and also dented to ****. but it got me thinking about short scale strings. here's a list of my experience with the sg bass and strings, hopefully helps others on the string quest.

 

2010 faded sg bass, 3 point bridge, pine spacer (aka mod bar) added to bridge to keep the wraps off the saddles. also added springs later because my 3 point saddles have a lot of slop in them when setting intonation. most of the string sets i have tried over the years were crimped & cut longscale. pretty much every g string under .050 had some intonation issues up the neck due to lack of tension (meaning it was easy to accidentally bend a hair out of tune at 9th fret, for example). this could be chalked up to the player getting excited for being allowed past the fourth fret.

 

 

stock gibson rounds shortscale (rumoured to be d'addario nickel xl .045-.105) - these were nice.

 

rotosound 88s tapewound shortscale (.065-.115) - sounded great, e string too fat to intonate. they live on an old univox now. :D

 

dr sunbeam nickel rounds (.040-.100) - love these things, but too floppy for shortscale, had to open truss rod way too much, trouble with intonation on g string due to lack of tension

 

d'addario chrome flats (.040-.100) - these were not on there that long, was just comparing them to the tis. gave them to a friend before i really got to know them well.

 

ti jazz flats shortscale jf324 (.043-.106) - love these things, but too floppy for shortscale, had to open truss rod way too much. also, you can hear the floppiness, pitch changing as amplitude changes. struggled with a few sets of them for YEARS before i decided it was time to go back to rounds. i do not miss that weird pitch bend when digging in, but with a delicate touch these things are heavenly.

 

d'addario chrome flats (.045-.100) - these didn't stay on long enough to fully break in, either. didn't like them on this bass. was probably spoiled by those fancypants tis. went on a piece-of-**** defil where they actually sound amazing.

 

dr sunbeam nickel rounds (.045-.105) - i love sunbeams. these were good, played like butter. broken in tone is great. feel is great. had to open truss rod more than factory to get them to not buzz. died quicker than usual sunbeams, don't know why.

 

fodera nickel rounds (.045-.105) - these were great, kept them on longer than i should have (like 2 years). had to open truss rod more than factory to get them to not buzz, but they played like butter. like sunbeams, but a little rougher, and they never stopped sounding great. broken in, they play like butter and the tone is amazing on the sg, like aural chocolate. they were all dented up by the end. recommend, but don't keep them on as long as i did. if i could find them locally, i would probably be rocking these again.

 

d'addario xl heavy rounds (.055-.110) - yep, these are a good choice for this bass. best intonation, lowest action the bass ever had. a bit stiff on the left hand, but not as bad as you'd think. .055g is awesome!

 

ernie ball cobalt flatwounds (not the normal flats) (.050-.105) - these are what it's currently wearing. not quite as stiff as those heavy xls, but close. great intonation, low action. similar to, but a bit nicer feel than chromes. jury's still out but so far i like 'em. hoping they loosen up a little as they age.

 

 

good luck!

[MrNylon]

I'll just kick this in on ya'. D'Addario ETB92S Nylon Tapewounds. They give a nice Flat string sound, and last for a long time. ETB92S strings strung on the Mustang PJ. Gauges: (.50, .65, .85, .105)

[herb nice]

i seem to recall those d'addario tapes are leaning a bit more towards the round sound and pliability than the roto 88s. which is not a bad thing at all... honestly i am still not in love with these heavy ernie ball flats that i have been breaking in like a fiend. a bit stiff, still a bit of zing, and even though i cleaned them with naptha they smell like a metal shop. clear though, great intonation, and being able to keep the neck relief down around .011" is a pleasant novelty on this thing. damnit do i make another trip to the string shop?

[old mark]

Try LaBella if you like an older '60's sound - Great strings!

[herb nice]

came across a heavy set (50-110) of fodera nickels. set them up and instant gratification. i immediately love them. great feel and tone. they are perfect for my sg bass.

 

i had fodera medium nickels on there once before (and loved them), but the heavies are even better. much recommend if you like sunbeams, but want something a bit fatter for your shortscale for better intonation and less flop. the heavy foderas still have great soft feel for the gauge, comparing to the heavy ernie ball cobalt flats or heavy d'addario nickels for example.

 

those cobalt flats, btw, turned out to be ok once they broke in. they turned all tarnished and smelled funny, but they sounded consistent and were stable. i ended up wanting a bit more bite though, so back to rounds for me...

[Beate]

You might also try out the following strings:

 

GHS pressure wounds. Yes, thin, but really good and over all balanced on my Les Paul Junior DC (EB-11)

 

GHS Brite Flats: warm, extremely punchy, powerful tone. Great on both my EB-11 and (currently) on one of my Epiphone 1960s EB-3. With these strings the bass will be a really powerfull hardrock axe cutting though "everything".

 

LaBella Gold White Tapes: warm, really musical tone, and sufficient punch if needed. My favorites for solo/duo playing.

 

Pyramid Nickel Wounds (45-105): nice pure nickels good for "everything". If You like roundwounds.

 

Pyramid Black Nylons: warm, woody, complex acoustic tone. Very peculiar and different from any other kind of nylon wound string. Love it or hate it...

[MrNylon]

I'm playing a 2018 SG Std. with D'Addario ETB92M Nylons. Normally the SG Std. would use ETB92S (short scales), but the Babicz bridge makes the Medium Scales a better fit. on 2015, and 2018 SG Std.'s.