Bass strings are too short.. %¤"#¤@$£&

ForHerDeadEyes

ForHerDeadEyes

Señor Member
Jan 24, 2011
901
32
28
Sweden
So I have this bass:
http://www.thomann.de/se/harley_benton_hbb200bk_ebass.htm

Got it 2 - 3 years ago, and it seems to be pretty shitty..
I've played on it on and off, but never intensive..
I'm not even sure how to intonate it, exactly, though I might have an idea. and the neck was like a banana and I've adjusted the trusrodd and put weights on it, just tortured it..
But I've made some modifications to it to suit me..

Now I thought I'd put on some new strings, on it and record something to upload here, so that you can be the judge if the sound is actually workable or if I should just get a new bass..
I had bought a pack of 'long scale' strings..
Turns out the fucker needs 'super long scale' strings..

Do I dare tune it? Just for some short clips? DO I!?
The tuners har basically holding on to the core string..
Otherwise I have to waste a new pack of strings on a bass that might end up being unusable..
 
ForHerDeadEyes said:
I'm not even sure how to intonate it, exactly, though I might have an idea.

Now I thought I'd put on some new strings

The tuners har basically holding on to the core string..
Click to expand...

These are your main problems. Bad intonation (you should really take time and learn how to do it correctly), old strings (anything older than 2-3 months isn't going to sound as good as you want. get a string cleaning product to apply after each time you play it), and if doesn't hold the tuning well lube the nut :)p). It will decrease friction and the strings will move easier. Also where you pick and using pick or playing with fingers make a big difference.

I doubt the reason you're not getting good bass tones is the actual bass. Maybe you should swap the pickups but the bass is OK. I've got great bass tones with HBs after I made sure they're in good recording condition.
 
plague_rider said:
Which strings are you using?

I've had long scale basses all through my playing life, never had strings be too short...
Click to expand...

Warwick 42200M Red Label
http://www.thomann.de/se/warwick_red_label_045.htm
They are found under 'long scale'..

LBTM said:
These are your main problems. Bad intonation (you should really take time and learn how to do it correctly), old strings (anything older than 2-3 months isn't going to sound as good as you want. get a string cleaning product to apply after each time you play it), and if doesn't hold the tuning well lube the nut :)p). It will decrease friction and the strings will move easier. Also where you pick and using pick or playing with fingers make a big difference.

I doubt the reason you're not getting good bass tones is the actual bass. Maybe you should swap the pickups but the bass is OK. I've got great bass tones with HBs after I made sure they're in good recording condition.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I was unclear, thanks for expanding on it..
Reason why I'm not sure about intonation is because it's not a 'regular' setup, like on guitar..

Keeping strings clean aren't a problem, and I've found my pick of choice. :)
I'm happy (I guess) with the pickups.. they're stock ones, but I've switched out the single magnet for several neodymium ones..

The neck was a banana, the worst bow I've seen, and I've adjusted the trussrod which didn't do much, I've put weights on it and fucking stepped on it.. I plan on removing the neck and put it under pressure for a couple of days..

About the intonation, just took this picture (loose strings):
EeaGIZF.jpg


I assumed I had to rise or lower the black metal-parts, since the plain-parts are a bit loose but unmovable..
Well.. before posting.. there are some holes I assumed were empty, in the plain-parts, turns out there was small screws in there when I checked i with a small allan-wrench (?)
Still, it must be a hassle to adjust intonation when the strings have to be loose..
 
Could you please post some clips of some walking lines both on the lowest octave and a higher one after you tuned it?
Do you get much fret buzz when playing?
 
I have no idea why those strings would not fit... or what scale they were meant for...

My Ibanez was the same scale as your bass, I always bought D'Addario strings for it... occasionally the Warwick EMP strings... never had any that were too short...

Maybe a bad set... maybe meant for short scale basses...

Have you tried any other sets??
 
LBTM said:
Could you please post some clips of some walking lines both on the lowest octave and a higher one after you tuned it?
Do you get much fret buzz when playing?
Click to expand...

I'd like to do that.. ;)
That's what I was about to do when I restrung it and the strings were to short..
The tuners are holding on to thinner parts of the strings, but the thick part are over the nut..

Still have the old (very) strings I could put on again, but they sound bad..
Don't think I was plagued by fret buzz before..

plague_rider said:
I have no idea why those strings would not fit... or what scale they were meant for...

My Ibanez was the same scale as your bass, I always bought D'Addario strings for it... occasionally the Warwick EMP strings... never had any that were too short...

Maybe a bad set... maybe meant for short scale basses...

Have you tried any other sets??
Click to expand...

The individual string-packages (in the bigger package) says longscale, comparing the bass to one of my guitars now and it's way longer, so, super long scale in the future..
Never tried any other sets, it's the first time restringing it..
 
The only string that ever needs to be cut further than the raw core is the lowest. Everything else, if you cut at just where the raw core meets the main body, should wrap up plenty of times 4-5. You never want to cut your strings too short on bass, because you want the wrap to be as low on the peg as possible before it stretches out across the peg/fretboard/etc.
 
Maybe I haven't been clear enough..
The strings are too short, I didn't cut them before I put them on..
I wanted to restring the bass so I could make some clips to upload for you to listen to and make a judgement on if the sound is usable..
This is how it looks like:
hUIjxjl.jpg


WYHRBjZ.jpg


The package says "LONGSCALE"
As you can see from the pictures, the G-string is the only string that reaches a bit around the tuner, the others don't..

I could try and tune the bass, just so I could record some clips, don't think the G-string is sufficient enough (?) to make a judgement..

I could put the old strings on.. however, they suck and in all probability the sound would be hard to judge, even though I could give them a thorough cleaning..
 
To be honest, they will always look a little like that...

I would say if you're going to restring, try the d'addarios, I use them, I trust them, never had a problem...
 
plague_rider said:
To be honest, they will always look a little like that...

I would say if you're going to restring, try the d'addarios, I use them, I trust them, never had a problem...
Click to expand...

Really? huh, well it is my first time restrining a bass (I think)..
I assumed the thicker parts would wrap around the tuners, like the old strings did.. I guess I can tune the bass then.. hopefully the strings wont snap and blind me..

Yeah, next time I'll be using Daddario EXL170SL (Super Long Scale)..
 
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