Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
Welcome to TalkBass! Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
35" scale strings for 4 string bass
- Thread starter B-Mac
- Start date
It shouldn't be that hard. You need to think in terms of "winding length" instead of "scale length".
For top-loading on a 35" scale, you need 37.25" in winding length (ball end to taper/silk), which is most manufacturers' "long scale".
For thru-body on a 35" scale, you need 38" in winding length, which is most manufacturers' "extra long", but "long scale" for a few, such as DR.
Refer to this list to find what you need:
Bass String Lengths by Manufacturer
Thanks. However what about windings on tuners? I like to have at least 3 and prefer 4 or at least almost 4. Thoughts on this are appreciated
I only play 34" scale basses, so I mostly use strings with 37.25" winding. But considering how much I need to cut off at the tuner end to make them fit properly (3-4 wraps), I don't expect any issue even on a 35" scale.
If you want to make sure, you can always try DR or Ken Smith because their "long scale" is 38" in winding length.
There are literally hundreds of string sets available to order from online stores.
What exactly is it that you are looking for that you can't find?
Saying 'they don't make 35 inch scale strings for 4 string' is like saying "they only make hamburger buns but I want baloney on a bun. Why don't they make baloney buns?" Baloney works just fine on a hamburger bun.
I have 48 basses, ranging from ABG, solid body, hollow body, fretless, 4 string, 5 string (two 35" scale-one 32" scale-two short scale), 8 string octave, mikro scale, short scale, medium scale, long (standard) scale and 35" scale 4 string.
I am no stranger to purchasing bass strings and trying different strings out. My dilemma, perhaps self created, began when I bought a 35" scale 4 string bass recently. They do not appear to make anywhere near the variety of 4 string sets of bass strings in 35" scale as other bass string sets unless they are a 5 string set, which is usually, but not always for a 35" scale 5 string bass. I noticed this with medium 32" scale basses as well.
I tend to get my bass strings from:
juststrings.com
bassstringsonline.com
stringsandbeyond.com
bestbassgear.com
All reputable online sources.
I like flat wounds, black nylon wound, half rounds, nickel round wounds depending on which bass. I tend to lean toward 'bright', but without squeak.
@michael_t suggested previously that I shop by looking at length from ball end to taper/silk rather than by extra long scale or 35" scale 4 string sets exclusively.
If you can make a suggestion that provides much more variety than the 'DR' and 'Ken Smith' strings that were suggested to me by juststrings.com & @michael_t I'd appreciate it.
Last edited:
This is where your confusion lies. There is no such thing as 35" scale strings.
If you are looking at a specific set of strings..lets just randomly say DR HiBeams but it could be anything. You have HiBeams 4 string 45-105 in one hand, and you have HiBeams 5 string 45-125 in the other hand. The 4 strings in the 5 string set are identical to the 4 string set. The 5 string set is the exact same thing just with the extra 5th string.
So any 4 string set will work on a 35" scale as long as they are long enough. Which is why you were told the only thing that matters is the winding length. Scale length does not matter, because 5 different string manufactures 'long scale' can measure anywhere from 38" to 36".
What winding length do you need?
What kind of bass is this? I always just used regular long scale strings on my 35" Peavey Millennium 4 string. They all fit.
And they all had at least 3 windings on the tuner posts? That is also important to me.
Thanks for the clarification. It is a bit confusing as I have seen some strings sets labeled as extra long scale while others just long scale.
X Long on Stew-Mac site
x long on full compass
x long on Thomman.de website
x long on juststrings.com
Last edited:
Yes you can get seven or eight winds around the post from most any string if you don’t cut it.
Again the Scale length doesn’t matter because every manufacturer is different. DR standard scale strings are longer than most other standard scale strings for example. You have to look at the winding length.
What kind of bass are we talking about here?
I stopped reading the other posts after that. I'm not calling you a hoarder, although that's a hoard of basses. Awesome. If you are also married, you deserve a trophy.
divorced, no kids, engineering career.....
I get away with 1.5 winds at the tuners. This will open up your options. You might try this, although it's hard for me to believe you haven't with that many basses! 
I don’t see any Ric users complaining about the lack of 33.25 inch scale strings.
Collector...and if having a harem was legal I’d have....