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crgaston
Advanced Member
Username: crgaston

Post Number: 221
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Saturday, June 03, 2006 - 7:27 pm:   Edit Post

What brands and types of strings will work on a 36" scale Alembic?

Thanks,

Charles
keavin
Senior Member
Username: keavin

Post Number: 838
Registered: 12-2002
Posted on Sunday, June 04, 2006 - 4:04 am:   Edit Post

I bought some DR's "fat beams" for my bass & those suckers were 6 feet long each!...you could use em for a freakin clothes line!
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 3927
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Monday, June 05, 2006 - 8:26 pm:   Edit Post

TI makes 36" strings, and I believe several other makers do as well.
bob
Senior Member
Username: bob

Post Number: 657
Registered: 11-2002
Posted on Monday, June 05, 2006 - 10:39 pm:   Edit Post

Depends on how many strings you need. TI looks to only be offering 36" in four string sets right now, though you can get 5 or 6 string sets flat or round in 34". [edit: wrong, they do offer some 5 string sets]

The length can be tricky. Alembic tends to be somewhat "flexible", shall we say, on the distance between the tailpiece and bridge, so on some extra long scale instruments you might get away with a 34" set and others not.

If you try to use shorter scale strings, you might end up with the silk windings in the nut - but then you can also shave some of this off (after applying some nail polish or similar, to prevent further unravelling).

(Message edited by bob on June 06, 2006)
crgaston
Advanced Member
Username: crgaston

Post Number: 224
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Tuesday, June 06, 2006 - 1:24 pm:   Edit Post

Thanks guys.

I have been toying with the idea of a 36" BEAD 4 for a while, but it is still off in the nebulous future somewhere at this point, so maybe in a couple of years there will be more chioces available. I'll remember to specify a short bridge-to-tailpiece length. The DR's on my Rogue would make it 36" if the tailpiece were just a hair closer.

I wonder if it would matter if the reduction in diameter started somewhere in the nut instead of having the full string diameter for the whole length of the slot.

Bob, funny you should mention that; I used to have to cut the silk off Alembic NK-2's when using them on my 35" Modulus, but only on the B string.

Charles
dfung60
Intermediate Member
Username: dfung60

Post Number: 174
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Tuesday, June 06, 2006 - 10:10 pm:   Edit Post

There are a number of GHS strings that come in "Long Scale Plus" which is appropriate for 35" and 36" basses (these are also the ones you buy for basses that string through the body). I like Boomers on some of my basses and nobody else seems to like them at all, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

You may have minor intonation problems on the open strings if the full windings aren't passing through the nut, but this will disappear when you fret. The problem with trying to make do with shorter strings is that there's often sharp edges in the silk area, so you run the risk of getting poked when your down there.

David Fung

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