by chas » Sat Feb 12, 2011 4:44 pm
Hi Lionel,
Sorry for delay with reply (the days just slip by...). I don't re-call whether I adjusted the neck or not - if I did, it wasn't by much. The bridge was no problem - no modification. The nut was straight forward thanks to the zero fret. Having first experimented with some normal bass strings I decided to get some made specifally for 25.5" scale. Newtone did this for me, and the only thing that didn't quite work out was that I forgot to mention to them that the octave down strings go through the body, which wasn't a problem except for the lowest. Where it steps down in thickness towards the machine heads, it needs to be a few millimetres longer. I put a small shim between the string and the zero fret for the purposes of trying it. Sounds fine, though I haven't got around to trying it at a rehearsal. I'd be interested in trying flat wound strings - probably sound more authentic. Trouble is the only number I'd use it on would be On The Beach, and I can get away with the 'normal' D6 for that. It's only a few notes at the beginning of the first solo that falls below the range of the normally strung D6. Interesting though, I always fancied a D6 strung this way.
Chas.