Identifying string gauge???

[Spinal Tapper]

Hello all,
I bought a great playing P bass a year and a half ago used and I love the strings it had on - they're probably 2 years old. The action sits SOOO low on this bass, I certainly didn't want to change a thing about it.

I identified them as D'Addario nickel roundwounds .45-.100.

Or so I thought...

Last week, I went to buy new strings for it and bought a pack of the .45-100 which are the strings I always buy for my basses anyways, but now they feel a bit thicker and tougher to play on this bass that has always played wonderfully.

And I'm pretty sure they had a different shade of color to them (looked more bluish than greyish).

Also when I strung her up, I noticed the action was sitting a bit higher than I was used to. I adjusted the saddles and she's sitting low and pretty, but dang, that E string still feels a bit thicker than what I'm used to, the strings DEFINITELY feel more tense and I think it sounds different too, maybe?

I held the strings up next to each other, and my eye couldnt tell the difference in thickness between any of the strings...but the shade of the metal did look a little different, so that was throwing me off.

Is it possible the old strings are actually .40-.95? And maybe steel and not nickel? How does one go about buying the EXACT same strings as the ones previous, not knowing the gauge or metal type???

Does D'Addario use any other color beads on the ends of their strings other than Gold, Red, Green, Black?

[electracoyote]

Yer gonna need one of these

STEWMAC.COM : Luthier's Digital Caliper

The main reason I bought one was so I could stop guessing about string gauges. It has alot of other guitar/bass tech uses as well.

[Russell L]

+1 Yep, I use a machinist's dial caliper to check mine with. You'll never tell by just looking at them.

Funny story: I once bought a set of guitar strings that had one wrong string in the pack. I went back to the store with them and told the guy there. He looked at the string and asked me how I KNEW it was wrong. I just pulled the dial caliper out of my back pocket. All he could say was, "Whoa!" And gave me a new set. Heh, heh.

[Jay2U]

If you played your bass frequently for the last 18 months, those strings might be really worn. New ones do often have a 'stiffer' feel. A pair of calipers would serve you well. Another trick is to place both E-strings on a flat and even surface, about one inch apart and put a ruler on top of that. If it hangs to one side, there is (some) difference in gauge.

[Spinal Tapper]

Originally Posted by Jay2U

If you played your bass frequently for the last 18 months, those strings might be really worn. New ones do often have a 'stiffer' feel. A pair of calipers would serve you well. Another trick is to place both E-strings on a flat and even surface, about one inch apart and put a ruler on top of that. If it hangs to one side, there is (some) difference in gauge.

Brilliant response!

Yeah, I don't really have the dough at the moment for a set of calipers. I'll try this when I get home.

Any ideas about the metal? Is steel a bit "more blue" than nickel? or vice versa?

[mmbongo]

Originally Posted by electracoyote

Yer gonna need one of these

STEWMAC.COM : Luthier's Digital Caliper

The main reason I bought one was so I could stop guessing about string gauges. It has alot of other guitar/bass tech uses as well.

Get the same thing here for $10:
Amazon.com: 6 Inch LCD Digital Caliper with Extra Battery and Case: Industrial & Scientific

[1958Bassman]

Originally Posted by Spinal Tapper

Brilliant response!

Yeah, I don't really have the dough at the moment for a set of calipers. I'll try this when I get home.

Any ideas about the metal? Is steel a bit "more blue" than nickel? or vice versa?

If they look blue, they may be chrome. Also, if you ask people you know, I'd bet that someone has, or knows someone with a micrometer or caliper. Harbor Freight has one on sale for $12.95 now.

[Jay2U]

The colour of most metals depends on the treatment. If it has been heated a yellowish or brownish colour might result. If it has been heated a little more than blue could appear. If heated in vacuum or in a noble gas (like argon) the colour would stay the way it was. I think it is very difficult to make out which is which. In general iron and nickel turn black over time a little easier than chromium does.