nearly impossible String ID question...

eyeballkid · #1 10-25-2010, 09:03 AM

so i bought a bass a year ago and I LOOOOVE the strings on it. When I bought it the fella i got it from didnt remember what they were. Well, now i dont wanna replace the strings unless i can get the same ones..

so heres the skinny...
- The strings are bare... no thread or anything at either end.
-plain gold/brass grommets at the end..
- even winding near the tuner end.. ie.. the winding doesnt seem to trickle out, instead it steps down one layer about an inch past the nut and stays even for most of the rest of its length.
- Im not EVEN SURE if they are nickle or stainless steel cos they are a flatter duller grey like some nickel but have a smoother feel on the fingers like Stainless... Im leaning to thinking they are nickel, but they just dont have that annoying feel Ive always hated.
-soundwise they have a very open natural tone.. good fundamental with a natural resonance to them..I play em on a Stingray, and instead of the normal Stingray ping they make it actually sound more like a passive bass..

any ideas???
i know.. i know... its like asking if you know what car this is when i tell you its 'black' with 'black tires' and it runs quiet..

but maybe.. just maybe someone may know.

Kenova · #2 10-25-2010, 09:24 AM

"...flatter duller grey like some nickel but have a smoother feel on the fingers like Stainless..."

You messed up things a little bit.
Nickels are smoother and they are not gray and they have more mid focused sound with stronger fundemental!
Stinless steels are grey and they are not smooth as Nickels, they have more output, have huge low and and bright highs, they are famous for their piano like sound!

Stinless steel:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/85/24...0e93c093_o.jpg

Nickel plated:
http://www.up2elevenguitars.co.uk/im...tar_string.jpg

eyeballkid · #3 10-25-2010, 09:58 AM

nickels have always felt gritty to me, and they may be shinier, but its in a tinny kinda of way that seems lackluster, and hence a little flat looking.
my Stainless ones have always felt smoother to me, as thats why I use em, and they seem to look more like a knife blade...(stupid analogy, i know)...

they look like that stainless pic. Ive never had ANY nickels that looked like that other pic though, and i realize it is lighted for the shine.

so strange turn of events....
after posting, i went a pulled out a few sets of strings i had tucked away to look for something that i might compare em to so i could better describe them here compared to other strings, and i THINK I MAY ACTUALLY HAVE THE SAME STRINGS!!!.. HOLY CRAP!!.. I had a set of DR. FAT BEAMS in the bottom of a bin, and they look and feel the same!!! If thats what they are Ive found my new favorite string!!! (that would make em stainless, I usually use DR HIGH BEAMS, and they have a different look and feel to me)

ehque · #4 10-27-2010, 01:07 AM

Brass winding and no silk tends to point to DR.

IronLung1986 · #5 10-27-2010, 01:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eyeballkid

so strange turn of events....
after posting, i went a pulled out a few sets of strings i had tucked away to look for something that i might compare em to so i could better describe them here compared to other strings, and i THINK I MAY ACTUALLY HAVE THE SAME STRINGS!!!.. HOLY CRAP!!.. I had a set of DR. FAT BEAMS in the bottom of a bin, and they look and feel the same!!! If thats what they are Ive found my new favorite string!!! (that would make em stainless, I usually use DR HIGH BEAMS, and they have a different look and feel to me)

holy cow! quite the unlikely success there. i had the same problem with a used les paul 6 string i bought. one of the best guitars i've ever played, and i LOVED the strings that were on it. but i never could figure out what they were, and the hunt continues to this day.