identifying helicore gauge

[klepto]

i have been using Velvet Garbo strings for about a 2 years and lately i have been thinking about switching back to metal strings...
i broke my G string on sunday night, so i decided to purchase a set of D'addario Helicore strings, medium gauge--i've used them before and i remember liking them

i needed to get a new set of strings on my bass as soon as possible, so i attempted to order a set from Lemur... they only had an incomplete set--no E string

i was able to get an E string from a local music store for about $20 more than Lemur would have charged me
the staff at this store seem to be a little on the incompetent side

i am somewhat skeptical that the string is the right gauge and even somewhat suspicious that the string could be an A ...i could swear the last set i had on my bass had green and yellow wrappings at the ball end..
they could have been heavy gauge--i can't remember
in any case, this string has a blue and yellow wrapping at the ball end and is wrapped in green thread at the peg end--did i get the correct string?

[Bobaree]

Green is E.

[Francois Blais]

Originally Posted by klepto

they could have been heavy gauge--i can't remember in any case, this string has a blue and yellow wrapping at the ball end and is wrapped in green thread at the peg end--did i get the correct string?

Navy blue with yellow spiral at ball-end = orchestral variety
Green silk at the ball = E
The gauge will be identified with a silk ring near the metal part, at the peg end.
The blue ring is medium.
The red ring is heavy.
The yellow ring is light.

[T-Bal]

The D'Addario website is actually quite informative and well constructed, unlike all of the others I have encountered. You should find what you need to know there.

[Francois Blais]

I think the website has been recently updated, and these infos (silk colour codings) are not available anymore.

[T-Bal]

Originally Posted by francois

I think the website has been recently updated, and these infos (silk colour codings) are not available anymore.

How convenient.

[JAS]

Do the thicker guage helicores have more or less tension than what they call light gage?

[Francois Blais]

The heavies are higher tension than mediums, which are higher tension than lights.

[klepto]

so.. i returned the orchestral string and got the hybrid and i also got my strings from Lemur this morning... they are on my bass now and they feel pretty good, although somewhat thin compared to the Velvet Garbo strings i had been using previously

i kept the string height where it was--pretty high-- since the tension feels relatively slack

i only had a few minutes to play on them before i had to head
back to work, but i liked the sound...

do any of you have any opinion on these strings?