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Can someone identify these strings?!

So I just recently bought a fender musicmaster bass that's spent 30+ years in a case. To my surprise I found these black coated strings that were (get this) rubber with white silk at the ball end. These strings were extremely thumpy and I would gauge them to be probably the same as rotosound 88s. I absolutely love them and I'm curious to know who there by. Ill upload pictures later!
 
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1379609691.952849.jpgBall end

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1379609728.128221.jpg no silk
 
Never seen those before. They really do like like rubber coated strings, not tapewounds. It doesn't look like any of these and these are all the tapewounds currently on the market. Invalid Link Removed
 
WOW! The first bass I ever had in the mid to late '70's was a red 3/4 oriental P-copy with a multi-laminate neck and a small bar pickup that had these nylon sleeved strings. I bought it from a friend for $100. Fender made them. I'm really showing my age now. Yes, thumpy is an understatement: all thump, no sustain, all of the time. But that was the tone of the day, especially with a pick:

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I liked his bass. I wasn't sure he would sell it; he wasn't sure he would sell it; I wasn't sure I had the cash. So we made a deal: at the end of that week at school, if he wanted to do the deal, he would bring the bass to school. I would bring a $100 bill. If either of us didn't bring it, the deal was off. On Friday morning, we both walked into the lobby of the high school at the same time. He had a bass case in hand, I had the $100 bill in hand, and we did the deal. I took the bass to the band room and put it in the band closet for the rest of the day.

Yes, especially in short scale, those strings were all thump, all the time; but at that point there wasn't the wide range of strings available as now.
 
Never seen those before. They really do like like rubber coated strings, not tapewounds. It doesn't look like any of these and these are all the tapewounds currently on the market. Invalid Link Removed

Yeah im pretty sure there rubber.. You get that burning feeling on your finger when you slide up the neck OUCH. I was thinking ashbury strings but they only make then in white and there made only for their bass. There awesome though. Really makes my musicmaster sound like hollowbody/hofner. And compensates for the stock guitar pickup in it
 
Yeah im pretty sure there rubber.. You get that burning feeling on your finger when you slide up the neck OUCH. I was thinking ashbury strings but they only make then in white and there made only for their bass. There awesome though. Really makes my musicmaster sound like hollowbody/hofner. And compensates for the stock guitar pickup in it

Ashbory strings are plain silicone. These must have a steel core if they're electric bass strings. It really doesn't look like nylon wrap. It sorta looks like melted rubber over a steel string. This is so weird.
 
No, it's not. As I said above, they are Fender nylon sleeve. I played them in the '70's. Are you all going to hash the $#!+ or listen to a guy who was there and actually had his fingers on a set of them?
 
No, it's not. As I said above, they are Fender nylon sleeve. I played them in the '70's. Are you all going to hash the $#!+ or listen to a guy who was there and actually had his fingers on a set of them?

Thank you good sir. I must of misread or somthing. Im guessing mine are the old fender tapewounds considering the ones now have black silk. Have you noticed any differences between the old and new ones?
 
As I said, the old sleeve type, which I posted a link to a guy who has a couple of individual strings and a couple more old sleeve envelopes for sale, is all thump, all the time. The newer tapewound type strings actually have some semblance of tone and sustain.