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Can you ID these strings? Double blue silk flats

MarshCreekBass

MarshCreekBass

Supporting Member
Mar 16, 2015
369
950
56
California
#1
Hi,
I really need to figure out which strings these are. They have blue silks on both ends and the ball are brass colored on all strings. They are very flexible, feel very smooth and, to my ears, have a sort of rubbery sound. Here are a couple of pictures.
Thanks for the help.
IMG_4829 2.jpeg
IMG_4831 2.jpeg
IMG_4832.jpeg
 
#6
MarshCreekBass said:
Excellent. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
If these are indeed Sadowsky Blue Label Flats and you're looking to get some more of them, the situation is complicated. If these strings are pretty old (3-4+ years), they're probably 1st generation Blues, which strictly speaking, are no longer available (but read on). If they're a few months to 3-4+ years old, they're probably 2nd generation Blues, which are also no longer available unless you're lucky to find some somewhere. If they're really recent, they might be 3rd generation Blues, which are supposedly made to the same specifications as 1st generation Blues by a different manufacturer, so in theory probably sound very much like the 1st generation. Unfortunately, there is nothing obvious on the packaging to enable you to distinguish the 2nd and 3rd generation products, though the vast majority of what's in retail channels now is probably 3rd generation. And I don't know if there's anything obvious in the appearance of the strings to allow you to distinguish them either, as the only ones I have experience with are 2nd generation. I think the silks are the same color, but the windings might look different. Oh, and they now sell for at least $77. Good luck.
 
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#8
michael_t said:
26284908[/URL], member: 237573"]I was wondering about the gaps in the outer winding. Sadowsky Blue Label Flats do make more sense. Thanks for mentioning them. A good call!
Click to expand...
They definitely look like my Blue Labels. Mine are second generation, but I don’t believe there’s a difference in outer wrap or outward appearance between the different versions. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s the same as the outer wrap on the old Black Label flats, which have similar tension, but very different construction underneath.

Actually, when I got the first strings out of the package, I had a moment of surprise when the B string, which looked and felt identical to a Black Label, fell limp over my hand. The Black Labels are stiff, thumpy strings, so that wouldn’t happen unless they were damaged.

The Blue Labels, despite having similar mass/tension to the old Black Labels, are extremely flexible and mid focused. In fact, they’re so flexible I had to lower my pickups. If you let a note ring for a second or 2, you could watch it drift sharp using a tuner.

The one real oddity about them is how long they took to break in. They started out pretty scooped, and it took around 6 months of regular playing for the highs and lows to mellow out to where they are now. The mids probably mellowed some as well, but they’re much more prominent now.
 
#11
I have Sadowsky Black Label flats on a couple of basses. Love them. They are the slickest strings I have used and they don't have the gaps in the outer winding that are being referred to. If I recall, that was an issue that was discussed in a thread specific to the 2nd version of the Blue Label strings. I'm looking forward to trying a set of the latest (original) version of the Blue Label flats.
 
#12
porterbass said:
I have Sadowsky Black Label flats on a couple of basses. Love them. They are the slickest strings I have used and they don't have the gaps in the outer winding that are being referred to. If I recall, that was an issue that was discussed in a thread specific to the 2nd version of the Blue Label strings. I'm looking forward to trying a set of the latest (original) version of the Blue Label flats.
Click to expand...
Mine have the gaps in the strings. I don't feel them if I'm playing it, but I do if I run my fingers up and down the strings - just like my Blue Labels. Those gaps were the only difference (in feel) I noticed between Precision Flats and Black Labels, when I made the switch to Sadowsky strings however many years ago that was.
 
#13
DCCat said:
One possibility is Sadowsky Blue Labels. The silks look similar, and the gaps in the outer winds also look similar.
Click to expand...

michael_t said:
I was wondering about the gaps in the outer winding. Sadowsky Blue Label Flats do make more sense. Thanks for mentioning them. A good call!
Click to expand...

Yeah, Sadowsky Blue label Flats (Gen 1) was my first thought, also. I have a set of them on my Carvin LB-20; very nice strings they are, too. But... I just took a look at them, and... the gap between the outer wrap wire is nowhere near as wide as it is on those strings. So, IMO? Maybe the EBs or the SITs, but not the Blue labels. The old ones, anyway...:cool:
 
#14
GIBrat51 said:
Yeah, Sadowsky Blue label Flats (Gen 1) was my first thought, also. I have a set of them on my Carvin LB-20; very nice strings they are, too. But... I just took a look at them, and... the gap between the outer wrap wire is nowhere near as wide as it is on those strings. So, IMO? Maybe the EBs or the SITs, but not the Blue labels. The old ones, anyway...:cool:
Click to expand...

As far as I know, it was the 2nd gen Blue Labels that had wider gaps between the windings than the original version. It's safe to assume the ones in the OP's pics are the 2nd gen Blues.
 
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