Guess I live a sheltered life having used very few different string brands over the years...but see so many basses with I guess anodized colored ball ends...what are they???
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Colored balls...
- Thread starter thisonegoestoeleven
- Start date
Instead of individually packaging each string in their own paper envelope with the gauge and position of the string on the packaging, some manufacturers now coil the entire set together in a plastic bag to minimize packaging.
Since that eliminates the 'instructions' on which string is which, they color code the ball ends so you can tell them apart.
Since that eliminates the 'instructions' on which string is which, they color code the ball ends so you can tell them apart.
Ah...so it's for those bassists WITH NO FINGERS who couldn't feel the difference between 45 and 105??
Got it.
But which manufacturer? Or is it more than one?
Got it.
But which manufacturer? Or is it more than one?
Some manufacturers have unique color schemes for their strings. And it often helps identify the brand by the colors of the ball ends.
Are you asking about any specific ones?
- Sep 9, 2007
- 5,309
- 4,977
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Eventide, GHS Strings, G&L Guitars, NS Design, Tsunami Cables
It's a company wide choice, and affects ALL the strings made. So while it's fairly easy for us to delineate between bass strings, it's not very easy for guitars, especially when you're talking about the plain strings used.
D'Addario was the first, but now it is very commonplace. Others are Dunlop, LaBella, Dean Markley (if they're still around), Fender, Rotosound, etc..
Cool. Thanks for the info guys...only ever played Rotosounds and now Ernie Ball so just seen pics of these and wondered who made them. They're kind of distracting to my eye...
One manufacturer uses dices with a number for each of the strings that you just slide off when installing them instead of colored balls.
- Sep 9, 2007
- 5,309
- 4,977
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Eventide, GHS Strings, G&L Guitars, NS Design, Tsunami Cables
That was LaBella. I'm curious if they still do that, as I know they moved to the colored ball ends now. I can't imagine it was easy to do; a lot more labor involved using the numbered dice.
Rotosound's 45 and 105 are the same color, so no.
Rotosound's 45 and 105 are the same color, so no.
Oh no... How am I supposed to tell them apart now??
Right, this is a terrible design choice.Oh no... How am I supposed to tell them apart now??
I'm far too immature to engage with this thread constructively.
I purchased a couple of sets in the spring and I installed one of them a couple of weeks ago and it still had the dices.
JeezyMcNuggles
Inactive
- Feb 23, 2018
- 14,723
- 20,970
- Disclosures
- I suck, but nobody really notices
I think your suppose to take the dice off before installation..
The D'Addarios I use have the different color ball-ends. On bass, arguably not that big of a deal. For newer bassists, though, it is probably a HUGE help. On guitar, even after 35 years, I have to really look at the difference between the plain strings. It doesn't take a but a moment but the color helps me just grab that ball-end and pull it out of the bunch for install. Just really cuts the work. Granted, I do work in well-lit areas. I can see "seeing" the difference in gauge being more difficult in low-light. The color ends could be super nice there. YMMV of course.
Maybe there should be a club/thread for folks like us, so we have somewhere to put our sophomoric posts.
