Did rotosound ever change from round to hex core?

[uOpt]

Rotosounds have been around from since before hex cores were in use, no?

Did they switch at some point, from round to hex?

 

[pfox14]

Rotosound Solo Bass 55 are steel roundwound with a hex core, which they started making in 1977.

 

[mmbongo]

Roto's have been hex core as long as I can remember!

 

[f.c.geil]

I've always heard it was an oval core (at least, the 55s are), round core (66s), or hex core (77s).

 

[uOpt]

The 66s are supposed to still be round core?

 

[mmbongo]

Roto 66's are definitely hex core. Don't think they were ever round core.

 

[Jaco Taco]

Call me crazy, but they did something different with the 66's by the 90s, they just didn't sound the same as to how they used to sound.

 

[John Wentzien]

They must have been round-core in the 60's...I remember cutting one and it un-wound on me..Not now though!
Been using them for
40 years now!

 

[Martin Beer]

I've always heard it was an oval core (at least, the 55s are), round core (66s), or hex core (77s).

Oval core? Surely those would vibrate in an eccentric way and produce all sorts of inharmonic weirdness, as the string would be asymmetrical. The outer wrap on compressed strings like the 55s takes on an oval shape, but I'm sure the cores are standard round or hex wire.

 

[f.c.geil]

Oval core? Surely those would vibrate in an eccentric way and produce all sorts of inharmonic weirdness, as the string would be asymmetrical. The outer wrap on compressed strings like the 55s takes on an oval shape, but I'm sure the cores are standard round or hex wire.

Sorry, that post was tongue in cheek. I forget that you can't hear verbal tones on the printed word. All RotoSound strings are built on a hex core currently. I don't know when that changed, as I seem to recall having had a set of 66s that were built on a round core.

 

[Martin Beer]

Sorry, that post was tongue in cheek. I forget that you can't hear verbal tones on the printed word.

Oops! I didn't pick up on that. In fairness, there are few things that somebody won't assert on Talkbass, so it can be hard to spot irony!

 

[mmbongo]

They must have been round-core in the 60's...I remember cutting one and it un-wound on me..Not now though!
Been using them for
40 years now!

Well to be fair..it WAS the 60's. Lots of strangeness was happening

 

[james58]

I've tried lots of others types/brands over the years, but I always come back to my 66's.
So, this might ought to be a new post, but: round core or hex? Preferences?

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

To my knowledge, Swing Bass 66’s have always had a hex core. But I went ahead and emailed Rotosound to find out. I’ll share their reply once I receive it.

 

[mmbongo]

I've tried lots of others types/brands over the years, but I always come back to my 66's.
So, this might ought to be a new post, but: round core or hex? Preferences?

I used to prefer round core but then Dunlop Super Brights came out, then SIT Foundations came later and both made me re-think hex cores. So now those two are in the rotation along with DR Sunbeams and Pure Blues.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

Here’s my email response from Rotosound, in regards to my question about which type of core wire that is used in Swing Bass 66’s.

 

[4StringDave]

Labella, if you're watching, ^ that's how you respond to customer queries!