A picture paints a thousand words...
Do they have purple silk at both ends or just at the tuner end? What color(s) are the ball ends themselves?
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flat brands and their silk colors
- Thread starter Thumper828
- Start date
Do they have purple silk at both ends or just at the tuner end? What color(s) are the ball ends themselves?
Purple at tuners, not at bridge, the ball ends are plain.
PS: this is my old 1962 with repaired headstock break, a true warrior axe survivor!
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Purple silk at tuner end only = GHS Precision Flats. And they do come in three different lengths, ie "long plus" (38" winding), "medium scale" (35.5" winding) and "short scale" (32.75" winding).
Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats would have purple silk at both ends.
True. Also, Ernie Ball Slinky Flatwounds (cobalt flats) have silks of a slightly lighter shade of purple (for what it's worth: as you've shown in the past, there is variation in silk hue, as well as in colour rendering in pictures):
https://reverb.com/item/7125067-optima-rickenbacker-rb-flatwounds-4440
More conclusively, only long-scale cobalt flats (which these can't be: there was no such thing as a long-scale Gibson EB3 back in 1962) have purple silks.
The recently-introduced short-scale Slinky Flatwounds have forest green silk:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/what-flats-have-purple-blue-wraps-and-gold-ball-ends.1584040/
Optima RB flatwounds also have purple silk, but with black ball ends, and also come in long-scale only:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/ernie-ball-slinky-cobalt-flats-short-scale.1603661/
(Regular, hex-core Optima flats do come in short- and medium-scale, but have orange silk and black balls, for the record.)
Finally, long-scale* Pyramid Gold flats have silks of a yet lighter purple tint (shade? tone?):
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/balanced-characterful-flatwound-strings.1483301/
* [not short nor medium: those have forest green silk - as do Höfner-branded flats, as you know.]
tl;dr - to the best of our knowledge, Rocco's can only be GHS Precision flats, as Michael said.
With respect to La Bella: Depends on the gauge. They will have green, black, red, reddish-orange, or blue silks.
To be more specific...
760FX (39-96) = avocado green
760FL (43-104 = orange-ish red
760FS (45-105) = black
760FM (49-109 = dark blue
0760M (52-110) = dark blue
Low Tension Flats = burgundy
The silk on EB Group Flats (stainless steel) used to be dark blue, but has gotten lighter in the last few years.
And ideas on these - short scale 30 flats with this purple silk at the headstock, with no silk at the bass end.
Thanks for any help
Thanks for any help
Can you post a pic of the ball ends and the bridge? I'm thinking La Bella Low Tension Flats or GHS Precision Flats based on the silk color, but I can't confirm it 100% either way unless I see the ball ends. Thanks.
I was told they were the GHS Precision - but I bought a set of the GHS and they are not the same. Also on all my other basses I have Labella Low Tension and they are not those. Thanks tho
If you're talking about the silk color, it has changed quite a bit over the years. They've always been "purple", but different shades of purple depending on the age.
Can you measure the E strings from the ball end to the taper (end of full winding)? If they're GHS, they should measure close to 32.75". And they've always come with all brass ball ends.
Again, it would be helpful if I could see the bridge end of those strings in a pic.
Can you post a pic of the ball ends and the bridge? He's thinking La Bella Low Tension Flats or GHS Precision Flats based on the silk color, but he can't confirm it 100% either way unless he sees the ball ends. Thanks.
Thanks - talking with Michael_t right now on his idea. I can say 100% it is not Labella LTF - since I have those on 5 other basses and these are not the same.
GHS Precision are the pole-sitters so far, because of silk and ball colour (which, if I'm not mistaken, would not yet rule out older La Bella LTF), but also the fact that yours look to be closer to 32.75" (GHS short-scale winding length) than 32.25" (La Bella shortie length) long from ball to silk, judging from how they sit on a 30" scale bass with a top-loading bridge.
In what respects do they differ from other GHS flats you have? shade of purple? degree of polishing? other?
I have been playing Labella short scale LTF's for the last few years - The only GHS I have ever ordered are the Precision 3020 sets.
Pic A GHS Precision flats # 3020 (the only GHS string I have ever bought). Pic B - strings in question.
