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Flatwound ID please!
- Thread starter rizzo9247
- Start date
Those look like the La Bella 760FX (39-96) from a few years ago, when they still came with all brass ball ends.
Good point about the winding lengths... According to the La Bella specs, the Deep Talkin' Bass Flats have always had the E shorter (36.75") than the other three (38"). And you're right about the green silk being lighter on the 760FX, more of avocado green than forest green. So, I'm not so sure anymore.
One thing we do know is they're definitely NOT GHS Balanced Nickels, which are roundwound.
I ran your question through ChatGPT, and here's what it provided. Hopefully this helps!
Citation provided:
Recommendation
Given your criteria, the pre-2009 Mexican-made Fender Flats (9050 series) are the most likely match: they have forest-green silk at the tuner end only, and no silk at the ball ends.Citation provided:
Known Matches for Forest-Green Silk (Tuner End Only)
- In-house Fender Flats (pre-2009 / Mexican-made Fender 9050)
These had forest-green silk only at the bridge/tuner end, and crucially, no silk at the brass ball ends - Picato flat-wound strings (UK brand)
Their forest-green silk is reported, though details about which ends are wrapped aren’t specified - Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt Flatwounds (short-scale)
These use a forest (British racing) green silk, but only on short-scale versions, and the long-scale variants use purple silk
Excluded Options
- La Bella 760FX flats: Green (avocado/emerald) silk, but only at the tuner end—which matches partially—but threads suggest it’s more emerald than forest; still worth considering though
- Fender 9050 long-scale stainless flatwound strings (product): These actually feature green silk at both ends, so they don't meet your "no silk on brass ball ends" requirement.
| String Type | Green Silk Location | Forest-Green? |
|---|---|---|
| Fender Flats (pre-2009 / in-house 9050) | Tuner end only | Yes |
| Picato flat-wound | Likely tuner end only | Yes |
| Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt Short-Scale | Tuner end only | Yes |
| La Bella 760FX | Tuner end only | Green (but more emerald) |
I ran your question through ChatGPT, and here's what it provided. Hopefully this helps!
Recommendation
Given your criteria, the pre-2009 Mexican-made Fender Flats (9050 series) are the most likely match: they have forest-green silk at the tuner end only, and no silk at the ball ends.
Citation provided:
Known Matches for Forest-Green Silk (Tuner End Only)
- In-house Fender Flats (pre-2009 / Mexican-made Fender 9050)
These had forest-green silk only at the bridge/tuner end, and crucially, no silk at the brass ball ends- Picato flat-wound strings (UK brand)
Their forest-green silk is reported, though details about which ends are wrapped aren’t specified- Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt Flatwounds (short-scale)
These use a forest (British racing) green silk, but only on short-scale versions, and the long-scale variants use purple silkExcluded Options
- La Bella 760FX flats: Green (avocado/emerald) silk, but only at the tuner end—which matches partially—but threads suggest it’s more emerald than forest; still worth considering though
- Fender 9050 long-scale stainless flatwound strings (product): These actually feature green silk at both ends, so they don't meet your "no silk on brass ball ends" requirement.
String Type Green Silk Location Forest-Green? Fender Flats (pre-2009 / in-house 9050) Tuner end only Yes Picato flat-wound Likely tuner end only Yes Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt Short-Scale Tuner end only Yes La Bella 760FX Tuner end only Green (but more emerald)
Interesting find! If they are Fender’s a replacement string should be an almost exact match. I also need to reach out to 30th Street guitars to find out the history of this bass , I picked it up used, didn’t think it was that old
The green silk on them are too dark to be Fender. Besides, pre-2010 Fender 9050s (made in Mexico) had green silk only at the ball end with no silk at the tuner end, while the post-2010 9050s (made by D'Addario) have always had green silk at both ends with color-coded ball ends.
