Help! Need to identify strings

[waterface]

Hello all! I am trying to identify these long scale flatwounds that a friend gave me and he doesn't for the life of him remember which brand/scale they are.
I tried measuring with a calliper and it seems possible that they are 43 62 80 104, which would point to La Bella.
Here is photos of both ends, black cotton wrap:



Anyone recognizes them for sure?

Thank you so much for helping!

 

[Hillbilly Sam]

Hello all! I am trying to identify these long scale flatwounds that a friend gave me and he doesn't for the life of him remember which brand/scale they are.
I tried measuring with a calliper and it seems possible that they are 43 62 80 104, which would point to La Bella.
Here is photos of both ends, black cotton wrap:

View attachment 4979053 View attachment 4979055

Anyone recognizes them for sure?

Thank you so much for helping!

I don't think these are LaBellas because, as far as I know, they never had silk on the ball ends. Only on the string ends.
On the other hand, black-silked LaBellas belong to the Deep Talkin' Bass Standard set, which comes in 45 65 85 105, which doesn't match your measurements neither.
So I'd pretty much discard the LaBella option.

Regarding what brand they are, I don't wanna make any guess because I'm not a 100% sure

 

[waterface]

Thank you Sam, that was useful.

The quest continues…

 

[HaphAsSard]

I don't think these are LaBellas because, as far as I know, they never had silk on the ball ends. Only on the string ends.
On the other hand, black-silked LaBellas belong to the Deep Talkin' Bass Standard set, which comes in 45 65 85 105, which doesn't match your measurements neither.
So I'd pretty much discard the LaBella option.

The earliest mention I could found on this subforum of La Bella flatwounds *not* having silks at the bridge side is one from August 2005, by veteran member @zombywoof5050:

The LaBella set the I use (760FL) have red silk on the headstock end and no silk on the bridge end.

^ (The 760FL set is discussed as opposed to the FS, but I doubt the company had different silk-wrapping policies for different sets, apart from the colour.)
Whether they did have silk on both ends *prior* to that, I've found no mention either way, so I'll defer to long-time users' memories.
__

Back to the OP's mystery, black-silked flats, a recent thread with the same question:
Flatwounds with black twine/ribbon?
In short,
- if recent, they should be Dunlops;
- if not, according to @JTE other possibilities for flats with black-silk from way-back-when would have been old GHS Precision flats, and rebranded versions thereof (Lākland Joe Osborn, Music Man, G&L):
Flats with black silk - what are they?

 

[michael_t]

Hello all! I am trying to identify these long scale flatwounds that a friend gave me and he doesn't for the life of him remember which brand/scale they are.
I tried measuring with a calliper and it seems possible that they are 43 62 80 104, which would point to La Bella.
Here is photos of both ends, black cotton wrap:

View attachment 4979053 View attachment 4979055

When I fist saw those gauges, I thought of La Bella 760FL, then realized they would be 43-60-82-104. And when I saw the black silk at both ends, I said "what the heck...".

Can you do something for me? Measure each of the string from the ball end to the start of the silk at the tuner end to find out the winding lengths on them? Thanks.

By the way, I don't know of any flats that come with "cotton wrap"; they usually have "silk wrap".

 

[waterface]

First of all, thanks everyone for your comments and responses!

When I fist saw those gauges, I thought of La Bella 760FL, then realized they would be 43-60-82-104. And when I saw the black silk at both ends, I said "what the heck...".

Can you do something for me? Measure each of the string from the ball end to the start of the silk at the tuner end to find out the winding lengths on them? Thanks.

By the way, I don't know of any flats that come with "cotton wrap"; they usually have "silk wrap".

You're right, that's silk, not cotton! : )

Measurements in centimeters are:
E 96,2
A 96
D 95,7
G 95,4

Attached are pic of how I measured, to make sure I did it correctly.





It might sound like they could be Dunlop, but the diameters don't match, according to my calliper measurements...

 

[waterface]

[...]from the ball end to the start of the silk at the tuner end[...]

just a note: the outer steel winding at the tuner end seems to continue, i.e. the silk covers the final part of it.

 

[michael_t]

Measurements in centimeters are:
E 96,2
A 96
D 95,7
G 95,4

It might sound like they could be Dunlop, but the diameters don't match, according to my calliper measurements...

96 cm = 37.8" = a bit too long for them to be Dunlop (37.25").

- if recent, they should be Dunlops;
- if not, according to @JTE other possibilities for flats with black-silk from way-back-when would have been old GHS Precision flats, and rebranded versions thereof (Lākland Joe Osborn, Music Man, G&L):
Flats with black silk - what are they?

Based on the winding lengths, I would incline to say they could possibly be an old version of GHS Precision Flats. As far as I know, they've always been 38" in winding ("Long Scale Plus), which is longer than most "long scale".

 

[JimmyM]

If you have used them, the difference between GHS and Dunlop is very noticeable, with the Dunlops being considerably lower tension than the GHS. I don’t know if you can go by winding length alone, since Dunlops haven’t been around long and specs may have changed along the way.

 

[michael_t]

I don’t know if you can go by winding length alone, since Dunlops haven’t been around long and specs may have changed along the way.

Keep in mind, though, that Dunlop Flats were introduced back around 2015/2016 as a "new kid on the block". As far as I know, they've been consistent in terms of their specs.

 

[waterface]

I haven't used either, GHS or Dunlop. So I can't say... all I know is these are incredibly flexible, even after months of heavy duty use. They feel very soft if you arrange them in a coil and then bend them from the side, I don't know if I am making myself clear.. they just feel soft and flexible. I have found a used set of La Bella flats and they are iron wire in comparison!

And they sound great too, very fat and especially rich in low end.

On with the research...

 

[JimmyM]

I haven't used either, GHS or Dunlop. So I can't say... all I know is these are incredibly flexible, even after months of heavy duty use. They feel very soft if you arrange them in a coil and then bend them from the side, I don't know if I am making myself clear.. they just feel soft and flexible. I have found a used set of La Bella flats and they are iron wire in comparison!

And they sound great too, very fat and especially rich in low end.

On with the research...

I’m thinking Dunlop almost for sure now. That sounds exactly like them, except when new. They can be a little clangy when new, but that goes away pretty quick.

Also, gauges are usually not exact on any strings I’ve measured with calipers.

 

[waterface]

I’m thinking Dunlop almost for sure now. That sounds exactly like them, except when new. They can be a little clangy when new, but that goes away pretty quick.

The doubt remains when looking at the measurements I've made with the calliper... AFAIK Dunlop only makes 40-100 or 45-105...

 

[JimmyM]

The doubt remains when looking at the measurements I've made with the calliper... AFAIK Dunlop only makes 40-100 or 45-105...

You may not have seen the extra paragraph I added to that post, but caliper readings almost never add up exactly to the stated gauges, and can vary a little with the manufacturing process.

 

[michael_t]

all I know is these are incredibly flexible, even after months of heavy duty use. They feel very soft if you arrange them in a coil and then bend them from the side, I don't know if I am making myself clear.. they just feel soft and flexible. I have found a used set of La Bella flats and they are iron wire in comparison!

I’m thinking Dunlop almost for sure now. That sounds exactly like them, except when new. They can be a little clangy when new, but that goes away pretty quick.

Also, gauges are usually not exact on any strings I’ve measured with calipers.

The doubt remains when looking at the measurements I've made with the calliper... AFAIK Dunlop only makes 40-100 or 45-105...

I do agree with @JimmyM in that the description of these flats as being "incredibly flexible" and "soft" points definitely to the Dunlop.

And as Jimmy points out, the gauges you see in packages, such as 40-100 and 45-105, may not be the actual measurements, which can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. In fact, I've read posts here and there about Dunlop strings being different in actual measurements from the advertised gauges.

 

[waterface]

Thanks a lot everyone for your contribution!
My friend who gave me the strings could swear he never bought Dunlop. So I'm kind of back to square one...!
In fact they are quite hard to come by here in Italy, I've never seen them in actual stores and the large German online store that we often buy from (you know what I'm talking about) doesn't sell them.
I do see them on A****n but they are freaking expensive...

 

[JimmyM]

Thanks a lot everyone for your contribution!
My friend who gave me the strings could swear he never bought Dunlop. So I'm kind of back to square one...!
In fact they are quite hard to come by here in Italy, I've never seen them in actual stores and the large German online store that we often buy from (you know what I'm talking about) doesn't sell them.
I do see them on A****n but they are freaking expensive...

They’re freaking expensive in the USA now, too. $55. They used to be pretty reasonable.

Well it’s possible another company makes low tension flat strings with black silks, but I couldn’t tell you who.

 

[michael_t]

Well it’s possible another company makes low tension flat strings with black silks, but I couldn’t tell you who.

The only "flexible" flats currently available in the market I can think of that have black silk at both ends are the Dunlop. Nothing else.

 

[moreblues]

96 cm = 37.8" = a bit too long for them to be Dunlop (37.25").



Based on the winding lengths, I would incline to say they could possibly be an old version of GHS Precision Flats. As far as I know, they've always been 38" in winding ("Long Scale Plus), which is longer than most "long scale".

first off, I do not know who made those strings.
The only real accurate way of measuring a string is by using a micrometer.
Also the GHS Precision flats were always made in standard long scale. It is only several years ago that they changed it to long scale plus, which is very disappointing because I do not like the E string wrapping around the tuning post past the silk!.
I have made posts about this several times over the years. I wish they would make those in the standard long scale again!
Here is a receipt I found in my string draw when they were long scale.

 

[michael_t]

Also the GHS Precision flats were always made in standard long scale. It is only several years ago that they changed it to long scale plus, which is very disappointing because I do not like the E string wrapping around the tuning post past the silk!.
I have made posts about this several times over the years. I wish they would make those in the standard long scale again!

You're right! I do remember about GHS P Flats being available in the old "long scale" (36.5" winding). And I do agree it would be nice if they would make the E a little shorter like the "long scale" by La Bella (36.75" winding), although I've never had any issue with the E wrapping around the post with the GHS.