Mismatched silks

[hieronymous]

I've kind of hesitated to post about this, but feel like maybe I should.

I recently bought a new set (in the new black packaging) of GHS Precision Flats (M3050, the .045-.105 set). I'm thinking of selling my Fender Donald Duck Dunn Precision Bass, but had LaBella 760FS (.045-.105) strings on it and they were very high tension and also the dreaded dull E string (that's another thread) so decided to put the Precision Flats on - I have tried them once before, thought I'd try again - should have held on to the old ones, they might be hanging around someplace but nowhere obvious. Anyway, they feel and sound GREAT! Love the balanced sound across all four strings. But look at the silks:

I don't remember the previous set being like this. I emailed the retailer I bought them from, was told "it happens sometimes" - emailed GHS, was told that "it happens sometimes" and that they get their silks from someplace else and sometimes the color changes.

I'm a little bummed - might it turn off a potential buyer? They look like mismatched strings. It doesn't really bug me that much, but it also doesn't feel 100% right either, if that makes sense.

Any thoughts? Anyone else had this happen?

 

[GTHintz]

Well you could string it back up with the old strings or even ship them with the new ones on the side. Or even use the mismatched color set on something else. Or just string it with the new ones and see what happens. People listen with thier eyes more than thier ears anyway.

 

[Jon Moody]

I don't remember the previous set being like this. I emailed the retailer I bought them from, was told "it happens sometimes" - emailed GHS, was told that "it happens sometimes" and that they get their silks from someplace else and sometimes the color changes

I'm sorry that's not the answer you were hoping for, but that's the literal answer.

Believe it or not, but there are very few places that make the silk that is used for the ends of strings. About a year or so ago, one of the two (you read that right) went out of business. We - working with DR - scrambled to find a place that would make the silk we need. And we did. That's the first part.

The second part of that equation is whether or not the colors they offer will match what we currently use. This isn't a paint store; I can't just bring in a swatch of color I want and have them put it on their computer and match it. It's a "This is what we have, period" situation.

And for MOST of the silks we use, there was a very close match. Some, there weren't, which also meant that I spoke with all of our Private Label customers that were affected.

That's also not taking into effect that different dye lots can be different. Again, this isn't an exact science in dyeing thread. If it looks "red" to the QC and is close to their control group, it's fine.

And, when either of these things happen, I sit down with our staff and look into how we can minimize the situation that you have. Because the strings are trimmed down at the final step, this isn't something that we can just "take the old silk off and put the new on." It doesn't work that way.

So, all that background to say that, sadly, it happens sometimes. I do the best I can to minimize it when it happens (which thankfully, is not often).

 

[michael_t]

I recently bought a new set (in the new black packaging) of GHS Precision Flats (M3050, the .045-.105 set).

New black packaging?

The new packaging should be purple, like this:

 

[michael_t]

One and only time I've ever had a mismatched silk in a factory set was GHS RC Boomers. My OCD did kick in at first as it bugged me for a few days, but I got over it eventually.

(The red on B is a shade brighter than the rest.)

Then I started experimenting this whole idea of mix and matching with the low B in a quest for better tonal balance.

As a result of these experiments, the silk colors haven't matched on my Yamaha for the last year and an half. And the funny thing is nobody cared enough to come up to me and ask me even once why the silk colors on my bass didn't match perfectly.

 

[hieronymous]

I'm sorry that's not the answer you were hoping for, but that's the literal answer.

Believe it or not, but there are very few places that make the silk that is used for the ends of strings. About a year or so ago, one of the two (you read that right) went out of business. We - working with DR - scrambled to find a place that would make the silk we need. And we did. That's the first part.

The second part of that equation is whether or not the colors they offer will match what we currently use. This isn't a paint store; I can't just bring in a swatch of color I want and have them put it on their computer and match it. It's a "This is what we have, period" situation.

And for MOST of the silks we use, there was a very close match. Some, there weren't, which also meant that I spoke with all of our Private Label customers that were affected.

That's also not taking into effect that different dye lots can be different. Again, this isn't an exact science in dyeing thread. If it looks "red" to the QC and is close to their control group, it's fine.

And, when either of these things happen, I sit down with our staff and look into how we can minimize the situation that you have. Because the strings are trimmed down at the final step, this isn't something that we can just "take the old silk off and put the new on." It doesn't work that way.

So, all that background to say that, sadly, it happens sometimes. I do the best I can to minimize it when it happens (which thankfully, is not often).

Thank you for the response! I definitely felt conflicted about posting, I'm not upset, more like conflicted, though much less so now knowing the reasons. I'm actually amazed that at how quiet it is, I thought there would be people a lot more upset! But if someone else does go through something similar to me, hopefully they will find this thread.

I've been playing for over 35 years, but in the old days when I was playing actively I was using Vinci strings, which were $10 a pop and didn't have silks. The past 20 years I've gotten back into it and experimented a lot with strings, and don't remember ever having mismatched silks, so it caught me by surprise. But real life intrudes on the fantasy life of silk on strings I guess! Thank you for your efforts, the strings really are amazing - I'm thinking of experimenting with the short scale set for my Les Paul Triumph!

 

[AboutSweetSue]

This might explain why one of my Fender silks was mismatched.

 

[Vinny_G]

I've kind of hesitated to post about this, but feel like maybe I should.

I recently bought a new set (in the new black packaging) of GHS Precision Flats (M3050, the .045-.105 set). I'm thinking of selling my Fender Donald Duck Dunn Precision Bass, but had LaBella 760FS (.045-.105) strings on it and they were very high tension and also the dreaded dull E string (that's another thread) so decided to put the Precision Flats on - I have tried them once before, thought I'd try again - should have held on to the old ones, they might be hanging around someplace but nowhere obvious. Anyway, they feel and sound GREAT! Love the balanced sound across all four strings. But look at the silks:

View attachment 4084989

View attachment 4084990

I don't remember the previous set being like this. I emailed the retailer I bought them from, was told "it happens sometimes" - emailed GHS, was told that "it happens sometimes" and that they get their silks from someplace else and sometimes the color changes.

I'm a little bummed - might it turn off a potential buyer? They look like mismatched strings. It doesn't really bug me that much, but it also doesn't feel 100% right either, if that makes sense.

Any thoughts? Anyone else had this happen?

Put on Rotosound Nexus Bass strings.

 

[hieronymous]

New black packaging?

The new packaging should be purple, like this:

View attachment 4085286

Now this is more like TalkBass! Here's my package, looks like they might have different colors for different sets?

One and only time I've ever had a mismatched silk in a factory set was GHS RC Boomers. My OCD did kick in at first as it bugged me for a few days, but I got over it eventually.

(The red on B is a shade brighter than the rest.)
View attachment 4085301

Then I started experimenting this whole idea of mix and matching with the low B in a quest for better tonal balance.

View attachment 4085302View attachment 4085305

As a result of these experiments, the silk colors haven't matched on my Yamaha for the last year and an half. And the funny thing is nobody cared enough to come up to me and ask me even once why the silk colors on my bass didn't match perfectly.

Thanks for that - I definitely got used to it visually, if I wasn't thinking of selling the bass it would have been much less of an issue. I have to decide if it's worth it to drop more money to replace the strings again or just try and sell it as is (probably the latter)

 

[Jon Moody]

Now this is more like TalkBass! Here's my package, looks like they might have different colors for different sets?

View attachment 4085616

That’s the correct set, and it’s a dark purple, which can look different under lighting and behind a “clear” vinyl pouch.

Thanks for that - I definitely got used to it visually, if I wasn't thinking of selling the bass it would have been much less of an issue. I have to decide if it's worth it to drop more money to replace the strings again or just try and sell it as is (probably the latter)

While I understand your point here, I can say with extreme confidence that I have yet to sell/buy a bass where the question of the strings had any bearing on the sale whatsoever. The strings are usually the first things to get swapped, unless the buyer in question is curious about what's already on there (as in, "Oh! I've never tried those before!")

 

[bassdude51]

Just saying, you could take a Sharpie and color up the silk. Go black.

I get very irritated at some of the stupid colors of silk used on strings! They can really clash and go against the color scheme of a bass.

IMO, there only 2 allowable silk colors. Black and silver. They match everything. Red silk is almost acceptable. No silk at all is OK but it can scratch up the tuner posts.

I'm sorry about your miss matched silk. Shabby!

 

[michael_t]

View attachment 4085616

That looks good.

Just wanted to make sure you weren't talking about this when you wrote "black packaging"...

 

[micguy]

We should be trying to be more inclusive and embrace diversity. If you can't stand one of the silks on your bass having a different shade of color, well, we need to work on your attitude, mister!

 

[Slater]

Somewhere in the middle of the manufacturing process the silk color changed a little bit. No big whoop.

 

[bassburner]

I prefer no silks. Problem solved.

 

[michael_t]

I prefer no silks. Problem solved.

Here's a pic of GHS Precision Flats with the silk removed: (previously posted by @Dan_reeves)

 

[hieronymous]

That looks good.

Just wanted to make sure you weren't talking about this when you wrote "black packaging"...

View attachment 4085657

Doh! I forgot what the old packaging looked like! In my head it was blue with the lettering and image white...

I should have posted the pic of the package in my initial post.

 

[Claymore]

...or if you're patient, go with the exacto knife and a pair of tweezers. I've done that with a set of TI Flats and Fender Flats.
No regrets.

 

[Cutter8]

I've kind of hesitated to post about this, but feel like maybe I should.

I recently bought a new set (in the new black packaging) of GHS Precision Flats (M3050, the .045-.105 set). I'm thinking of selling my Fender Donald Duck Dunn Precision Bass, but had LaBella 760FS (.045-.105) strings on it and they were very high tension and also the dreaded dull E string (that's another thread) so decided to put the Precision Flats on - I have tried them once before, thought I'd try again - should have held on to the old ones, they might be hanging around someplace but nowhere obvious. Anyway, they feel and sound GREAT! Love the balanced sound across all four strings. But look at the silks:

View attachment 4084989

View attachment 4084990

I don't remember the previous set being like this. I emailed the retailer I bought them from, was told "it happens sometimes" - emailed GHS, was told that "it happens sometimes" and that they get their silks from someplace else and sometimes the color changes.

I'm a little bummed - might it turn off a potential buyer? They look like mismatched strings. It doesn't really bug me that much, but it also doesn't feel 100% right either, if that makes sense.

Any thoughts? Anyone else had this happen?

It’s going to happen on occasion, due to unavoidable vendor/supplier changes, variance between dye lots, etc. I can see it being a minor annoyance for someone like me with OCD issues for whom a lack of visual balance/symmetry/consistency can be truly uncomfortable/distracting, but it would never impact how much I would pay for a bass.

 

[Chrisk-K]

I don’t get the silk shortage thing. There must be more than 1,000 silk shops in China that can produce the silks needed for bass strings.