Red silks on unidentified strings means.....?

[Ricky Rioli]

I assume Roto 66s would have the coloured ball ends same as Roto 77s? The red looks darker than the roto 77s I use. I'm assuming rotosound don't use different silk on different models of string. Could just be lighting I suppose.

When I hold the headstock up in good daylight, the red silks glimmer in a way that doesnt come across in photos taken by my Samsung phone, so yes the photos are a little darker than reality

 

[michael_t]

What kind of tension and stiffness do the Boomers have? I'm really liking these strings which means they're taut, and have a nervy lively feel.

The regular (hex core) Boomers are at the stiff end of the roundwound spectrum along with Roto Swingbass 66. They're also slightly higher in tension than, lets say, D'A XL Nickels of similar gauges. Boomers 45-65-85-105 = 186.5 lbs. in total tension vs. D'A XL Nickels 45-65-85-105 = 174.3 lbs.

 

[Geddaric]

Could be anything, but they look like the Rotosounds to me.

 

[michael_t]

When I hold the headstock up in good daylight, the red silks glimmer in a way that doesnt come across in photos taken by my Samsung phone, so yes the photos are a little darker than reality

Here are the pics of the Boomers I just put on my Yamaha last month: (Same strings, two shades of red, depending on the lighting.)

 

[michael_t]

Here are a couple of pics of Roto Swingbass 66: (Note the red silk at the ball end before they started using color-coded ball ends.)

 

[Killing Floor]

If they are RS and they are very old they wouldn't have colored balls. How old is the bass?

 

[trothwell]

I just bought a Yamaha BB424 on Reverb. It sounds great, the strings really suit it. The dealer I bought it from was short on communication skills, so I'm left having to identify what the strings are myself.

Fortunately they are very distinctive: they've red silks and are very rough in comparison with the Daddario Nickels I was using recently, so I'm guessing they're Rotosound RS66s?

View attachment 4119584

Now I just have to work out which gauges they are The only other strings I have to hand are the Chromes on my other bass: my attempt to compare thicknesses of the rounds and the flats by touch just made me laugh. The roundwound E seems thinner than the 105 flat...but does that actually mean that it's thinner than 105?

I guess my first attempt should be the RS66LD (45 65 80 105) since they call that "standard"

Could be the picture, but what I am seeing there really does not look like the shade of red on Rotosound 66 strings.

 

[michael_t]

Kind of goldy colour, peering into holes they live in

View attachment 4119655

Or do I mean brassy colour?

Any chance you can loosen the E string and pull the ball end out of the little hole so we can see how the cover wire is wrapped at the ball end? Also to see if there is any silk at the ball end?

 

[Ricky Rioli]

If they are RS and they are very old they wouldn't have colored balls. How old is the bass?

The BB424 is a few years discontinued. I would say the strings were put on fresh when the guitar was sold to the dealer: they look a bit dusty but unplayed. They *sound* fresh too.

Something I only just thought of is this: I'm in the UK, where Rotosounds are plentiful, and GHS are uncommon, except for signature packs.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

Any chance you can loosen the E string and pull the ball end out of the little hole so we can see how the cover wire is wrapped at the ball end? Also to see if there is any silk at the ball end?

I don't want to fiddle with it, because if I mess up I've no access atm to help: a hard lockdown is no time to be relearning how to fit strings, something I haven't done since I was 17!

 

[Ricky Rioli]

Right, theres no reason for ruling out either of them, but the roughness thing and the availability thing mean I'll start with the Rotosound. Thank you for all the help, once again

 

[michael_t]

I don't want to fiddle with it, because if I mess up I've no access atm to help: a hard lockdown is no time to be relearning how to fit strings, something I haven't done since I was 17!

No worries.

Right, theres no reason for ruling out either of them, but the roughness thing and the availability thing mean I'll start with the Rotosound.

Good thinking... Rotosound rules in the UK!

Once you get a new set of the Rotos, you can compare the new and the old side by side and see if they match. It would be great if you can report back and let us know how it turns out.

 

[Bassamatic]

I was always forgetting what strings I have on various basses, so now I have a 3x5 "history" card for each bass and note the date of any mods or changes and what strings were installed.

 

[devnulljp]

Roto 66

 

[Dan_reeves]

When I first saw these I thought Boomers - but if you think these are close to original on the bass, they might be Yamaha strings. They used to sell their own strings for a while...not sure if they actually made them or just rebranded them. I remember people speaking of them fondly - never played them myself.

For some reason, every Yamaha I have ever owned (maybe 4-5) LOVED DR Fatbeams. Not sure why, but they did.

I know many hear think they are Rotos, but all of the Rotos I ever used had a more brilliant red...

 

[JakobT]

Looks like GHS Bass Boomers

 

[g-dude]

TI Superalloys have red silks, I think the silks are a shade or two lighter than those photos.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

I assume Roto 66s would have the coloured ball ends same as Roto 77s? The red looks darker than the roto 77s I use. I'm assuming rotosound don't use different silk on different models of string. Could just be lighting I suppose.

I have a set of short scale roto 77s and they have light blue silk wrappings, so it seems they are different for different string models.

 

[dkelley]

I used to use roto 66 all the time (like 25 years ago)... they were my goto strings, but they really feel awful on your right fingers. The sound, though, I have never been able to recreate with any other string. I since changed my tone to go with the strings I like now instead (DR).

But I keep wanting to go back to roto 66 .... they truly are the tone I love most and have in my head. I might still have to do that again one day and see if I can deal with the pain of the roughness... when I was in my 20s gigging and rehearsing daily with rotos (on my fretless!), my fingers would bleed dramatically during the end of most gigs. Man, that was a long long time ago. I'm such a geeky nerd that my kids I think really don't believe that I had these things happen long before they were born.

Good thing I have my memories.

Anyhoo - yea, I'd say from description and looks that those are rotos. Not a particularly cheap string... someone knew what they wanted on that instrument. If you can handle them, enjoy them, maybe they'll become your choice in the future.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

someone knew what they wanted on that instrument. If you can handle them, enjoy them, maybe they'll become your choice in the future.

The strings are making exactly the noise I hoped to get out of this BB, so I'll do my best to get on with them! Going back and forth between them and the Chromes on my other bass should help.